OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN

Oh Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But Oh heart! heart! heart! Oh the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

Oh Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise upfor you the flag is flung for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head! It is some dream that on the deck, Youve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult Oh shores, and ring Oh bells! But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

 CASABLANCA

The flagship had taken fire. The flames were breakin out from below. The deck was ablaze. The men who were left alive made haste to launch a small boat. The leaped into it, and rowed swiftly away. Any other place was safer now than on board of the burning ship. There was powder in the hold.

But the captains son. Young Casablanca, still stood upon the deck. The flames were almost all around him now but he would not stir from his post. His father had bidden him stand there, and he had been taught always to obey. He trusted in his fathers word, and believed that when the right time came, he would tell him to go.

He saw the men leap into the boat. He heard them call to him to come. He shook his head.

"When father bids me, I will go", he said.

And now, the flames were leaping up the masts. The sails were all ablaze. The fire blew hot upon his cheek. It scorched his hair. It was before him, behind all around him.

"Oh Father," he cried, "may I not go now? The men have all left the ship. Is it not the time that we, too, should leave it?"

He did not know that his father was lying in the burning cabin below, that a cannon ball had struck him at the very beginning of the fight. He listened to hear his answer.

"Speak louder, Father," he cried, "I cannot hear what you say".

Above the roaring of the flames, above the crashing of the falling spars, above the booming of the guns, he fancied that his fathers voice came faintly to him through the scorching air.

"I am here, Father. Speak once again," he gasped.

A great flash of light fills the air; clouds of smoke shoot quickly upward to the sky and

BOOM!

Oh, what a terrific sound. Louder than thunder, louder than the roar of all guns. The air quivers: the see itself trembles; the sky is black. The blazing ship is seen no more. There was powder in the hold.

 CASEY JONES

Come, all you rounder, for I want you to hear The story told of an engineer; Casey Jones was the rounders name, A heavy eight-wheeler of a mighty fame. Caller called Jones about half past four. He kissed his wife at the station door, Climbed into the cab with the orders in his hand, Says, This is my trip to the holy land. Through South Memphis yards on the fly, He heard the fore boy say, Youve got a white eye, All the switchmen knew by the engine moan That the man at the throttle was Casey Jones. It had been raining some five or six weeks, The railroad track was like the bed of a creek. They rated him down to a thirty-mile gait, Threw the southbound mail about eight hours late. Foreman says, Casey, youre runnin too fast, You run the block board the last station you passed. Jones says, Yes, I believe well make it, though, For the steams better than I ever know. Jones says, Foreman, dont you fret; Keep knockin at the fire door, dont give up yet.

Im going to run her till she leaves the rail, Or make it on time with the Southern mail. Around the curve and down the dump, Two locomotives were bound to bump. Foreman hollered, Jones, its just ahead, We might jump and make it, but well all be dead. It was around this curve he spied a passenger train, Rousing his engine he caused the bell to ring; Foreman jumped off, but Jones stayed on Hes a good engineer, but hes dead and gone. Poor Casey Jones was all right, For he stuck to his duty both day and night, They loved to hear his whistle and ring of number three, As he came into Memphis on the old I.C. Headaches and heartaches and all kinds of pain Are not apart from a railroad train; Tales that is in earnest, noble, and grand, Belong to the life of a railroad man.

THE DEATH OF ROLAND Roland feels his death is near; His brain is oozing by either ear. For his peers he prayed. God keep them well; Invoked the angel Gabriel. That none reproach him, his horn he clasped; His other hand Durendal, his sword, he grasped; And farther then a crossbow sent a bolt Across the march of Spain he went Where on a mound, two trees between Four flights of marble steps were seen Backward he fell, on the field to lie; And he swooned anon, for the end was nigh. High were the mountains and high the trees, Bright shone the marble terraces; On the green grass Roland has swooned away, A Saracen spied him where he lay; Stretched with the rest he had feigned him dead, His face and body with blood he spread. To his feet he sprang, and in hate he ran In pride and wrath he was overbold, And on Roland, body and arms, laid hold The nephew of Karl is overthrown! To Araby bear I this sword, mine own. He stooped to grasp it, but as he drew, Roland returned to his sense anew. He saw the Saracen seize his sword; His eyes he opened and he spoke one word, You are not one of our band, I know. And he clutched the horn he would never forego; On the golden crest he smote him full. Shattering steel and bone and skull, Forth from his head his eyes he beat, Miscreant, makes you then so free? Who hears it will deem you a madman born; Behold the mouth of my ivory horn Broken for you and the gems and gold Around its rim to earth are rolled. Roland feels his eyesight going, Yet he stands erect with what strength is left; From his bloodless cheek is the color dispelled, But his Durendal all bare he held In front a dark-blown rock arose, He smote upon it ten grievous blows. Grated the steel as it struck the flint, Yet it broke not, nor bore its edge one dint.

