Salute to the peoples of Burma/Myanmar
We only have pots and pans
And a three-finger salute
To ward off evil sweeping our land
Beasts posing behind creased uniforms,
Stars on their shoulders
We only have pots and pans
And a three-finger salute
To dodge and do battle with rubber and bullets
From snipers and cowards behind iron behemoths
And rage against our stolen freedoms
We only have pots and pans
And a three-finger salute
Our votes. Our voices
To confront the brute force of overstaying generals and greedy elites
Who pillage our lands, our rivers, our jade and our blood
We only have pots and pans
And a three-finger salute
To rally in the townships, in factories, in hospitals, universities and streets
Across Irrawaddy, our vast plains and mountains
We only have pots and pans
And a three-finger salute
In solidarity with friends all over the world
Showing that we are a people unchained, unbowed, united in purpose
Kachin, Rohingya, Rakhine, Kayin, Mon, Karen, Karenni, Kayah, Shan, Wa, Chin, Bamar
We only have pots and pans
And a three-finger salute
To remind ourselves
That we are no longer cowed. We will fight to the end
With our feeble yet defiant barricades, with our blood and lives if need be
Until
Our pots and pans are crumpled and beaten
Our three-finger salutes are stiffened and hardened
In defending and asserting democracy
Until
We slay the monsters
Our pagodas reverberate with chants
Our lakes are swum, there is dancing in the streets
And our people are finally set free.
Gus Miclat
March 23, 2021
Gus Miclat read this at a Human Rights meeting in the Philippines.
