The bullet-riddled corpses
sprawl on the sidewalks,
the dark alleys or inside the shanties
waiting to be laid to rest in public cemeteries
or dumped in common graves.
The inconsolable widows & orphans or shocked fathers and
mothers
cannot not afford to bury them
for the police are making a killing out
of the killings or mass murder
ordered by the blood-thirsty ruler from the city of Davao.
The slums beside dumpsites,
railways, waterways & cemeteries
beyond the posh villages &
subdivisions
have
become killing fields
day by day, night after
night
as the poor wait in fear & trembling
for the executioners in uniform
or masked hit-men riding in tandem
imported from or trained in Davao.
Why do brutal, corrupt &
incompetent men
lord over this land like criminals?
Why do pious men and women
who fill the churches Sunday after Sunday
and join processions in
masse
or attend the Pope's Mass in millions
keep silent or approve of
this and say
those addicts & enemies
of the state deserve to die?
Where is mercy and
compassion
for those wounded by
neglect, abuse,
isolation and loneliness
in need of healing and conversion?
Where is justice for those
unjustly punished
without due process,
deprived of human rights
& dignity
while drug lords go
scot-free
just because they are
relatives, friends or partners?
O Lord, we believe that you
will deliver us
from evil as you did in times past –
especially at EDSA.
But how long must we wait?
How many more lives have to be wasted?
When will the people stand
up and rise empowered by your Spirit?
In this dark night we toll
the bells
and light our candles full of despair
and hope.