Mary, Mother, be you my aid!

Ah, Durendal, my ill-starred blade. I may no longer be your guardian! What fields of battle I won with you! What realms and regions it was ours to gain! Now the lordship of Charlemagne Never shall your possessor know Who would turn from face of mortal foe. A gallant vassal so long you bore, Such as France the free shall know no more. Roland feels his hour at hand; On a knoll he lies toward the Spanish land, With one hand he beats upon his breast: In your sight, O God, be my sins confessed; From my hour of birth, both the great and small, Down to this day, I repent of all. As his glove he raised to God on high, Angels of heaven descend him nigh. Beneath a pine was his resting place, To the land of Spain has turned his face; In his memory rose full many a thought Of the lands he won and the fields he fought; Of his gentle France, of his kin and line; Of his nursing father, king Karl benign; He may not tears and sobs control, Nor yet forget his parting soul. To Gods compassion he makes his cry; O Father true, who cannot lie, Who did Lazarus raise unto life again. And Daniel shield in the lions den, Shield my soul from its peril due For the sins I sinned my lifetime through. He did his right-hand glove uplift. Saint Gabriel took from his hand the gift Then drooped his head upon his breast, And with clasped hands he went to rest. God from on high sent down to him One of his angel cherubim, Saint Michael of Peril of the sea. Saint Gabriel in company. From heaven they came for that soul of price And they bore it with them to Paradise.

THE RICH MAN AND THE POOR MAN

Food and money I give to you,

Why do you shout so mercily When I give you your part? queried the rich man. The poor man replied: Your question you cannot answer For from pain and agony you are free, But I have suffered and borne The situation that I dont like to be in.

And only then will you understand What agony is, the poor man shouted.

Ha! Ha! Ha! You say so

For you desire this place of mine. Indulgence you have clouded with reason But I understand because of your situation. boastfully the rich man said. Outraged the poor man answered: How pitiful the person blinded with pleasure; No, you dont care of our journey That you have created through your greediness. Come now, man of weak soul! Your days are numbered for you to face The Man of Love. You may not cry now but later you will When the chilling reality of the last judgment Comes across your way; Yes, then you will pity, but not for me. Not for anybody else. But for yourself only! Yes, eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow you shall die!

That I couldnt understand

Because Life for me is easy; I take this and take that, And life is just what I want it to be. consented the rich man.

Comfort your mind, rich man,

with realities of death. Your wealth I do not envy For you can not buy eternity with money. If to live happily is to live in hypocrisy, Then I prefer to be silly so I would be holy. Life you love so much you will lose

THE OAK AND THE REED

The oak one day address the reed: To you ungenerous indeed Has nature been, my humble friend, With weakness aye obliged to bend. The smallest bird that flits in air Is quite too much for you to bear; The slightest wind that wreathes the lake Your ever-trembling head does shake. The while, my towering form Dares with the mountain top The solar blaze to stop, And wrestle with the storm. What seems to you the blast of death, To me is but a zephyrs breath. Beneath my branches head you grown. That spread for round their friendly bower, Less suffering would your life have known, Defended from the tempests power. Unhappily you oftenest show In open air your slender form, Along the marches wet and low, That fringe the kingdom of the storm.

