This is the final poem, dated 23.02.2021, by K Za Win (1982–2021), who was shot dead by Myanmar security forces at a protest in Monywa on 3 March 2021.

Revolution will be in bloom

only when air, water and earth—

all the nutrients are in agreement.

Before the Revolution opened out,

a bullet blew someone’s brains out,

out on the street.

Did that skull have a message for you?

Faced with the devil

is this or that statement relevant?

In the dharma of dha

you can’t just wave the sword.

Step forward and cut them down!

The Revolution won’t materialise

out of your mere thoughts.

Like blood, one must rise.

Don’t ever waver again!

The fuse of the Revolution

is either you or myself!

First published in Adi Magazine, Summer 2021, this poem appeared in Picking Off New Shoots Will Not Stop the Spring: Witness Poems and Essays from Burma/Myanmar 1988-2021, edited by Ko Ko Thett and Brian Haman, and published by Gaudy Boy in North America, Balestier Press in the UK, and Ethos Books in Singapore.