We are the valley talahib.
We extend the roaming range
of wild fowl, deer and boar
beyond the thinning forests.
We are the mountain kugon
that revive the dry gullies,
cooling the scorched earth.
We are the famed marapait:
flowers that follow the sun
and greet the weary traveler
with a cheerful nod.
We are the roadside weeds
that subtly, in varied ways,
nurture and heal the soil
and all that feed on it.
You might cut us down to stump
and tinder drying in the sun,
yet the land beneath endures.
Stamp us out with brush fire,
turn the earth an ugly black,
but the stolid undersoil
will hug our hidden rootstocks
more tightly into its bosom.
Trample us under boot, you could
defile us with engines of war
while uttering mindless profanities.
Yet soon the hushed lament
of angry skies will bring forth
the fabled monsoon storms.
And through the blackened sod
we shall spring anew, refreshed,
growing thicker and greener still,
more resplendent in the rain.
And all the gentle creatures shall
rejoice for the land returning
a great new cycle of life. And we:
we shall remain the humble weeds.
We are marapait.
We are kugon.
We are talahib.
• 4 December 2017
A tribute to the Nasugbu 15, to Francis S. on his 47th death anniversary, at sa marami pang ibang mabuting anak ng bayan na patuloy na sumasalo sa pamanang sulo ng rebolusyon.#