To you, declare I must, Dame Nature seems unjust. Then modesty replied the reed: Your pity, sir, is kind indeed, But wholly needless for my sake. The wildest wind that ever blew Is safe to me compared with you I bend, indeed, but never break. Thus far, I own the hurricane Has beat your sturdy back in vain, But wait the end. Just as the word The tempests hollow voice was heard. The North sent forth her fiercest child, Dark, jagged, pitiless, and wild. The oak, erect, endured the blow; The reed bowed gracefully and low, But, gathering up its strength once more In greater fury than before, The savage blast Overthrew, at last, That proud, old sky-encircled head, Whose feet entwined the empire of the dead!

I DEMAND DEATH
My hands are wet with blood. They are crimsoned with the blood of a man I have just killed. I have come here today to confess. I have committed murder, deliberate, premeditated murder. I have killed a man in cold blood. That man is my master. I am here not to ask for pity but for justice. Simple, elementary justice. I am a tenant My father was a tenant before me and so was his father before him. This misery is my inheritance and perhaps this will be my legacy to my children. I have labored on a patch of land not mine. But I have learned to love that land, for it is the only thing that lies between me and complete destitution. It is the only world that I have learned to cherish. And somewhere on that land I have managed to build what is now the dilapidated nipa shack that has been home to me. I have but a few world possessions, mostly rags. My debts are heavy. They are sum total of my ignorance and the inspired arithmetic of my master, which I do not understand. I labor like a slave and out of the fruits of that labor I get but a mere pittance for a share. And I have to stretch that mere pittance to keep myself and my family alive. My poverty has reduced me to the bare necessities of life. And the constant fear of rejection from the land has made me totally subservient to my master. You tell me that under the constitution, I am a free man-free to do what I believe is just, free to do what I think is right, and free to worship God according to the dictate of my conscience. But I do not understand the meaning of all these for I have never known freedom. I have always obeyed the wishes of my master out of fear. I have always regarded myself as no better than a slave to the man who owns the land on which I live. I do not ask you to forgive me nor to mitigate my crime. I have taken the law into my own hands, and I must pay for it in atonement. But kill this system. Kill this system and you kill despotism. Kill this system and you kill slavery. Kill this despotism and you set the human soul to liberty and freedom. Kill this slavery and you release the human spirit into happiness and contentment. For the cause of human liberty, of human happiness and contentment, thousands and even millions have died and will continue to die. Mine is only one life. Take me if you must but let it be a sacrifice to the cause which countless others have been given before and will be given again and again, until the oppressive economic system has completely perished, until the sons of toil have been liberated from enslavement, and until man has been fully restored to decency and self respect. You tell me of the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But I have known no rights, only obligations; I have known no happiness; only despair in the encumbered existence that has always been my lot. My dear friend, I am a peace-loving citizen. I have nothing but love for my fellowmen. And yet, why did I kill this man? It is because he was the symbol of an economic system which has made him and me what we are: He, a master, and I, a slave. Out of a deliberate design I killed him because I could no longer stand this life of constant fear and being a servant. I could no longer suffer the thought of being perpetually a slave. I committed the murder as an abject lesson. I want to blow that spelled the death of mymaster to be a death blow to the institution of the economic slavery which shamelessly exists in the bright sunlight of freedom that is guaranteed by the constitution to every man. My dear friend: I do anguish from the weak and helpless and has laid upon the back of the ignorant labor burdens that are too heavy to be borne, I demand death! To this callous system of exploitation that has tightened the fetters of perpetual bondage in the hands of thousands, and has killed the spirit of freedom in the hearts of men, I demand death. To this oppression that has denied liberty to the free and unbounded children of God, I DEMAND DEATH!

MURDERESS Its already twelve oclock. Oh, God, Im hungry! Ive been running and hiding for almost three days. Im dead tired. I need some rest. But no, they are looking for me! And if they find me, I will be put to jail. But, where can I hide? Leos father is so influential, so powerful. He is the governor of our great province and I happened to kill his son! No, dont accuse me like that! Im not a murderess! Hear me, Im begging you, I tell you Im not a murderess. Audience, let me explain, please. Okay, okay, okay! It all happened in school one day. I went to the library to find a book. Then I found it. I got so engrossed to what I was reading that I almost didnt notice the time. It was gone past six and, oh my! I think I was the only student left in the library. To my dismay, Leo was waiting for me outside. I wanted to hide but it was too late. He was already in front of me.

