POETRY
Counterpoint
By Sarah Raymundo
Posted by Bulatlat
"they should have not let his brain
spattered
on the floor like that;
or his eyes dismembered from his face
it's the kids, it's too painful for them
to have seen him so horribly lifeless
or worse, remember him that way!"
this widow's work of mourning is as
habitual
as the enemy's ritual of bullets
at the time of the killing
she was learning about fractions:
this much for their tuition fee
this much for roof repair
this much for new slippers
this much for food
this much for toiletries
one farmworker proposed
a toast for the union's gain
suddenly the glasses broke
as they were lifted
was it the might of their hands
or the force of gunfire?
and then the weeping
followed by the
sight of a scatheless body
surrounded by intense lighting
and flowers that stink and terrify
jam-packed and humid
is the worst kind of living room
this is the strangest way to be home
with Ric, she mutters
and then her thoughts shift
to the rest of her life
as if to struggle
for a counterpoint to misery
Oct. 29, 2005
The writer, a professor at the University of the Philippines, wrote this
poem after she saw a television interview of the widow of Hacienda Luisita
martyr Ric Ramos.
Posted by Bulatlat
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