Good day Everyone. I’m John Mark Vasquez from BSED 2 1st Schedule.

I am going to read a poem titled Servant

by Bienvenido L. Lumbera. First, let us know who is Bienvenido L. Lumbera. So he was born on April 11, 1932
and died on September 28, 2021. He was a Filipino poet, critic and dramatist. Lumbera is known for his
nationalist writing and for his leading role in the Filipinization movement in Philippine literature in the 1960s.
He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications in 1993. So
now, we are going to read the poem written by Bienvenido L. lumbera titled SERVANT.

On the shut door of the mind

We knock, we of soul and body torn;
We who serve and are ignored,
Broken into pieces to be of use.
Our heads nod, our arms lift,
Our feet are quick, our faces turn:
We scatter our parts to the beck
And call of those higher than us.
Deep within, we have a name,
A story to tell. Against a harsh life
We’ve put up a fight, only
To end up with a servant’s life.
We serve the strong, we are
Feet and arms wanting to climb,
Heads and faces used to fool the law,
Will we be whole again tomorrow?
Up ahead the new day shines,
The change-of-fate we seek—
Then we shall rise again,
With our names and bodies back.

This poem is very heart touching and life changing. It is very easy to understand and can inspire broken souls
that are being enslaved.

There are two Point of Views in the interpretation of this poem; The “positive and the negative side.”

Positive: All people undergo “servant hood” (signifies a stage in our lives). Being a servant in the sense of
following our elders, respecting them, and taking good care of them. It is a process of life, where we can be
our own through the help of our elders or masters. This will give us our purpose in life; that is to be leaders
and good stewards. It is said in the poem that we have a name deep inside us. In order for you to justify your
identity, you must be a good steward and in turn pursue your own way.

Negative: It is inspired by the story of people who where neglected, forsaken, and overtaken. I can relate this
to the Filipino people who were abused by foreign visitors. Even if they want to fight, stand up, and be free,
they have no choice but to follow and be a slavey. But all people have names and identity, unique and absurd.
No one can hinder an individual to grow and fight for his right. You cannot stop an eagle to fly, it needs space
to soar. You cannot hold up a thunder bolt from striking above the sky. It needs to shout and shine bright
blinding the enemy. You cannot stop a genius mind to think of ideas that could change the world. Everybody
needs to be treated equally, because deep inside all of us have an ember capable of starting a fire.