To Wilt is to Bloom

Before our interview with Chit Tun, we were treated to a poem reading by Kenneth Wong, from the poet Maung Chaw Nwe. Kenneth also translated the poem from Burmese, and the English version is as follows:

”For flowers,
To wilt is to bloom.
If you pluck one
One more rises.
If you drop two
Two more spring up.

Come! Knock us down,
Wild gust; tumble us,
Cut us down, storming blades,
Blow your hardest, do your worst.
Litter the ground with our buds,
Trample on us, see if we care.

To wilt is to bloom,
That's the flowers' doctrine.
You may crush us, we may fall,
But when we die we rise again.

A revolution poem.”

We thank Maung Chaw Nwe and Kenneth for their contribution, and found the content more than relevant for the interview with Chit Tun particularly, as his talk is mainly about the revolutionary spirit. He details his past year of resisting the military coup and the inner changes that this difficult time brought within. These inspiring words help to frame the interview that comes, thus bringing listeners a nuanced perspective from the ground as the democratic movement carries forward.