Sonnet Analysis

“Watered Sanctuary”, is a sonnet about the most nerve-racking moments in a competitive swimmer’s career. The sonnet focuses on the moments right before the actual race begins and what is seen through my eyes. I tried to incorporate how tense and focused I felt before every single meet I’ve swam in. Swimming is not an easy sport to do; it takes a lot of dedication and most of all perfect practice to be successful. I thought it would be nice to share a moment to those who don’t know what swimming is like.

The setting of “Watered Sanctuary” took place a couple of years ago at an invitational swim meet during the night. An invitational meet is a three day event where swimmers from all over the islands, and sometimes those from the mainland, gather at the pool to compete! The first opening lines, “Under the tent I stand anxious in place…”
takes you to the timer’s tents where the timer’s sit and swimmers wait for their up-coming event. At this moment I prepare by stretching and always putting my goggles on early, just in case I forget. “staring into the blue with goggles on…”

The focus and concentration I have before any race is a strategy I use to help me swim faster. “…all other thoughts gone, other than a wall and distance ahead…” I was taught to visualize the entire race in my head right before I swim; I visualize my plans for how I would swim my race to full potential. Mental preparation is a secondary key to winning a race.

Now I’m standing behind the blocks, not even noticing the pool’s bowels being churned by raging swimmers in the water, loose and very tense at the same time. In the back of my mind, the official’s whistles scream and all noise stops as the swimmers in the heat before end their mad dash for first place. “…snapped into time from what officials said. Adrenaline pumps…” The only sound audible is the constant banging of my heart as adrenaline pours through my body. Once again there is one long yell of the whistle to signal us to get up onto the blocks.

The few seconds on the blocks are like long agonizing minutes in my mind. Now it is completely silent, not one thing was making sound and my heart felt like it stopped. “… took my mark hanging over the edge of the pool’s reach…” Here is where I am bent down gripping the ends of my block and two toes over its edge. The interesting thing about this moment was that it felt like I was hovering over water. I looked up and saw only water and the lights cascading through the dark sky. I could feel the countless glares of faceless people in the dark abyss of stands surrounding the deck. “Unable to see those in the pitch dark…”

For just one moment that could have cost me that race, I began to think of the beach’s wondrous waves wiping the sand. Oh how I wished I could be with friends at the beach instead of at a long three day weekend spent at the pool. “…wishing that I was playing at the beach.” After all the focusing, tension, adrenaline, and most of all, practice, I realized that I didn’t want to be at the beach but here at the pool. “The pool is my sanctuary, my place…” I would not trade any other feeling for what hard work and dedication can do in just a short race.

Though the pool may not be very kind at times, with a little respect and time I grew to enjoy the water soaring behind me as I course through it, the sound of water being shaken by flesh, and the cool feeling against my body. I may not be the fastest or dedicated swimmer, but I take pride in what I do because I enjoy those few milliseconds where I am about to make my dive and everyone’s attention is on me, and I know my friends and family will be there to cheer me on! To me, swimming isn’t just a sport; it’s where I can get away from the rest of the world, and let myself loose in the water with friends at practice or against other people at meets. The pool is my second home and I would not trade it for any other sport. “The pool is my sanctuary, my place…”

Sonnet

Watered Sanctuary









Under the tent i stand anxious in-place.
Staring into the blue with goggles on,
Stuck in time by the water's complex grace.
My heart racing with all other thoughts gone,

Other than a wall and distance ahead.
Muscles are loose from the warm-up before,
Snapped into time from what officials said:
Adrenaline pumps through my body's core,

I stepped up to the blocks and took my mark
Hanging over the edge of the pool's reach,
Unable to see those in the pitch dark
Wishing that i was playing at the beach.

The pool is my sanctuary, my place,
Knowing I am about to win this race.

