Mother Had a Gun

Photo by Garel Sison

I heard a pistol shot from nowhere
Then along came the alarm
The pistol isn’t heard by anyone
Then I see the ocean rising gently

The water isn’t cerulean nor sky blue
Like the ones a photographer shows
It reeks of filth and its palette is all muddy gray

The ocean crawled along the sidewalk
Then the people panicked
I stand tall and laugh
Then I said to myself, “What a day.”
I see a man climbing up at the stage
The crowd seems fond of him
At the center stage he stands
With a mic on his hand

Out in the distance I see mother weeping
Afterwards, she walks into the cold night sky

Politicians and advocates –

Idiots can’t stand a chance
Against mother’s wrath
They hold on for their dear life at my trunk
I never enjoyed these happenings
but what the hell can I do?

A week later, the heat of the sun greets me again
Down below is a woman with
About 30 adolescents
Some are smoking and
Some are taking a photo of me
The woman stands on top of the big stone
“Keep on planting! Save the Planet! You know we can.”
Said the woman as she throws
away her candy wrapper by the side

I’d give anything to get me some legs
and kick her charlatan ass

All we need is respect really
Yet not a drop of it was given
We can’t keep on keeping on
If we are only but a past time advocacy

A year after, another pistol shot can be heard from the sky
This time the mountains
With its big boulders and ocean of dirt
slide down to the ground

The sky turned darker as the rain pours hard
Mother now stands tall at the top of the hills
No remorse can be hinted from her deadpan face

Mother did not hesitate
She didn’t even threaten nor warn
I see the woman drowning
Swimming with her are some of the adolescents
I saw her with last time
Mother stood up despite
Her already fragile soul
I watch her reload her gun and point it above

Bang!

Everyone turns their head at the sky
Mother looks at them then slowly she fades away

One’s suffering caused by all!
Alas! The calamity is done
All that is left is a young girl’s dress
And a motherless son