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| (Image by Paul Whiting) |
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
They won the battle—
though they lost the war! Hurrah,
"Cinco de Mayo!"
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., Small All White in the Forest)
"I am no barrier to its sun; the light and I are as one!"
My Poetic Notes:
The reason that I wrote this poem can be summed up with the following statement: What the phrase "They won the battle—though they lost the war" means to me is this: The Mexican army of 4,000 that was led by General Ignacio Zaragoza—which was smaller and not-as-well equipped or trained—defeated the larger, much-better equipped and trained invading French army of 8,000 that was sent by Napoleon III.
And although the Mexican army lost at the Second Battle of Puebla, to a French army of 30,000 troops, the Mexican army was still able to defeat the invading French army at the first Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862! Hence, the name of "Cinco de Mayo," which is Spanish for "Fifth of May."
And, by the way, Cinco de Mayo is not to be confused with Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16th each year, commemorating the "Grito de Dolores" in 1810, which is Spanish for "Cry of Dolores." And the 'Grito de Dolores' initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain—which occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on September 16th, 1810—when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence.
Also, beginning in January 2013, I tried to create a post for virtually every holiday and special occasion of which I was aware, but I realized by September 2014 that I did not have enough time and energy to continue posting for every holiday and special occasion. And I decided to keep the poems in that series which were the most relevant to this blog, of which this is one.
And this poem was also published on my "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this poem applies to the message that I am trying to convey through "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer."
This poem was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://paulwhitingwriting.blogspot.com
"Cinco de Mayo" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia—which is funded primarily through donations from millions of individuals around the world, including this blogger (I make a totally affordable monthly donation):
"Cinco de Mayo (...Spanish for 'Fifth of May') is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. The victory of a smaller, poorly equipped Mexican force against the larger and better-armed French army was a morale boost for the Mexicans. Zaragoza died months after the battle from an illness, and a larger French force ultimately defeated the Mexican army at the Second Battle of Puebla and occupied Mexico City.
More popular in the United States than in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture. Celebrations began in California, where they have been observed annually since 1863. ... In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades or battle reenactments. The city of Puebla marks the event with various festivals and reenactments of the battle.
Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken for Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16, commemorating the Cry of Dolores in 1810, which initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain. Cinco de Mayo has been referenced and featured in entertainment media, and has become an increasingly global celebration of Mexican culture, cuisine, and heritage."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo
This "Small All White in the Forest" Post No. 157 was edited on December 7th, 2023.
"Poetry is using the fewest words possible in order to describe all that is possible to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
My poems that are Haiku in their style—within which one stanza is composed of three lines, where each line has words containing five syllables, seven syllables and five syllables, respectively—are a lot more like Senryū poems in that the topic of these poems is typically about people, rather than the topic of these poems being about nature, as is usually the case in classic Haiku poems. And that is why I call these types of poems "Haiku-style." –Paul Whiting [September 19th, 2023]
