TOP UNDYING DECLAMATION PIECES
1. "Bad Girl"
Hey! Everybody seems to be staring at me..
You! You! All of you!
How dare you to stare at me?
Why? Is it because I'm a bad girl?
A bad girl I am, A good for nothing teen ager, a problem child?
That's what you call me!
I smoke. I drink. I gamble at my young tender age.
I lie. I cheat, and I could even kill, If I have too.
Yes, I'm a bad girl, but where are my parents?
You! You! You are my good parents?
My good elder brother and sister in this society where I live?
Look…look at me…What have you done to me?
You have pampered and spoiled me, neglected me when I needed you
most!
Entrusted me to a yaya, whose intelligence was much lower than mine!
While you go about your parties, your meetings and gambling session…
Thus… I drifted away from you!
Longing for a father's love, yearning for a mother's care!
As I grew up, everything changed!
You too have changed!
You spent more time in your poker, majong tables, bars and night clubs.
You even landed on the headlines of the newspaper as crooks, peddlers and
racketeers.
Now, you call me names, accuse me of everything I do to myself?
Tell me! How good are you?
If you really wish to ensure my future…
Then hurry….hurry back home! Where I await you, because I need you…
Protect me from all evil influences that will threaten at my very own
understanding…But if I am bad, really bad…then, you've got to help me!
Help me! Oh please…Help me!
2. "Juvenile Delinquent"
Am I a juvenile delinquent? I’m a teenager, I’m young, young at heart in mind. In this position, I’m carefree, I enjoy doing nothing but to drink the wine of pleasure. I seldom go to school, nobody cares!. But instead you can see me roaming around. Standing at the nearby canto (street). Or else standing beside a jukebox stand playing the nerve tickling bugaloo. Those are the reasons, why people, you branded me delinquent, a juvenile delinquent.
My parents ignored me, my teachers sneered at me and my friends, they neglected me. One night I asked my mother to teach me how to appreciate the values in life. Would you care what she told me? "Stop bothering me! Can’t you see? I had to dress up for my mahjong session, some other time my child". I turned to my father to console me, but, what a wonderful thing he told me. "Child, here’s 500 bucks, get it and enjoy yourself, go and ask your teachers that question".
And in school, I heard nothing but the echoes of the voices of my teachers torturing me with these words. "Why waste your time in studying, you can’t even divide 100 by 5! Go home and plant sweet potatoes".
I may have the looks of Audrey Hepburn, the calmly voice of Nathalie Cole. But that’s not what you can see in me. Here’s a young girl who needs counsel to enlighten her way and guidance to strenghten her life into contentment.
Honorable judge, friends and teachers…is this the girl whom you commented a juvenile delinquent?.
My parents ignored me, my teachers sneered at me and my friends, they neglected me. One night I asked my mother to teach me how to appreciate the values in life. Would you care what she told me? "Stop bothering me! Can’t you see? I had to dress up for my mahjong session, some other time my child". I turned to my father to console me, but, what a wonderful thing he told me. "Child, here’s 500 bucks, get it and enjou yourself, go and ask your teachers that question".
And in school, I heard nothing but the echoes of the voices of my teachers torturing me with these words. "Why waste your time in studying, you can’t even divide 100 by 5! Go home and plant sweet potatoes".
I may have the looks of Audrey Hepburn, the calmly voice of Nathalie Cole. But that’s not what you can see in me. Here’s a young girl who needs counsel to enlighten her way and guidance to strenghten her life into contentment.
Honorable judge, friends and teachers…is this the girl whom you commented a juvenile delinquent?.
3. "The Unpardonable Crime"
this was an old St. Bernard, who used to come and lay his big head with its mournful eyes on Christophe's knees when Christophe was sitting on the seat in front of the house. They would look long at each other. Christophe would not drive him away Unlike the sick Goethe, the dog's eyes had no uneasiness for him Unlike him, he had no desire to cry:
"Go away! . . . Thou goblin thou shalt not catch me, whatever thou doest!"
He asked nothing better than to be engrossed by the dog's suppliant sleepy eyes and to help the beast: he felt that there must be behind them an imprisoned soul imploring his aid.
