Jose Francisco (11/22/2005)

Written for my grandfathers.


have you ever twirled around so fast, you felt like your head was going to explode,
then you stumble, unbalanced, furthering your fall,
ground hazy, eyes seem to lose focus when all you see
leaves casting trails of dark shadows across the sky spinning,
traces of your memories fading fast into the background of water vapors trapped in mid-air,
in puffy, gray clouds filled with premonitions of the next five minutes,
when you feel droplets of rain kiss your brown features..

i sense an unforgiving high in my mangled mind, from life, or from torture;
walking in foggy streets, hunched beneathe a few layers, designed to shield me from the cold,
the poignant feel of 39 degrees, each breath filling my lungs with misty textures,
filling my mind with visions of the next few weeks, of warm weather and tropical sunsets,
when under the surface of beautiful sceneries, lies the brutal truth of voiceless creatures
buried in centuries of dirt and filth, results of forged 'big brother' relations,
benevolent assimilation, euphemisms for wretched institutions


to you, who is that hardworking farmer, with a bolo at hand,
wistfully gathering this month's caban of rice
whose feet are deep in mud, water and dirt -- two nutrients essential in the birth of crops,
the birth of your eldest child, to your legacy passed on by your offsprings --
products of life and generations of the highest form of living

i am your child,
a student of fortune, you are the mentor of strife,
i am your future,
a product of centuries' past, you are the giver of life

to you, who has cultivated the land with your bare hands, hoping for fortune to give you a good season,
who's on your knees from the pain and suffering -- two elements of the government's injustice,
the deaths of your kinsmen, and the dreams of your children --
from toxic wastes left to desecrate our nation

i am your voice,
a weapon to penetrate the barrier of silence, you are my inspiration,
i am your daughter,
a seed planted into this generation, you are my air

you are my peace.