"To the Groom of Death"
A poem Inspired by the movie Heneral Luna
and the song "Novio de la Muerte"
All was but tragic after Kabanatuan
As you are being killed not by white-skinned foes
But by your compatriots fueled by discontent
If not loyal by clique of traitors
Tired of seeing a "crazed lunatic" screaming out of truth and justice
That you wished freedom and independence finds appealing
Amidst calls for assimilation the prominent sees it good than fraud
That as if for the sake of peace and plenty
If not tired for blood and fire from places so many
All was but tragic at Kabanatuan
To see blood stained bolos
If not heated barrels in their revolvers and mausers
Coming from the disgtuntled men in rayadillos and khakis
All loyal to a once-Kapitan del Barrio Synonymous with power
The affluent yet traitorous has rejoiced over your death
Hidden in their silence as your coffin marches on its way
While the patriotic yet silent sees the coming dismay:
"He is dead, the revolution is dead" as what it say
And days passed lies all but defeat
Minor victories not enough for days tragic as people weep
Of seeing houses burned and everyone to concentration camps
If not brutally raped or murdered in the name of the flag
Of a country once synonymous with freedom
The empire of liberty has devoured its children
That until today justice clamoured from its victims
While the traitors embraced a sugar coated fraud
Enough to keep their interests firm with different names and moves
Strange those times for a nation trying to live
As the "benevolent" foe from the west marches in its way
Passing from trenches and mountains
Underestimating the struggle as barbaric brigands
To be educated by schoolbooks and krags
Of what were the three hundred thirty three years of bondage
The Hispanists called as a legacy of civilisation and ripe for independence
To be disregarded by the star sprangled gringos
Whose slander is called benevolent exploitation?
Well, since war was his mistress from Manila to Kalookan,
Lady death was his bride as he swore fighting till end in Kabantuan
As he told to the world must jump into the dark abyss
Disregarding life for freedom amidst crisis
Willing to stay in hell tormenting foes such gore
So as for his country to live in paradise
All is but silent in Kabanatuan
Waiting for an unlikely fate such as a bloodied flag
Soiled by its foe's boots until night.
And I am praying that freedom comes
Over apathies, anything unenlight
For my prayers were also once his
And others who died in the endless fight
They all married to death
If not war as its mistress
As they jumped into the dark abyss
For they knew their fates has been set
Just to bring freedom for a long suffering nation's bliss