Where Are The Gumamelas?
(Poem)
where are the gumamelas?
on the wall of memories
crawling now are
cadena de amor and thorny vines
where are the red petals
crimson as the morning phlegm
of enslaved workers and peasants
crimson as splurged blood
gladly shed by warriors of love
on the land of aspirations and hope
made barren by injustices and sorrow.
where are now the gumamelas?
where now?
my hands could not lovingly touch
its blooming red flowers.
not a single firefly
could rest on its leaves.
much more i could not even patch it
on a bloody wound
nor the birds
atop the mango tree
could glimpse at it.
the lurking sparrows
in the ashen sky
see it no more
faceless shadows
and unmarked graves
have deserted the bosom of memory.
am searching for you
in the stretch of every road
in the poetry of every dew
as every morning yawns.
am searching for you
in the breathing dusk
in the snoring darkness
in cornfields and ricefields.
am searching for you
in the swaying talahib
of the hinterlands.
where are the gumamelas?
i don’t want to see
a wreath of thorny roses
or leis of rare orchids
in the garden of the elite
of crooks and thieves
pungent is the breath of sampaguita
terribly hot is the acacia’s shadow
if you always hear misery and sorrow
of a race beastly enslaved.
where are the gumamelas?
flower of a revolting brain
red petals of undying dreams
blazing torch of simmering blood.
where now? where can i see you?
in roaring violent wind
or in embers of flaming trash?
in angry waves in my mind
or in lashing hurricane in my being?
in the gazing sun at noonday
or the twinkling firefly at night?
when the east bathes in blood
i hope i can finally see
in the valley of my soul
at the edge of memories’ wall
the blooming of the crimson flowers
of so many gumamelas!
(my English version of NASAAN ANG MGA GUMAMELA? The gumamela is a crimson flower with large petals, believed to be medicinal and, as a sturdy plant, usually grows in rural areas.)