In those hours when he was weak with suffering, torn alive away from life, devoid of human egoism, he saw the victims of men, the field of battle in which man triumphed in the bloody slaughter of all other creatures: and his heart was filled with pity and horror. Even in the days when he had been happy he had always loved the beasts: he had never been able to bear cruelty towards them: he had always had a detestation of sport, which he had never dared to express for fear of ridicule: but his feeling of repulsion had been the secret cause of the apparently inexplicable feeling of dislike he had had for certain men: he had never been able to admit to his friendship a man who could kill an animal for pleasure. It was not sentimentality: no one knew better than he that life is based on suffering and infinite cruelty: no man can live without making others suffer. It is no use closing our eyes and fobbing ourselves off with words. It is no use either coming to the conclusion that we must renounce life and sniveling like children. No. We must kill to live, if, at the time, there is no other means of living. But the man who kills for the sake of killing is a miscreant. An unconscious miscreant, I know. But, all the same, a miscreant. The continual endeavor of man should be to lessen the sum of suffering and cruelty: that is the first duty of humanity.
In ordinary life those ideas remained buried in Christophe's inmost heart. He refused to think of them. What was the good? What could he do? He had to be Christophe, he had to accomplish his work, live at all costs, live at the cost of the weak. ... It was not he who had made the universe. . . . Better not think of it, better not think of it. ...
But when unhappiness had dragged him down, him, too, to the level of the vanquished, he had to think of these things. Only a little while ago he had blamed Olivier for plunging into futile remorse and vain compassion for all the wretchedness that men suffer and inflict. Now he went even farther: with all the vehemence of his mighty nature he probed to the depths of the tragedy of the universe: he suffered all the sufferings of the world, and was left raw and bleeding. He could not think of the animals without shuddering in anguish. He looked into the eyes of the beasts and saw there a soul like his own, a soul which could not speak: but the eyes cried for it:
"What have I done to you? Why do you hurt me?" He could not bear to see the most ordinary sights that he had seen hundreds of times —a calf crying in a wicker pen, with its big, protruding eyes, with their bluish whites and pink lids, and white lashes, its curly white tufts on its forehead, its purple snout, its knock-kneed legs:—a lamb being carried by a peasant with its four legs tied together, hanging head down, trying to hold its head up, moaning like a child, bleating and lolling its gray tongue:—fowls huddled together in a basket:—the distant squeals of a pig being bled to death:—a fish being cleaned on the kitchen-table. . . . The nameless tortures which men inflict on such innocent creatures made his heart ache. Grant animals a ray of reason, imagine what a frightful nightmare the world is to them: a dream of cold-blooded men, blind and deaf, cutting their throats, slitting them open, gutting them, cutting them into pieces, cooking them alive, sometimes laughing at them and their contortions as they writhe in agony. Is there anything more atrocious among the cannibals of Africa? To a man whose mind is free there is something even more intolerable in the sufferings of animals than in the sufferings of men. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and that the man who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any man were to refer to it, he would be thought ridiculous.—And that is the unpardonable crime. That alone is the justification of all that men may suffer. It cries vengeance upon God. If there exists a good God, then even the most humble of living things must be saved. If God is good only to the strong, if there is no justice for the weak and lowly, for the poor creatures who are offered up as a sacrifice to humanity, then there is no such thing as goodness, no such thing as justice.
4. "No Pardon For Me"
I'm sentenced.
Sentenced to life in this dank cell
of misery.
I can see the key-
it hangs there,
just out my finger's reach,
dangling there in a mock of freedom.
There will be no pardon for me,
no stay of this execution.
My life has convicted me
for crimes I did not commit.
My penalty meted out.
I followed every rule,
broke no laws,
have more than paid my fines
to society's shun upon me.
There was no fair trial,
no chance for me to plead my case.
The jurors were sent from hell,
quick to judgement
and showed no mercy
as they read their verdict.
Life/Death, what does it matter?
Its all the same in this prison.
I am but a mere victim,
the criminal has gotten away,
while I do the time
for fate's crimes against me.
I can't escape the hounds they'd release,
should I attemp escape,
for the walls and barbed wires
are too painful to scale
and the hounds would scent my fear.
So I sit here,
waiting...
waiting for the day they walk me
that longest mile,
waiting for the flow of their poison
to seep within' my veins.
That lethal injection
that will finally end this misery
of a soul so wrongfully convicted to die.
I'm sentenced.
Sentenced to life in this dank cell
of misery.
I can see the key-
it hangs there,
just out my finger's reach,
dangling there in a mock of freedom.
There will be no pardon for me,
no stay of this execution.
My life has convicted me
for crimes I did not commit.
My penalty meted out.
I followed every rule,
broke no laws,
have more than paid my fines
to society's shun upon me.
There was no fair trial,
no chance for me to plead my case.
The jurors were sent from hell,
quick to judgement
and showed no mercy
as they read their verdict.
Life/Death, what does it matter?
