Episode 3 -- My unsung heroes, mom and dad.

I began my longest free verse poem nearly a decade ago when I published Unsung Heroes, a four-part poem about my grandparents who each lived incredibly difficult and inspiring lives in different ways during and after the Spanish Civil War, in my first book of poetry, Of Pain and Ecstasy: Collected Poems. In my recently released second book of poems, Echoes of Dawn at Dusk: Collected Poems, Volume 2, I continued that poem, adding a fifth and sixth part for my parents, Felipe and Lita, who themselves lived incredibly difficult lives on three continents and overcame adversity through their work ethic, never once giving up despite overwhelming odds against them, and never once sacrificing what they believed to be right for the sake of expediency. In my dad's case, who died in 2016, I wrote Unsung Heroes #5 days after his passing. My mom's poem, Unsung Heroes #6, I started towards the end of her four-year convalescence and losing battle against the only enemy she could not defeat: dementia. I completed it within days of her death as well in 2018. I could never do them justice and am a poor living  legacy of their lives of sacrifice, sustained hardship and heroic battles overcome by reliance on each other and on their hard work. They rose and fell many times due to circumstances beyond their control--war, corrupt government, unsustainable social policies, health issues and simple bad luck. But they were never victims. They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps when their relative wealth vanished and found a way through honest hard work when businesses failed through unsustainable economic policies, never asking or receiving government help or using available legal means to avoid their obligations. As I wrote in one of my books dedicated to them, no matter what I may achieve in life, I will never be their equal. It at once a source of pride and shame for me, the knowledge that despite having received every advantage thanks to their personal sacrifice and constant support, I could never be the son or legacy they deserved. There is no justice in this world, but I believe that they will have received their just rewards in the next. It is that belief that sustains me.