Ruins - Remnants of History or "White Elephant"

Ruins - Remnants of History or "White Elephant"

Dr Abe V Rotor

18th century ruin of a convent annexed to the church of San Vicente Ferrer.  Below, remnants of the convent ruin, and rise of a recent building structure abandoned into a "new ruin."  Photos by the author. 

Church Ruins* 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Your eyes are empty, 

and you sit like the owl.

You are the shell 

of a colonial past, 

save the bell 

pealing the essence 

of the Rock 

that cleanses

the soul.   

Photo and verse from  

         Light in the Woods - A V Rotor 1995

  

  

Upper photos, remnant of the convent ruin as it appears today and viewed from the author's residence, Lower photos, abandoned osuario building. An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary. Wikipedia