Its all the same in this prison.
I am but a mere victim,
the criminal has gotten away,
while I do the time
for fate's crimes against me.
I can't escape the hounds they'd release,
should I attemp escape,
for the walls and barbed wires
are too painful to scale
and the hounds would scent my fear.
So I sit here,
waiting...
waiting for the day they walk me
that longest mile,
waiting for the flow of their poison
to seep within' my veins.
That lethal injection
that will finally end this misery
of a soul so wrongfully convicted to die.
5. "The Plea of an Aborted Fetus"
LET THIS PRECIOUS ANGELS LIVE !
"SET ME FREE. LET ME LIVE, I DESERVE TO BE BORN, I WANT TO LIVE. FOR HEAVENS SAKE, HAVE PITY."
Ladies and Gentlemen, dear fathers and mother, listen to my plea, listen to my story. I could have been the 17th Lady President of the Philippines Republic, had you given me the chance to live, had you not deprived me of my life, had you not taken away my privilege to be born.
Some eleven years ago, a healthy ovum started to generate in the womb of a woman with six other children. My coming should be a herald of joy, a symbol of love incarnate but to my mommy it was a burden, a problem, an additional mouth to feed. To Dad, it was a mistake, an effect of Mom's carelessness for not taking the contraceptive pills.
One gloomy day in June, my unexpected coming was confirmed. It was a painful decision. I could sense the imminent danger as Mom got inside the abortion room. I was an unwanted child. No one loved me. No one cared. I was a rejected being, a tiny lump slowly forming into human being with human soul. I was already alive, kicking, struggling. My heart was already beating and my thumb had already the unique mark. As I was holding to my mother's womb a splash of heat came all over me. I writhed in extreme pain.
-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not the flesh of your own flesh, the blood of your own blood?"
The rubber suction caught my tiny limbs and mercilessly twisted it slowly cutting it from my body. I struggled for my life. 1,2,3 and the first part of me came out.
-- "Mom, why have you permitted this? Am I not Dad's pledge of love to you?"
Then it was followed by another rubber suction sucking the other part moving it with force until both were fully amputated.
-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not God's image you promised to love and protect?"
Then i felt shaken once, twice, several times until I do not know anymore what has been going around. I gushed forth my last breath...
Then came the final blow, my head - the abortionist termed as No. I was totally cut from my torso: total annihilation.
GONE IS MY CHANCE TO LEAD A HEALTHY NORMAL LIFE.
GONE IS MY CHANCE TO BEHOLD THE MANY LOVELY THINGS GOD CREATED FOR US.
GONE IS THE PROMISE OF A BLISSFUL LIFE.
LET THIS PRECIOUS ANGELS LIVE !
"SET ME FREE. LET ME LIVE, I DESERVE TO BE BORN, I WANT TO LIVE. FOR HEAVENS SAKE, HAVE PITY."
Ladies and Gentlemen, dear fathers and mother, listen to my plea, listen to my story. I could have been the 17th Lady President of the Philippines Republic, had you given me the chance to live, had you not deprived me of my life, had you not taken away my privilege to be born.
Some eleven years ago, a healthy ovum started to generate in the womb of a woman with six other children. My coming should be a herald of joy, a symbol of love incarnate but to my mommy it was a burden, a problem, an additional mouth to feed. To Dad, it was a mistake, an effect of Mom's carelessness for not taking the contraceptive pills.
One gloomy day in June, my unexpected coming was confirmed. It was a painful decision. I could sense the imminent danger as Mom got inside the abortion room. I was an unwanted child. No one loved me. No one cared. I was a rejected being, a tiny lump slowly forming into human being with human soul. I was already alive, kicking, struggling. My heart was already beating and my thumb had already the unique mark. As I was holding to my mother's womb a splash of heat came all over me. I writhed in extreme pain.
-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not the flesh of your own flesh, the blood of your own blood?"
The rubber suction caught my tiny limbs and mercilessly twisted it slowly cutting it from my body. I struggled for my life. 1,2,3 and the first part of me came out.
-- "Mom, why have you permitted this? Am I not Dad's pledge of love to you?"
Then it was followed by another rubber suction sucking the other part moving it with force until both were fully amputated.
-- "Mom, why have you done this to me? Am I not God's image you promised to love and protect?"
Then i felt shaken once, twice, several times until I do not know anymore what has been going around. I gushed forth my last breath...
Then came the final blow, my head - the abortionist termed as No. I was totally cut from my torso: total annihilation.
GONE IS MY CHANCE TO LEAD A HEALTHY NORMAL LIFE.
