Father Ed de la Torre
Zone 2 Camp Olivas
Untitled Poem

There are smaller prisons
For those who would break down
Bigger and thicker walls
Not to escape
From the rest
But to open up the world
And its future
To people whose hopes
Have faltered in the dark.
Walls break down
When people's hopes rise with the dawn
Melting falsehood and tyranny
With angry noon-heat
Of caring.
There are small prisons
And tighter bars
To keep the spark
Of those who dare love
From lighting a devouring flame
That consumes rust
And purifies gold.


"Father de la Torre, a priest with the Society of the Divine Word, is a leading activist in the National Democratic Front [Philippines]. He was arrested in December 1974, imprisoned and tortured. Because of his commitment and leadership, the government tried recently to assassinate him in prison. Father de la Torre narrowly escaped death."