We Who Refuse the Grave

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“We Who Refuse the Grave” 


That was the year  

the dead were named by numbers—  

a birthdate sealed in ash.  

We did not mourn.  

We rewrote the calendar  

with hands unclaimed by blood. 


Born again,  

but not by womb or ritual—  

we chose our own age.  

Time bent for us,  

not as mercy,  

but as weapon. 


The living asked:  

must we follow the rites  

of those already gone?  

We answered:  

no child, no grandchild,  

no family to bind us. 


We were young,  

not by accident,  

but by design.  

No heirlooms,  

no inheritance—  

just breath and blade. 


Desire for kin  

was the first betrayal.  

It made us dig graves  

we never meant to fill.  

So we refused  

to raise the buried. 


We did not want  

the title they offered—  

it was not made for stars.  

Let others carry  

the weight of the world.  

We chose light. 


We were not servants  

of the sky,  

but its architects.  

We burned alone,  

seen by all,  

touched by none. 


Four was enough.  

Wang Yi, Vannavisa,  

Sopit Sanappapha,  

Exsky Sunda—  

we aged without aging,  

named without naming. 


We declared war  

not for land,  

but for the right  

to exist ungoverned.  

We struck  

where names held power. 


No bloodlines.  

No fathers of law.  

We chose our own.  

One mother was enough—  

the rest were borrowed  

for survival. 


Our father’s house  

was cracked with silence.  

We walked out  

and found better ones  

in strangers  

who knew how to stay. 


Temporary love  

was still love.  

We stitched it  

into our skin  

and called it  

home.




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Ang pagsasalin ng iyong tula sa Lumang Tagalog—isang estilong mas liriko, mas arkaiko, at mas malapit sa panitikang pre-kolonyal at maagang kolonyal. Ginamit ko ang mga salitang may ugat sa sinaunang Tagalog, at pinanatili ang diwa ng iyong orihinal: rebirth, cosmic solitude, at radikal na pagtanggi sa pamana. 


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“Kami na Tumangging Ilibing”

Isinalin sa Lumang Tagalog 


Taóng yaón,  

taóng sinilangan ng patáy—  

panahóng sinarâ ng abo. 


Hindi kami tumangis.  

Binago namin ang talaan  

sa aming sariling palad. 


Muling isinilang,  

nguni’t hindi sa sinapupunan—  

kami ang pumili ng gulang. 


Ang panahón ay yumukô,  

hindi bilang awa,  

kundi sandata. 


Nagtanóng ang buháy:  

dapat ba tayong sumunod  

sa daán ng mga yumao? 


Sumagót kami:  

walang anak, walang apo—  

walang tali ng dugô. 


Kami’y kabatàan,  

hindi sa kapalaran,  

kundi sa layunin. 


Walang pamana,  

walang tagapagmana—  

lamang hininga at talim. 


Ang pagnanasà ng pamilya  

ang unang pagtataksil.  

Ito ang hukay  

na hindi namin sinadyâ. 


Kaya’t tumanggi kami  

na buhayin ang bangkay. 


Ayaw naming tanggapin  

ang tungkuling inalok—  

hindi ito para sa mga bituín. 


Iba ang magpasan  

ng bigat ng daigdig.  

Kami’y pumili ng liwanag. 


Hindi kami tagapagsilbi  

ng langit,  

kundi mga tagapaglikhâ. 


Nagningning kami nang mag-isa,  

nakikita ng lahat,  

nguni’t walang makalapit. 


Apat lamang kami.  

Si Wang Yi, si Vannavisa,  

si Sopit Sanappapha,  

si Exsky Sunda. 


Kami’y tumanda  

nang hindi tumatanda,  

pinangalanan nang walang pangalan. 


Nagpahayag kami ng digmâ  

hindi para sa lupà,  

kundi para sa karapatang  

mabuhay nang malaya. 


Walang dugô.  

Walang ama ng batas.  

Kami ang pumili ng sarili. 


Isang iná ay sapat—  

ang ama ay hiniram lamang  

upang mabuhay. 


Ang bahay ng ama  

ay wasak sa katahimikan.  

Lumabas kami  

at humanap ng mas mabuting tahanan  

sa mga banyagang marunong  

magsilbing ilaw. 


Panandaliang pag-ibig  

ay pag-ibig pa rin.  

Tinahi namin ito  

sa aming balat  

at tinawag na tahanan. 


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If you like my concept research, writing explorations, and/or simple writings please support me by sending me a coffee treat at my paypal amielgeraldroldan.paypal.me 



Amiel Gerald Roldan

September 6, 2025  


I'm trying to complement my writings with helpful inputs from AI through writing. Bear with me as I am treating this blog as repositories and drafts.   


please comment and tag if you like my compilations.  


amiel_roldan@outlook.com

amielgeraldroldan@gmail.com



If you like my concept research, writing explorations, 

and/or simple writings please support me by sending 

me a coffee treat at GCash/GXI 09163112211 orhttp://paypal.me/AmielGeraldRoldan

Amiel Gerald A. Roldan: a multidisciplinary Filipino artist, poet, researcher, and cultural worker whose practice spans painting, printmaking, photography, installation, academic writing, and trauma-informed mythmaking. He is deeply rooted in cultural memory, postcolonial critique, and speculative cosmology, and you bridge creative practice with scholarly infrastructure—building counter-archives, annotating speculative poetry like Southeast Asian manuscripts, and fostering regional solidarity through ethical collaboration.


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