1.
We were the dusky maya.
Sometimes we flitted
among the enameled branches
of the hacendado's cage.
We mostly skipped and hopped
with pruned wings.
2.
Then we read:
"Upon freedom
from men administering men
Man will evolve to the next Unity
in the realm of Nature.
"We will be the eagle
over the bluffs
sailing the currents
of the east wind --
our nature unfettered.
"Our mind and body
uncaged."
3.
Meanwhile
we are growing back
our heart
and our wings.
*Chapter 10, Fractured Memories
Showing posts with label dialectics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dialectics. Show all posts
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Purpose served*
I imagine –
1.
Down the hill
the brush caressed his crumpled body
a human rights warrior
bearing badges of defiance
now crusty claret.
Manny lay cold and spent
like a hammer in a corner
of the smithy’s dirt floor
rusting, unnoticed.
In quiet confidence, he had forged
other dreamers in his ways--
scores of cadres to help frame
an unfettered future
then, still in his mind’s eye
and in others’, too.
This hammer had served faithfully.
2.
Before, a hammer--now, rusting iron.
It returns to the earth in its new state
like fallen leaves and wilted flowers
and people’s tears--
its purpose served.
"Death is simply another state.
Each people’s worker is part of a dialectic. "
Manny’s death merely transformed one part
and created a new, more discerning unity.
The warrior had lived his poem,
the poet had lived his war.
Though stilled, he is still of the species.
His thoughts and words and works
resonate in the lives of people
around whom he wrapped his heart.
They're also spawning new dreamers.
3.
Fellow travelers are grasping and defending--
and improving on--his life and their own
as men and Man.
Deeded now to the owners of surplus labour
the Worker, reaching some critical mass
will be principal in the spring.
The principal of the future
in time will free the birds of peace
and freedom.
And, I imagine, Manny’s eyes--
glasses off--will be smiling then.
*Chapter 9, Fractured Memories
[In memory of Emmanuel “Manny” Yap who disappeared in the 70s during the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines; November 5 is his birthday]
1.
Down the hill
the brush caressed his crumpled body
a human rights warrior
bearing badges of defiance
now crusty claret.
Manny lay cold and spent
like a hammer in a corner
of the smithy’s dirt floor
rusting, unnoticed.
In quiet confidence, he had forged
other dreamers in his ways--
scores of cadres to help frame
an unfettered future
then, still in his mind’s eye
and in others’, too.
This hammer had served faithfully.
2.
Before, a hammer--now, rusting iron.
It returns to the earth in its new state
like fallen leaves and wilted flowers
and people’s tears--
its purpose served.
"Death is simply another state.
Each people’s worker is part of a dialectic. "
Manny’s death merely transformed one part
and created a new, more discerning unity.
The warrior had lived his poem,
the poet had lived his war.
Though stilled, he is still of the species.
His thoughts and words and works
resonate in the lives of people
around whom he wrapped his heart.
They're also spawning new dreamers.
3.
Fellow travelers are grasping and defending--
and improving on--his life and their own
as men and Man.
Deeded now to the owners of surplus labour
the Worker, reaching some critical mass
will be principal in the spring.
The principal of the future
in time will free the birds of peace
and freedom.
And, I imagine, Manny’s eyes--
glasses off--will be smiling then.
*Chapter 9, Fractured Memories
[In memory of Emmanuel “Manny” Yap who disappeared in the 70s during the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines; November 5 is his birthday]
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