“Opened Mind”

(Of Ong’s BEARERS OF SWORD and Of Baytan’s BOTTOM)

Bearer of Swords is about the story of Siu Lan and how the people’s lives around her get so messed-up because of her anxieties. It started when Se Tian Ma – the mother of the western world- foretold a prophecy about Siu Lan’s incoming daughter-in-law Dolores to bring death to the family. Nevertheless, the wedding was pushed through. Dolores bore a child who gave joy to the family and made them forget about the prophecy but there was one thing in the house that Dolores found strange – the praying of the family to the spirits of the dead relatives. When Dolores tried to talk to her husband Leonardo, they quarreled because Leonardo cannot keep his folks from influencing their child; Leonardo even raised the issue that Dolores is to be blamed with his father’s sudden death due to heart attack, as what was foretold by Se Tian Ma that she will bring death to the family. Because of his refusal to talk to his mother, Dolores threatened her husband that she will go away with her child but Leonardo won’t let her go with the child. This argument was heard by Siu Lan, so she decided that she will be the one to walk out from the house and alienate and dedicate herself into reciting her sutras. When it seemed that everything is at place, Dolores brought to their house a religious orphan named Andrea. Andrea became an assistant to Siu Lan. Andrea regularly brings her meals and they even talked about her tragic childhood experiences; but unknowingly, Andrea sees Siu Lan as an instrument of evil. Because of this misconception Andrea killed Siu Lan thinking that she has defeated the evil.

This story is written in a very mysterious format. The first time I read it, I could honestly say I didn’t get its gist but as I went through it again, a realization possessed me. The story tackles about people who are so absorbed by their beliefs that they forget to open their minds to realities. A sort of madness controlled them and led them to their destruction. Also, this story tells about how childhood experiences affect the mindset of a person when he/she becomes an adult. Truly, the rearing days of childhood should be taken cared of so that a person will become an asset to her community and not the other way around.

This story also talks about the Chinese – Filipino tradition. It talks about how contrasting these two cultures in the Philippines but even so, these differences, in one way or another, become a good ingredient in building a better tie. Now, I am more interested in reading about stories written by Filipinos, it helps me understand more on the practices.

Ronald Baytan’s BOTTOM

I wish I could interpret this poem with subtlety. Bottom entails about the intercourse between a man and a gay. Bottom describes the pain a gay feels during those anal activities with their men. It is ironic that what is called making love becomes a fruition of pain. The position of gay people being in the bottom somehow implies their pathetic situation that every time they fall in love they have to be the ones giving everything, the ones who will risk both emotionally and financially..

            The line “Pain must be the price of my submission” simply tackles about the harm that they get when they fall in live. It’s seems that the price of their happiness is a bundle of tears and heart aches. “Things that grow and rip open the sealed vaults of my skin” is a description of how they risk just to give their partners satisfaction and pleasure that which is an exchange of their own body aches “like bricks breaking apart” at their partner’s every plunge.

            I like the phrase “bullets of love”. Love is supposedly a feeling that will cause joy but with the accompaniment of bullets, love becomes a curse that brings anxiety and sorrow for the gay people or to everyone in general.

            I pity the speaker as he said the lines “And it hurts, because nobody, nobody wants to be bottom.” Truly, nobody wants to be in such kind of position because as what my gay friends shared to me… even if they are hurt as long as they can see that their partners enjoy the session, they are also happy and satisfied. I believe this myth must be something gay people should rub out from their psyche.

            BOTTOM is a poem not only about the pain of making love (by gays) but also it implies the discrimination and abuse that the mainstream society puts against the gay circa. Bottom is their position because they are given lesser importance and almost of no importance at all.

            I believe it is now time for the mainstream society to become more aware of the importance of the gay people. We should be open-minded in dealing with these realities. And as we understand how this group behaves we will develop a virtue called respect.