The revolution has
lost a petal
But more will bloom in
your stead.
You are now one with
our ancestors,
United with our skies
Joined with the moon,
the sun, the stars.
Will you continue to
stand
On the looming
mountains?
Be in every first
light of dawn
And in every dancing
cloud?
Adieu my brother, my
comrade,
You are now the fire
that forever burns
And now forever roam
our lands
Forever, your spirit,
we shall seek
In every prayer we
make.
Manja, Sri
Lanka, 06/03/2013
*********
I cannot
forget the unkempt hair as if he never owned a comb. Nor will I forget his
famous beard, which he used to make funny faces that made us laugh. I clearly
remember how he said “orgashem” instead of “agashem”. I still can recall his
old black coat, which I think was the only one he owned.
I
still hear his songs of love and revolution - in the streets, on the stage,
between boring educational discussions or around a warm bonfire on cold winter
nights. My memory is so vivid of his graceful theatrical leaps as he tried,
hope not in vain, to teach us the basics of acting and dancing and music. As
skilled as he was in his guitar, on the drums and the gongs, who would forget
how deft he was with the nose flute?
I
can never forget one time, while he was busy making some propaganda paintings
with those big angry and scary faces of the President, I asked him to make one
that is beautiful to see. Using pointillism, he made me a bookmark - of my face
and of a gun, and emblazoned with ‘rosas ng digma’ (rose of the revolution).
He
was always a patient man, a kind man. I
never heard him raise his voice at anyone. His patience helped turn stubborn,
cynical and mischievous girls like me into instruments of freedom, justice and
peace.
When
we met in the midst of the lush Cordillera forests in a not so distant past, I
wouldn’t know it would be the last. Although when he made that decision to
offer his life to the peoples’ struggle, I knew that every rare meeting could
be the last. And rare it was, as rare as when the moon was blue. But as the
“The Little Prince” would teach us, you will forever be in one of those bright
stars shining and watching over us, always. ##
