By Rosario Brenda Gonzalez
What to do in this season of darkness
Is to keep oneself scarce
Keep abreast of what’s going on
Without actually being there where things are happening
To do first things first
In the process being introduced to the tapestry
Of legal jargon, nuances and processes
How can one commit a crime in a place unknown to her
Haven’t been there in all these years of my life
Because, of course life happened, in another place
Not simply to say that, as it is self-serving
But it is the truth
Then I understand there is a legal context to the term
Everything is self-serving, even if it is the truth
There must be a logic and reason to what should be said
Always be steps ahead of the other side
In the midst of stress and worry
Is a new discovery
Of how enjoyable and refreshing
It can be to join a case conference
Realizing the tag “the best lawyers money cannot buy”
Do honor and pride to a profession
Long regarded as the refuge of the rich and powerful
Then from the high in discourse
One comes smashing down in the low of reality
As reason, logic and truth gave way to
Oh, it is hard to explain,
Positive and negative assertions
And which can be best tackled in a trial
The many years of law school
Seem not enough to understand the fundamentals
So on to trial, we must go
Only to be derailed by a document saying there is
No pending case
Then to be resurrected again
Prompting the filing of an omnibus motion
This has become a roller coaster ride
Even a child-like attitude cannot cherish
The heart bleeds and the mind crashes
If there is a moment one wants to erase from memory
This must be it.
= = = = =
This human rights week, we start publishing the poetess’ poems as a victim of trumped up charges by the State using the weaponized Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020. The charges have since been junked by the Malolos RTC.
Rosario Brenda Gonzalez is a long-time development worker. A BA Journalism graduate of UP Diliman, Ms. Gonzalez has been a project evaluator and development management trainer for more than three decades. Prior to that, she was a human rights and church worker.