GONE IS MY CHANCE TO BEHOLD THE MANY LOVELY THINGS GOD CREATED FOR US.
GONE IS THE PROMISE OF A BLISSFUL LIFE.
6. "I Killed Her"
Ladies and Gentlemen of this honorable court, please listen to me, listen to my story before you give my verdict. I am Dr. Reyes, a cancer specialist. I was born in a slum district of Batalon. My father oh! I don't know him for I am a child of faith. My mother brought me up in such determination and my ambition was to escape the filthy and horrible place of Batalon. I was nourished with hope that someday I might live a life different from her. My mother had a burning faith that she turned the nights into days. All her efforts were not in vain for I pushed through with flying colors. My mother who had given her whole life to me had tears in her eyes as she pinned the gold medal on my proud chest.
Later on, I was sent as a scholar of the Philippines to the United States of America. I embraced my mother… tightly as I've reached the plane….."Mother, mother,.." I whispered. You will always be my best mother in the world.
After four years, I came back with laurels. I became a cancer specialist. I gave my mother everything but I was too late. I who had used to ease the pain of many, came too late for the life of my dying mother. I gave the best treatment but the grasp of death was so tight around her. My God, what is the use of ten years of study if I couldn't even use it at my mother's pain.
Then one night, I heard a strange cry. I run to her room. "Do you love me, child?"… she asked, as I embrace her. " Yes, mother….. If only I could get all your pain and agonies…"
" Then….. if you love me, end my sufferings, kill me… Let me die."
"But, mother, I promise to give life and not to end it."
God…. She did not deserve the unhappiness. She deserves to be happy.
I run to my room and came back with a syringe.
"Mother, forgive me…. God, please understand me…."
"Mother, mother, you must not die….. Don't leave, I love you. It was only a distilled water…..Mother…… Mother……. MOTHER……"
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, give me your verdict. Yes, it was only distilled water which ended the sufferings of my mother.
Judge me….. Punish me………
GO, punish me………….. Thy will be done!!
7. “Conscience”
I wept, I cried so hard. But this tears can’t bring back my sister to life. My being brought here by my conscience. I want to ask forgiveness. But can she still hear? O heart, forgive me for what I have done, please bring peace to mind.
Dry leaves were crushed down below. As if to freshen my memories that her life perished because of my selfishness.
She was my only sister. Since our childhood, I always believed that I was the favorite of our dad. One night, while I was facing all about to the mirror, with my micro mini, I puffed powder, when I saw Luisa’s face, reflecting in the mirror. "You can’t get out tonight, Lucille." I heard a threatening tone from her. I turned to her, but I can’t resist at her sharp stare at me. "And who says so, my dear sister?" "We are to celebrate Momma’s death anniversary, you know that don’t you?" In a relaxed and condescending voice, I replied "well I don’t care. I’m going out to party tonight!"
Then I heard a knock on the door. I shouted "Help Papa!" for I knew that it was he. I pulled my hair, I tore my dress away as I was attacked by a squad of monstrous creatures. When the door opened the site Papa saw was that Luisa was holding my neck who was trying to make a rescue. But I cried so hard that made Papa grew to the height of anger. He threw Luisa to the corner, where the head of my poor sister was hit at the edge of the chair.
I slowly rejoiced for I have made a successful revenge. But when she lifted, I saw a different sparkle in her tearful eyes. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" O my, Luisa, she went out of her mind. I was not able to move, as well as Papa. Both of us were motionless. And before we returned to our senses, Luisa ran to the door and proceeded to the open gate of our house. We followed her calling out her name. "Luisa!" "Sister!" "Luisa" "Sister" "Luisa the Truck!" "Don’t cross the road, Luisa, the truck don’t Don’t DON’T!"
The next sight I saw was that Luisa was thrown five meters away from the truck. I ran to her and embraced her. Blood was all over her face. In a low but distinct voice she murmured, that made my heart break so much. She said, "Lucille, please be a good girl. I love you. Please be a good girl ‘coz Papa loves you very much."
"Luisa? Luisa? Sister… sister!!!" From that moment I cried so hard for killing my only sister, who loved and cared for me, even at the last moment of her life.
Now can you blame me, for asking God to forgive me? Forgive me dear God, Forgive me!
I wept, I cried so hard. But this tears can’t bring back my sister to life. My being brought here by my conscience. I want to ask forgiveness. But can she still hear? O heart, forgive me for what I have done, please bring peace to mind.
Dry leaves were crushed down below. As if to freshen my memories that her life perished because of my selfishness.
