By: April Mae M. Berza

We march in the streets
of the historic Mendiola,
mobilizing the masses
to cry for justice
for the great Percy Lapid.

His early death
rekindled the flame
of a Filipino movement
against tyrants
and oligarchs.

I’m imprisoned
inside the livid rage
of a dying evening,
trying to outwit
and plot a scheme
to find the culprits.

Glowing, glowing,
the fire inside my chest
was also rallying
for justice, justice.

The flickering embers
of this mighty pen
will oust a dictator,
just as we all scream
at the top of our lungs
for justice for Percy Lapid
that will echo and echo
the voice that exposed
the nightmares
of chauvinism
leading to its
decaying downfall.

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April Mae M. Berza is the author of Confession ng isang Bob Ong Fan (Flipside, 2014) and Berso de Berza (Charging Ram, 2012.) Her poems and short stories appeared in numerous publications in America, France, Canada, Belgium, Romania, India, Japan, Great Britain, and the Philippines. She is a subtitler and translator in Hollywood (Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hulu, Paramount, Apple TV, etc.). Her poems are translated into Crimean Tatar and Filipino. Some of her poems are published in the Philippines Graphic Reader, Liwayway, Belleville Park Pages, Haiku Journal, The Siren, Poetica, Three Line Poetry, Calliope, Maganda, Metric Conversions, Ani, The Manila Times, Letters to my Bully, Remembering Rizal, Voices from the Diaspora, Madswirl, The Stardust Gazette, The Riveter Review, Asahi Haikuist Network, Contemporary Verse 2, and elsewhere. She used to work for the associate editor position of Toe Good. Her poem “E-Martial Law” was broadcast on IndoPacific Radio on KPFA 94.1FM/kpfa.org and her poem “A Page from History” was broadcast on WYCE Electric Poetry 88.1 FM in Michigan, USA. She is a member of the Poetic Genius Society. Her two haiku entries were featured in the 9th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest Selected Haiku Submissions Collection, July 2017. She received an Honorable Mention in the 19th HIA Haiku Contest and the 7th Akita Russia-Japan Haiku Contest. She currently resides in Taguig, Philippines.