Valor, Forgotten Over Coffee

a poem by Roger B. Rueda

On April’s ninth, the flag is raised with pride,          
To honor those who fought through flame and fear.        
Their names carved deep where silent heroes bide,        
While we sip foam and chat of mugs this year.           

No memory of Bataan’s cruel sun,               
No whisper of the march, the bound, the slain.         
Just latte art, and pastries bought for fun—          
Their valor lost beneath a sugar stain.             

The day wears robes of silence, not of flame,          
Its meaning drowned in blends of caramel.           
We mouth the date, but do not speak the name         
Of those who walked through war to shield our shell.      

Yet still, their blood insists we must remember—        
That peace was bought with fire, not sweet December.