She was my only sister. Since our childhood, I always believed that I was the favorite of our dad. One night, while I was facing all about to the mirror, with my micro mini, I puffed powder, when I saw Luisa’s face, reflecting in the mirror. "You can’t get out tonight, Lucille." I heard a threatening tone from her. I turned to her, but I can’t resist at her sharp stare at me. "And who says so, my dear sister?" "We are to celebrate Momma’s death anniversary, you know that don’t you?" In a relaxed and condescending voice, I replied "well I don’t care. I’m going out to party tonight!"
Then I heard a knock on the door. I shouted "Help Papa!" for I knew that it was he. I pulled my hair, I tore my dress away as I was attacked by a squad of monstrous creatures. When the door opened the site Papa saw was that Luisa was holding my neck who was trying to make a rescue. But I cried so hard that made Papa grew to the height of anger. He threw Luisa to the corner, where the head of my poor sister was hit at the edge of the chair.
I slowly rejoiced for I have made a successful revenge. But when she lifted, I saw a different sparkle in her tearful eyes. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" O my, Luisa, she went out of her mind. I was not able to move, as well as Papa. Both of us were motionless. And before we returned to our senses, Luisa ran to the door and proceeded to the open gate of our house. We followed her calling out her name. "Luisa!" "Sister!" "Luisa" "Sister" "Luisa the Truck!" "Don’t cross the road, Luisa, the truck don’t Don’t DON’T!"
The next sight I saw was that Luisa was thrown five meters away from the truck. I ran to her and embraced her. Blood was all over her face. In a low but distinct voice she murmured, that made my heart break so much. She said, "Lucille, please be a good girl. I love you. Please be a good girl ‘coz Papa loves you very much."
"Luisa? Luisa? Sister… sister!!!" From that moment I cried so hard for killing my only sister, who loved and cared for me, even at the last moment of her life.
Now can you blame me, for asking God to forgive me? Forgive me dear God, Forgive me!
8. “Am I to be Blamed?”
They’re chasing me, they’re chasing, no they must not catch me, I have enough money now, yes enough for my starving mother and brothers.
Please let me go, let me go home before you imprisoned me. Very well, officers? take me to your headquarters. Good morning captain! no captain, you are mistaken, I was once a good girl, just like the rest of you here. Just like any of your daughters. But time was, when I was reared in slums. But we lived honestly, we lived honestly in life. My, father, mother, brothers, sisters and I. But then, poverty enters the portals of our home. My father became jobless, my mother got ill. The small savings that my mother had kept for our expenses were spent. All for our daily needs and her needed medicine.
One night, my father went out, telling us that he would come back in a few minutes with plenty of foods and money, but that was the last time I saw him. He went with another woman. If only I could lay my hands on his neck I would wring it without pain until he breaths no more. If you were in my place, you’ll do it, won’t you Captain? What? you won’t still believe in me?. Come and I’ll show you a dilapidated shanty by a railroad.
Mother, mother I’m home, mother? mother?!. There Captain, see my dead mother. Captain? there are tears in your eyes? now pack this stolen money and return it to the owner. What good would this do to my mother now? she’s already gone! Do you hear me? she’s already gone. Am I to be blamed for the things I have done?
They’re chasing me, they’re chasing, no they must not catch me, I have enough money now, yes enough for my starving mother and brothers.
Please let me go, let me go home before you imprisoned me. Very well, officers? take me to your headquarters. Good morning captain! no captain, you are mistaken, I was once a good girl, just like the rest of you here. Just like any of your daughters. But time was, when I was reared in slums. But we lived honestly, we lived honestly in life. My, father, mother, brothers, sisters and I. But then, poverty enters the portals of our home. My father became jobless, my mother got ill. The small savings that my mother had kept for our expenses were spent. All for our daily needs and her needed medicine.
One night, my father went out, telling us that he would come back in a few minutes with plenty of foods and money, but that was the last time I saw him. He went with another woman. If only I could lay my hands on his neck I would wring it without pain until he breaths no more. If you were in my place, you’ll do it, won’t you Captain? What? you won’t still believe in me?. Come and I’ll show you a dilapidated shanty by a railroad.
Mother, mother I’m home, mother? mother?!. There Captain, see my dead mother. Captain? there are tears in your eyes? now pack this stolen money and return it to the owner. What good would this do to my mother now? she’s already gone! Do you hear me? she’s already gone. Am I to be blamed for the things I have done?
9. “A Glass of Cold Water”
Everybody calls me young, beautiful, wonderful. Am I? Look at my hair, my lips, my red rosy cheeks and a pair of blinkering eyes.