Heritage Paper

Heritage Paper


Dominador Marcial was born on February 12, 1918, in Cavite Philippines where he lived the average life of a Filipino. The “average” life of a Filipino was harsh due to constant depression and poverty, and Dominador lived in a small house. Every day he had to go to school and work to support his family. When Dominador was six years old, Avelina Danti was born on March 3, 1924 on the other side of town. These two people would become future husband and wife but not meet for long years to come.
Life proved to be too hard for both Dominador and Avelina. Dominador dropped out of school in 4th grade, and Avelina dropped out in 2nd grade. The year is now 1940 and the two still never met yet. It was during this year, when the Japanese Empire began it’s domination throughout the Pacific, that the bombs began to drop. Avelina was only sixteen and Dominador was 22 when the Japanese started to invade the Philippines. As bombs continued to drop on Cavite, people in town hid in underground bunkers and were forced to live there for days even weeks. Reduced to feeding on cassaba, or sweet potato, and corn for several days, the Filipinos of Cavite suffered a heavy loss.
Hundreds of people who did not make it to the underground shelters in time were killed. People were forced to live in the shelters included wounded and the sick. Disease would spread if people did not get out. So people began to move out of shelters and back into homes while the war was fought further north. Guerilla warfare against the Japanese included many citizens throughout numerous cities and villages. While Avelina was selling fish in the market area when the Japanese reached Cavite and raided the city for every man to be put out in ranks. Dominador was working the family farm when the Japanese came and took him. The Japanese invaders forced a captured Guerilla soldier to point out other Guerilla war fighters in the ranks of men while his/her head was covered in a mask. The Japanese would then take the men pointed out and then execute them. The Japanese would do this in almost every town and in hospitals that aided the Philippine’s army. Dominador was not pointed out but many of his friends were.
The Philippine government called for a draft and enlisted many new recruits including Dominador. So now he was officially involved in WWII. The Philippines was in need of aid from The United States Military and they answered. With U.S. troops fighting in the Philippines and other islands of the Pacific, the Filipinos thought they had the help they needed. Bombings from the Japanese continued and Avelina was forced into constant hiding and working.
In the year 1942, the Battle of Bataan began. After three grueling months of hard fighting, some 76,000 Filipino and U.S. troops surrendered to the Japanese on April 6, 1942 some 10,000 were U.S. soldiers. Dominador was one of the 76,000 soldiers who surrendered, and these POWs (prisoners of war) were forced on the Bataan Death March. The Bataan Death March was a 100 mile march to large POW camp emplacements ran by the Japanese. The Japanese did not expect such a large force to surrender and thought the fighting would continue on. With lack of room for the 76,000 prisoners, they forced them on this treacherous six day march on some of Philippines harshest terrain.
On the Bataan Death March, the prisoners did not receive much water or food the whole way. Over 10,000 prisoners died including 5,000 Americans on this march from dehydration, malnutrition, exhaustion, disease, and from beatings and torture dealt by the Japanese captors. The march finally ends when they reach Camp O’Donnell, a prison camp in the Tarlac province. Around 16,000 died in the camp while some were able to escape, around 54,000 people reached these POW camps. Problems for the Japanese increased and they granted the Filipinos amnesty and released them. The story was not the same for American prisoners; they were moved to a camp in Cabanatuan where they were later freed in 1945 in The Great Raid.
Dominador was freed and moved back to Cavite where he later married Avelina Danti. They became Dominador and Avelina Marcial, and they had a happy life after the war and had six children, one of whom would become the mother of Jerrold and Christel Simms. Life was still difficult for Marcial family, the first two children did not complete school in order for them to help the rest of the family survive and attend school. Alex Marcial, the third born, was the first Marcial to finish college and become famous for tennis. One daughter, Fedilita Marcial, married an American soldier and moved to Guam. Fedilita then petitioned Dominador to Guam while the rest of the kids were old enough to take care of themselves and work. Since Dominador was a POW during WWII, the President of The United States granted him and other ex- POWs amnesty to live in America.
Dominador and his family moved to America where they still live today. Now his family lives in Los Angelis, Oahu, and in Manila, Philippines. In all, Dominador suffered a bayonet laceration on the arm, and terrifying memories of death and war, but he gained freedom and a family that would continue for generations. Dominador went back to the Philippines where he then passed away in peace on September 1987 in his home country which he bravely defended. Today he has a large family with many new grand children being born in the U.S.

My sister, a few cousins, and I were first generation of Dominador Marcial’s family born in America; he would be so proud to see how his success and his trials gave us a better life than he had. If not for my grandfather, I would not be here in America today.

Bibliography

"Bataan Death March." Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia. 26 Jan. 2007. 28 Jan. 2007 .