Inked

In response to 'Tatz'

(Author's Note: The three stars and a sun is in flag of the Philippines.
When there is a war, the Philippine flag gets turned upside down.
"Lupang Hinirang" is the country's national anthem.) 

I may not be inked like you are
I may not experience the pleasure
That comes with pain
When you etch your ancestry

The history of your people
In the depths of your skin
To show the world who you are
But, I am more than that

If I were to ink myself head to toe
And make what makes up my DNA
Visible to everyone

With the history of how
Three stars and a sun with eight rays came to be
And how red is above blue when
Bloodshed and gunfire becomes the only method
To try and claim the land that I belong to

I would turn to ashes

For no amount of ink
That covers my body will ever be enough
To bear the history of my beloved land

So, with my right hand over my heart
I will sing my “Lupang Hinirang”

And claim the ancestry and history
That is forever wrapped
Inside and around my flesh and bones