I remember, somebody says that I look like my mother that I look like my mother. But that when she was young.
Now, I am much lovelier than she is. I’m a mortal Venus. Oops! What time is it? I must get ready for the party!
Beep-beep…!A-huh! Here they are! Yes, I’m coming!
"Child, are you still there?"
"Hmp! That’s my mama"
"Child, are you still there? Will you please get me a glass of cold water?"
"Mama, I’m in a hurry!"
"Please child, try to get me a glass of cold water."
"Mama, please, try to get it on your own."
"Please child, try to get me a glass of cold water!"
At the party, I danced and danced the whole night.
You see, I can’t leave the party at once. I have to danced with everybody who proposed to me. At last, the party is over. I’m very tired. Very, very tired.
So, I went home to tell mama what happened.
"Mama, I’m home! It’s very quiet. "Mama, I’m home!" Nobody answers.
Where is she? I look for her in the sala, but she’s not there. Where is she? A-huh! In the kitchen!
I saw my mama, lying down on the floor, dead. With a glass on her hand. I remember, she tried to get it.
Oh, God, just for the glass of cold water! Mama! Mama! Oh, Mama!
Everybody calls me young, beautiful, wonderful. Am I? Look at my hair, my lips, my red rosy cheeks and a pair of blinkering eyes.
I remember, somebody says that I look like my mother that I look like my mother. But that when she was young.
Now, I am much lovelier than she is. I’m a mortal Venus. Oops! What time is it? I must get ready for the party!
Beep-beep…!A-huh! Here they are! Yes, I’m coming!
"Child, are you still there?"
"Hmp! That’s my mama"
"Child, are you still there? Will you please get me a glass of cold water?"
"Mama, I’m in a hurry!"
"Please child, try to get me a glass of cold water."
"Mama, please, try to get it on your own."
"Please child, try to get me a glass of cold water!"
At the party, I danced and danced the whole night.
You see, I can’t leave the party at once. I have to danced with everybody who proposed to me. At last, the party is over. I’m very tired. Very, very tired.
So, I went home to tell mama what happened.
"Mama, I’m home! It’s very quiet. "Mama, I’m home!" Nobody answers.
Where is she? I look for her in the sala, but she’s not there. Where is she? A-huh! In the kitchen!
I saw my mama, lying down on the floor, dead. With a glass on her hand. I remember, she tried to get it.
Oh, God, just for the glass of cold water! Mama! Mama! Oh, Mama!
10. “Vengeance Is Not Ours, It’s God’s”
Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged.Why are you staring at me? With my eyes I cannot see but I know that you are all staring at me. Why are you whispering to one another? Why? Do you know my mother? Do you know my father? Did you know me five years ago?
Yes, five years of bitterness have passed. I can still remember the vast happiness mother and I shared with each other. We were very happy indeed.
Suddenly, five loud knocks were heard on the door and a deep silence ensued. Did the cruel Nippon’s discover our peaceful home? Mother ran to Father’s side pleading. “Please, Luis, hide in the cellar, there in the cellar where they cannot find you,” I pulled my father’s arm but he did not move. It seemed as though his feet were glued to the floor.
The door went “bang” and before us five ugly beasts came barging in. “Are you Captain Luis Santos?” roared the ugliest of them all. “Yes,” said my father. “You are under arrest,” said one of the beasts. They pulled father roughly away from us. Father was not given a chance to bid us goodbye.
We followed them mile after mile. We were hungry and thirsty. We saw group of Japanese eating. Oh, how our mouths watered seeing the delicious fruits they were eating,
Then suddenly, we heard a voice call, “Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . . Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . . Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . .” we ran towards the direction of the voice, but it was too late. We saw father hanging on a tree. . . . dead. Oh, it was terrible. He had been badly beaten before he died. . . . and I cried vengeance, vengeance, vengeance! Everything went black. The next thing I knew I was nursing my poor invalid mother.
One day, we heard the church bell ringing “ding-dong, ding-dong!” It was a sign for us to find a shelter in our hide-out, but I could not leave my invalid mother, I tried to show her the way to the hide-out.
Suddenly, bombs started falling; airplanes were roaring overhead, canyons were firing from everywhere. “Boom, boom, boom, boom!” Mother was hit. Her legs were shattered into pieces. I took her gently in my arms and cried, “I’ll have vengeance, vengeance!” “No, Oscar. Vengeance, it’s God’s,” said mother.
But I cried out vengeance. I was like a pent-up volcano. “Vengeance is mine not the Lord’s”. “No, Oscar. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God’s” these were the words from my mother before she died.