Hi, Brenda! Can I drive you home?

I shook my head irritatingly. My God, how I hate him! He often sends me scented love letters in pink stationery which I sent back all unopened. He sends me roses and chocolates, too. They are my favorites. I wanted so much to eat the chocolates, but I hate the person who gave them. So I throw them into the trash. How could I ever get away from this guy?

Hey, Leo, wait a minute! If you want to drive me home, thanks, but no thanks! Im old enough to go home on my own, okay?
So, please stop following me like a dog! And besides, Im too young for love and I dont accept any suitors, understand?

But, Brenda, I love you! Cant you understand? I can give you anything you want. Say it and youll have it. And, Brenda,
remember, I can get everything I want by hook or crook. So youd better be good to me or else. Ha ha ha! And he started laughing like a monster. I got so scared. I know how powerful his family was, but I still insisted, Leo, how can you be such a jerk? I dont like you and I dont love you. In fact, I hate you! Now, will you leave me alone? But instead of leaving, do you know what he did? He pushed me so hard against the wall and started kissing me. I was shouting for help, but no, no one was there!

Somebody, help me, please! Please, please! Help! Help!

Then he gave me a big, big punch on my stomach. Oh my God! It was painful! But even before he reached for me again, I spotted a rusty knife and grabbed it.

Now, Mr. Leo Monteverde, try to kiss me again, attempt to rape me again, and I will never ever forgive you! Go to hell!
Um um ummm! I didnt know how many times I pushed the rusty knife in his body. Then I noticed something. Blood, blood theres a blood on my hands! Leo, Leo! Oh, God! I killed Leo! No, Im not a murderess! He was going to rape me and I just defended myself. I didnt mean to do it, Im not a murderess! Im not a murderess! But I killed Leo! I killed him! Im a murderess! Ha! Ha! Im a murderess! Ha! Ha! Ha!

THE COLLAR
I struck the board, and cried, no more. I will abroad. What? Shall I ever sigh and pine? My lines and life are free; free as the road, Loose as the wind, as large as store. Shall I be still in suit? Have I no harvest but a thorn To let me blood, and not restore What I have lost with cordial fruit? Sure there was wine Before my sighs did dry it: there was corn Before my tears did drown it. Is the year only lost to me? Have I no bays to crown it? No flowers, no garlands gay? All blasted? All wasted? Not so, my heart: but there is fruit, And thou hast hands. Recover all thy sigh-blown age On double pleasures: leave thy cold dispute Of what is fit, and not. Forsake thy cage, thy rope of sands, Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee Good cable, to enforce and draw, And be thy law, While thou didst wink and wouldst not see. Away; take heed, I will abroad. Call in thy deaths head there: tie up thy fears. He that forbears To suit and serve his need, Deserves his load. But as I raved and grew more fierce and wild At every word, Me thoughts I heard one calling, child: And I replied, my Lord.

THE LOST GIRL I am a girl, young in heart and in mind

I am carefree, I enjoy doing nothing but play,play and play

I seldom go to school but hmp! nobody cares! Instead,you will see me roaming around standing at the nearby canto, or hanging around at the sari-sari store standing beside the jukebox stand One day I asked I asked my mother to teach me how to behave, to live, and appreciate all the beautiful things in life. Would you like to know what she told me? She said " Cant you see, I have to hurry up for my majong session! " So I turned to my father to console me. But what a wonderful word he did tell me " Child, I have to finish my overtime workHeres 500 pesos, go and ask your teacher about that question" Sadly,I attended my class But I heard nothing but the echoing voice of my teacher,torturing me with her words " Hey yo lazy girl! Why waste your time studying those things? When up to now you cant even multiply seven by nine? Go home and dont bother me!!!" I am lostconfusedI dont know what to do with myself Where are my parents to guide me? My teachers to give me inspirations? My friends, when I play? Im lazy and irresponsible. When I try to study, I get punished for not being able to answer. Where nowIm confused Somebody, please help me You say that the world is beautiful, why is it treating me this way? Hear me please! Help me please! Help me I am lost