Revised version of my poem that first appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine on September 29, 2002. Republished in 40 - Mga Tulang Alay Sa Mga Martir Na Kabataan.
to a rebel poet
(canticum for Emmanuel Lacaba)
1.
he lived a life of a people's warrior
the paper bled and burned with his uni-
versal man songs
he dreamt of halcyon days
while fighting underground
with his red-profiled comrades
the dryads and muses cried
when he died a thousand deaths
when that bullet pierced his mouth
and the last drop of his blood
stained the ground with his last poem:
"Go ahead, finish me off."
2.
the one who pulled the trigger
was our own brown brother whose name
will not be remembered
3.
he has the mark of Cain on his forehead
to a rebel poet
(canticum for Emmanuel Lacaba)
1.
he lived a life of a people's warrior
the paper bled and burned with his uni-
versal man songs
he dreamt of halcyon days
while fighting underground
with his red-profiled comrades
the dryads and muses cried
when he died a thousand deaths
when that bullet pierced his mouth
and the last drop of his blood
stained the ground with his last poem:
"Go ahead, finish me off."
2.
the one who pulled the trigger
was our own brown brother whose name
will not be remembered
3.
he has the mark of Cain on his forehead
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