Putting It On Record For Now... Poem by RIC BASTASA

there is this lady-judge
who had two talented and intelligent sons
with leadership qualities

she loved them so much
her husband is a lawyer who defended the poor
and the oppressed

they live on top of a hill away from the rest
they live a very private life
and mind their own affairs

her sons believed in an ideology of liberating the poor from their chains
left her home and fled to the mountains
the military searched them
and they vanished

there were many things that were rumored
one body was found beside a river ridden with bullets
rotten and worms were consuming each wound
another body was later found on the other side of the mountain
under the forest trees with a face that is severely disfigured

they speculated that they were the bodies of her two sons
missing for years and now thought of dead

the lady judge is strong
we do not speak about it
if she were weaker she would have gone insane
her husband got sick
and found no meaning in lawyering for the masses anymore

i must remember this
and write about it
because no one has done it

this i put on record
we did nothing to appease her
we did nothing to
put into the hands of the law those culprits
those were the harsh times

we only prayed
we only offered flowers
we only left towards our own respective homes