BY BERLIN GUERRERO*
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 21, July 1-7, 2007
Inside the dark prison cell
we wear
yellow…
the rays of the early morning sun
soft glow, like gasps, when it sets
at the closing of the day
Yellow
easily mixes with other colors
producing
compound feelings
of joy tinged
by the loudness of captivity
of hope dampened
by long-denied justice
of health threatened
by undernourishment and neglect
of human celebration drowned
in a sea of systematic wickedness
Yellow
is the color I pick to represent
Gold
from the eight-piece crayon box
like the limited rectangular room
we are squeezed in
with few choices
Gold
survives the dark minepit
to be processed into metal
that shines and glistens in the sun
We too can be like gold
separated into the shiny metal
and the dark poisonous tailings
with the choice ours
in the making
I would like to be
gold someday
when I walk out of this prison minepit
made solid in the separation
rendered shiny in its purity
but for now
I settle for
yellow…
the rays of the early morning sun
soft glow, like gasps, when it sets
at the closing of the day.
June 24, 2007
BMJ-BJMP
Molino II, Bacoor, Cavite
Posted by(Bulatlat.com)
*Berlin Guerrero, a pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and a leader of the party-list group Bayan Muna (People First), was abducted by police in Biñan, Laguna on May 27 and was tortured for several hours before ending up in detention at Camp Pantaleon Garcia, Imus, Cavite. He is now jailed in Bacoor, Cavite while facing trumped-up rebellion charges.
