Gumamela Is Still Red

In whatever season

The gumamela will grow and

Bloom throughout the land

The long years shall not fade

The redness of its petals

Nor efface the lushness of its leaves

the gumamela is still red

I am delighted and honored to write this foreword to Joven Obrero's The Gumamela Is Still Red, the sequel to her Warriors, Poets and Friends. These two books of poetry reflect the revolutionary struggle of the people for national and social liberation in Mindanao and the outstanding participation of the author, especially in educational and cultural work.

I appreciate Obrero's use of the gumamela as the metaphor for the revolutionary struggle of the people. It is a plant with large vibrant red flowers that grows abundantly on the mountains, hills and plains of the Philippines. This key metaphor indicates the keen poetic imagination of the author who grasps what is meaningful and beautiful ....

The current book of poems of Obrero deserves to be read by all Filipino patriots and revolutionaries and by all foreign friends in solidarity with them. She is an excellent poet with the noblest sense of revolutionary vision and mission. Her poems are finely crafted to express in concrete terms and natural imagery the heroism, hard struggle, sacrifices and aspirations of the communist cadres, Red fighters and the masses.

--Jose Ma. Sison