By Galileo de Guzman Castillo[i]
HARVEST. Oil on canvas. Manila, Philippines. Painting by Darius Yabut.
You, who’ve fed the world with calloused hands
For years have struggled, deprived and starved
Cultivating soils and tilling lands
But remaining landless, dispossessed
On the grounds, you’ve occupied, reclaimed
Have broken chains and torn down the fence
And for this you are silenced and maimed
“It is,” said they, “a crime and offence,
To stand your ground for rights,” a nonsense
Here in the State of Violence rife
With impunity, they kill and hence
You, who have sown seeds and nurtured life
Across lands, waters, forests, you’ve thrived
Among conflagration, entropy
Of Common Home in turmoil and strife
Resist and hope unwaveringly
Reignited solidarities
A movement of movements, with nature
In harmony, for food sovereignty
Expose fractures and seize apertures
From the ashes of broken sinews
You shall rise, take root, and sprout anew
[i] Galileo is a Programme Officer at Focus on the Global South. He wrote this poem to remember the Kidapawan Massacre six years ago on April 1st and as a solidarity contribution to commemorate the International Day of Peasant Struggles on April 17th.