Mother was dead and I was blind. Vengeance is not ours? To forgive is divine but vengeance is sweeter. That was five years ago, five years. . . .
Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God’s. . . . It’s. . . . God’s. . It’s…
Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged.Why are you staring at me? With my eyes I cannot see but I know that you are all staring at me. Why are you whispering to one another? Why? Do you know my mother? Do you know my father? Did you know me five years ago?
Yes, five years of bitterness have passed. I can still remember the vast happiness mother and I shared with each other. We were very happy indeed.
Suddenly, five loud knocks were heard on the door and a deep silence ensued. Did the cruel Nippon’s discover our peaceful home? Mother ran to Father’s side pleading. “Please, Luis, hide in the cellar, there in the cellar where they cannot find you,” I pulled my father’s arm but he did not move. It seemed as though his feet were glued to the floor.
The door went “bang” and before us five ugly beasts came barging in. “Are you Captain Luis Santos?” roared the ugliest of them all. “Yes,” said my father. “You are under arrest,” said one of the beasts. They pulled father roughly away from us. Father was not given a chance to bid us goodbye.
We followed them mile after mile. We were hungry and thirsty. We saw group of Japanese eating. Oh, how our mouths watered seeing the delicious fruits they were eating,
Then suddenly, we heard a voice call, “Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . . Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . . Consuelo. . . . Oscar. . . .” we ran towards the direction of the voice, but it was too late. We saw father hanging on a tree. . . . dead. Oh, it was terrible. He had been badly beaten before he died. . . . and I cried vengeance, vengeance, vengeance! Everything went black. The next thing I knew I was nursing my poor invalid mother.
One day, we heard the church bell ringing “ding-dong, ding-dong!” It was a sign for us to find a shelter in our hide-out, but I could not leave my invalid mother, I tried to show her the way to the hide-out.
Suddenly, bombs started falling; airplanes were roaring overhead, canyons were firing from everywhere. “Boom, boom, boom, boom!” Mother was hit. Her legs were shattered into pieces. I took her gently in my arms and cried, “I’ll have vengeance, vengeance!” “No, Oscar. Vengeance, it’s God’s,” said mother.
But I cried out vengeance. I was like a pent-up volcano. “Vengeance is mine not the Lord’s”. “No, Oscar. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God’s” these were the words from my mother before she died.
Mother was dead and I was blind. Vengeance is not ours? To forgive is divine but vengeance is sweeter. That was five years ago, five years. . . .
Alms, alms, alms. Spare me a piece of bread. Spare me your mercy. I am a child so young, so thin, and so ragged. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God’s. . . . It’s. . . . God’s. . It’s…
11. Parricide
"Your honor, as I do not wish to go to an insane asylum, and as I even prefer death to that, I will tell everything."I killed this man and this woman because they were my parents."Now, listen, and judge me.
"A woman, having given birth to a boy, sent him out, somewhere, to a nurse. Did she even know where her accomplice carried this innocent little being, condemned to eternal misery, to the shame of an illegitimate birth; to more than that--to death, since he was abandoned and the nurse, no longer receiving the monthly pension, might, as they often do, let him die of hunger and neglect!
"The woman who nursed me was honest, better, more noble, more of a mother than my own mother. She brought me up. She did wrong in doing her duty. It is more humane to let them die, these little wretches who are cast away in suburban villages just as garbage is thrown away.
"I grew up with the indistinct impression that I was carrying some burden of shame. One day the other children called me a 'b-----'. They did not know the meaning of this word, which one of them had heard at home. I was also ignorant of its meaning, but I felt the sting all the same.
"I was, I may say, one of the cleverest boys in the school. I would have been a good man, your honor, perhaps a man of superior intellect, if my parents had not committed the crime of abandoning me.
"This crime was committed against me. I was the victim, they were the guilty ones. I was defenseless, they were pitiless. Their duty was to love me, they rejected me.
"I owed them life--but is life a boon? To me, at any rate, it was a misfortune. After their shameful desertion, I owed them only vengeance. They committed against me the most inhuman, the most infamous, the most monstrous crime which can be committed against a human creature.
"A man who has been insulted, strikes; a man who has been robbed, takes back his own by force. A man who has been deceived, played upon, tortured, kills; a man who has been slapped, kills; a man who has been dishonored, kills. I have been robbed, deceived, tortured, morally slapped, dishonored, all this to a greater degree than those whose anger you excuse.
"I revenged myself, I killed. It was my legitimate right. I took their happy life in exchange for the terrible one which they had forced on me.
