Angelo Miguel Flores October 3, 2011

10801588 A Call To Arms: Cirilo Bautista`s Dead Weight

Cirilo F. Bautista`s Dead Weight. In Memoriam is directly addressed to the Philippine
populus as an invitation to go against the tyrannical governance oI then president Ferdinand
Marcos. Bautista creates a representation oI his anger, asserting his tone through the use oI
strong word choice and a rather unusual, yet eIIective poetic structure.
The poem starts with a report oI Marcos` death and Bautista invites his countrymen to
come together and 'Iix |their| voice against / |t|he weight oI |their| loss. (4-5), which does not
reIer to the death oI Marcos but the loss oI their rightIul heritage. These lines signal the reader
that the poem is a call to arms, a request Ior an alliance towards a common cause. Lines 6 and 7
suggest Ior the people to 'polish the weapons to blast the threat / |o|I his ghost., telling them
to prepare Ior damage control and prevention oI aItershocks Iollowing the death oI the
antagonist. The word 'weapons is one oI the strongest words that Bautista has used in the poem
because weapons symbolize violence and violence is the oIIspring oI anger and hatred.
Bautista`s labelling oI Marcos as '|t|hieI, '|s|coundrel, and '|u|surper oI heritage (10-11),
Iurther elaborates on the angry tone oI the poem Ior Irom these words, so strong, that the
author`s voice could be heard shouting the curses. The word 'stench in line 15 oI the poem is
also one oI the strongest words used. The use oI the strongest sense, the olIactory sense, makes it
easier to empathize with the author on the way he Ieels about the Marcos government. In the
same line, the word 'rot is used. This usage oI Ietid language strongly aIIirms the anger in the
poem which could be translated heretoIore as wrath.
The structure oI the poem is notably unusual as it has run-on stanzas on top oI the usual
run-on lines. This Iurther elaborates on the tone oI anger where in some instances, a person who
is angered during a particular situation may experience shortness oI breath but nonetheless, he
still continues on to making his points without allowing himselI to be withheld by this shortness
in breath. Towards the end, Bautista creates a breather in the sixth stanza where in lines 25-26,
he Iinishes oII with another run-on stanza that contains the angriest tone in the whole poem. The
capitalization oI all the words in the last line, 'He Must Not Come Home, He Must Not Rest in
Peace! (26) gives the line its own authority. It can stand on its own in conveying the angry tone
oI the whole work that it deserves recognition through the unorthodox way oI iteration.
The poem is wrathIul. The wrath that Cirilo Bautista was Ieeling at the time is embodied
in Dead Weight. In Memoriam The tone oI inexplicable anger is reIlected in Bautista`s work
through thisthe use oI strong, wrathIul language with the accompaniment oI continuous lines
and stanzas strongly suggesting the smooth Ilow oI thoughts one Ieels when driven by anger.

C l 1 A 1 l C n

8auLlsLa Clrllo l uead WelghL ln Memorlam 8ooeyotJ 8teokloq Manlla Anvll
ubllshlng lnc 1996 123 rlnL