7.30.2006

unrelated. relevant.

pardon the unrelated post. this is my own un-silent scream as I hold my own child closer.


fifty-four today. a sunday.

how many children does it take
to make you notice, america?
how many of our children?

do they have to dance
and prance about in pageants?
must they be killed
by their own mothers
before you take notice?
must they return unborn
before you value them?

how many children does it take?
how many of our children
is it worth to achieve "sustainable peace"?

will anyone be left to sustain it?

(I know you have sent your own
for reasons I still cannot understand
and I grieve your loss as much.
they were grown men of twenty years or more.
at least you saw the pleasure of their play
before you lost them.)

will five of our four year olds
suffice for one of yours?

how many children does it take, america?
how many of our children
before you say enough.

enough.

and leave us time to hold those
still breathing.

--




with prayers to the one who called peacemakers "blessed"
and blessed the little ones of Judea, Samaria and Nazareth.

Benjamin dela Pena
July 30, 2006

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi...i'm not sure if you are bicolano but if you are--maurag ka padi!

was led to your blog after seeing the 3-D rendition you did to naga...i write for pilipinaspositivenews--wanted to ask if you'd like to share your thoughts as well as a volunteer-contributor, writer or as a person that could be interviewed and written about...i'm on borrowed resource and will try to get hold of your email--i'm currently based here in singapore and found myself walking by boat quay and river quay last night...they had fireworks by the esplanade and i was pleasantly surprised...as homesick as i am every single day, i convinced myself that the macritchie reservoir here is the nicest place to visit while in singapore...last night, as i was seated close to the river, facing the parliament to my north, the rows of restaurants and cafes to my left (the link/pic that you provided for your july 10 blog), the beautifully restored fullerton hotel and esplanade close by to my right and the skyline of the city's financial district behind me, i was wowed for the first time...on a busy night (i later found out that the fireworks were part of the post-national day celebrations)where you get to see the place packed with various cultures, colors and smell and with the area illuminated by non-invasive lamps/lights and by the heavenly bodies above, this place suddenly becomes magical...but i realized immediately that we did have similar and even potentially better areas to develop (as the places you have mentioned)...and as i give respect and props to how this place (river/boat/clarke quay) was envisioned, developed, preserved and improved, i remain hopeful that we could fix and showcase what is presently decaying on our side of the world too...it doesn't need much... sa utro, maurag tong ginibu nindo sa naga padi!...atchan! sain ka pwede email? - bok

Urbano dela Cruz said...

thanks for the link, ignatius. Are you sure you are not a paid hack for the QC government? Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of SB.

Urbano dela Cruz said...

anonymous,

I'm not bicolano -but I'll take that as a complement.

I totally agree that we can create urban environments that are just as good -and that are "world class."

email me at urbanodelacruz_at_gmail_dot_com.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

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