"You will call me parricide! Were these people my parents, for whom I was an abominable burden, a terror, an infamous shame; for whom my birth was a calamity and my life a threat of disgrace? They sought a selfish pleasure; they got an unexpected child. They suppressed the child. My turn came to do the same for them.
"And yet, up to quite recently, I was ready to love them.
"As I have said, this man, my father, came to me for the first time two years ago. I suspected nothing. He ordered two pieces of furniture. I found out, later on, that, under the seal of secrecy, naturally, he had sought information from the priest.
"He returned often. He gave me a lot of work and paid me well. Sometimes he would even talk to me of one thing or another. I felt a growing affection for him.
"At the beginning of this year he brought with him his wife, my mother. When she entered she was trembling so that I thought her to be suffering from some nervous disease. Then she asked for a seat and a glass of water. She said nothing; she looked around abstractedly at my work and only answered 'yes' and 'no,' at random, to all the questions which he asked her. When she had left I thought her a little unbalanced.
"The following month they returned. She was calm, self-controlled. That day they chattered for a long time, and they left me a rather large order. I saw her three more times, without suspecting anything. But one day she began to talk to me of my life, of my childhood, of my parents. I answered: 'Madame, my parents were wretches who deserted me.' Then she clutched at her heart and fell, unconscious. I immediately thought: 'She is my mother!' but I took care not to let her notice anything. I wished to observe her.
"I, in turn, sought out information about them. I learned that they had been married since last July, my mother having been a widow for only three years. There had been rumors that they had loved each other during the lifetime of the first husband, but there was no proof of it. I was the proof--the proof which they had at first hidden and then hoped to destroy.
"I waited. She returned one evening, escorted as usual by my father. That day she seemed deeply moved, I don't know why. Then, as she was leaving, she said to me: 'I wish you success, because you seem to me to be honest and a hard worker; some day you will undoubtedly think of getting married. I have come to help you to choose freely the woman who may suit you. I was married against my inclination once and I know what suffering it causes. Now I am rich, childless, free, mistress of my fortune. Here is your dowry.'
"She held out to me a large, sealed envelope.
"I looked her straight in the eyes and then said: 'Are you my mother?'
"She drew back a few steps and hid her face in her hands so as not to see me. He, the man, my father, supported her in his arms and cried out to me: 'You must be crazy!'
"I answered: 'Not in the least. I know that you are my parents. I cannot be thus deceived. Admit it and I will keep the secret; I will bear you no ill will; I will remain what I am, a carpenter.'
"He retreated towards the door, still supporting his wife who was beginning to sob. Quickly I locked the door, put the key in my pocket and continued: 'Look at her and dare to deny that she is my mother.'
"Then he flew into a passion, very pale, terrified at the thought that the scandal, which had so far been avoided, might suddenly break out; that their position, their good name, their honor might all at once be lost. He stammered out: 'You are a rascal, you wish to get money from us! That's the thanks we get for trying to help such common people!'
"My mother, bewildered, kept repeating: 'Let's get out of here, let's get out!'
"Then, when he found the door locked, he exclaimed : 'If you do not open this door immediately, I will have you thrown into prison for blackmail and assault!'
"I had remained calm; I opened the door and saw them disappear in the darkness.
"Then I seemed to have been suddenly orphaned, deserted, pushed to the wall. I was seized with an overwhelming sadness, mingled with anger, hatred, disgust; my whole being seemed to rise up in revolt against the injustice, the meanness, the dishonor, the rejected love. I began to run, in order to overtake them along the Seine, which they had to follow in order to reach the station of Chaton.
"I soon caught up with them. It was now pitch dark. I was creeping up behind them softly, that they might not hear me. My mother was still crying. My father was saying: 'It's all your own fault. Why did you wish to see him? It was absurd in our position. We could have helped him from afar, without showing ourselves. Of what use are these dangerous visits, since we can't recognize him?'
"Then I rushed up to them, beseeching. I cried:
'You see! You are my parents. You have already rejected me once; would you repulse me again?' "Then, your honor, he struck me. I swear it on my honor, before the law and my country. He struck me, and as I seized him by the collar, he drew from his pocket a revolver.
"The blood rushed to my head, I no longer knew what I was doing, I had my compass in my pocket; I struck him with it as often as I could.
"Then she began to cry: 'Help! murder!' and to pull my me. It seems that I killed her also. How do I know what I did then?
"Then, when I saw them both lying on the ground, without thinking, I threw them into the Seine."That's all. Now sentence me."
