The original version was the 17th poem in my series "Kapeng Barako" - Kapeng Barako is brewed coffee in Lipa, Batangas, Philippines, often of the 'liberica" variety and roasted traditionally in large metal vats. The series includes poems that focus mostly on my memories of Lipa, the place of my birth, childhood and teenage years.
This year, I reviewed those of my poems that mention or discuss history. While the original poem actually refers to the forgotten massacres and related events during the latter part of the Japanese occupation (World War II), I came to realize that the events of the Martial Law years seem to have been forgotten also by our people, especially with the recent attempts at historical revisionism.
Change is indeed inevitable. However, forgetting the past and/or revising history, will eventually prove quite costly for a country or people, culturally and in many other ways.