Isang Dipang Langit

Amado V. Hernandez

Ako'y ipiniit ng linsil na puno

hangad palibhasang diwa ko'y piitin,
katawang marupok, aniya'y pagsuko,
damdami'y supil na't mithiin ay supil.

Ikinulong ako sa kutang malupit:

bato, bakal, punlo, balasik ng bantay;
lubos na tiwalag sa buong daigdig
at inaring kahit buhay man ay patay.

Sa munting dungawan, tanging abot-malas

ay sandipang langit na puno ng luha,
maramot na birang ng pusong may sugat,
watawat ng aking pagkapariwara.

Sintalim ng kidlat ang mata ng tanod,

sa pintong may susi't walang makalapit;
sigaw ng bilanggo sa katabing moog,
anaki'y atungal ng hayop sa yungib.

Ang maghapo'y tila isang tanikala

na kala-kaladkad ng paang madugo
ang buong magdamag ay kulambong luksa
ng kabaong waring lungga ng bilanggo.

Kung minsa'y magdaan ang payak na yabag,

kawil ng kadena ang kumakalanding;

sa maputlang araw saglit ibibilad,

sanlibong aninong iniluwa ng dilim.

Kung minsan, ang gabi'y biglang magulantang

sa hudyat - may takas! - at asod ng punlo;
kung minsa'y tumangis ang lumang batingaw,
sa bitayang moog, may naghihingalo.

At ito ang tanging daigdig ko ngayon bilangguang mandi'y libingan ng buhay;

sampu, dalawampu, at lahat ng taon
ng buong buhay ko'y dito mapipigtal.

Nguni't yaring diwa'y walang takot-hirap

at batis pa rin itong aking puso:
piita'y bahagi ng pakikilamas,
mapiit ay tanda ng di pagsuko.

Ang tao't Bathala ay di natutulog

at di habang araw ang api ay api,
tanang paniniil ay may pagtutuos,
habang may Bastilya'y may bayang gaganti.

At bukas, diyan din, aking matatanaw

sa sandipang langit na wala nang luha,
sisikat ang gintong araw ng tagumpay...
layang sasalubong ako sa paglaya!

An Arm's Length Piece of the Sky

I am held by an evil leader

seeking to cage my thoughts,
a body weak, he says, is surrender,
emotions suppressed, advocacy hindered.

I am kept in a cruel place:

rock, steel, bullets, ferocious guards;
isolated from the world
alive, treated as dead.

From the little window, my sole consolation

is an arm's length piece of the sky, full of tears,
a paltry handkerchip to dress a wounded heart,
flag of my misfortune.

Sharp as lightning are the guards' eyes,

at the gates, with keys, no one can go near;
the scream from a nearby cell
resembles a cave animal's howl.

Days pass like a chain

dragged along by bloody feet,
the nights are a blanket of sorrow
in the coffin-like realm of the jail.

Sometimes, quiet footsteps pass,

with a line ofrattling, clinking chains;
to the pale sun momentarily exposed,

a thousand shadows escape.

Sometimes, the night is awakened

by an alarm - an escapee! - gunfire!
sometimes the old bell cries,
at the execution den, someone lies dying.

And this is my only world nowthe prison house, a graveyard of the living;
ten, twenty, and all of my years
my whole life will be here.

But a resolute mind knows not fear nor agony

and hope still springs in my heart:
imprisonment is part of the struggle,
jail, the fate of the embattled.

Man and God do not sleep

the unfortunate won't stay oppressed,
tyranny has a price to pay,
while a Bastille exists, people will resist.

And tomorrow, in this very place, I will see

an arm's length piece of the sky with no more tears,
the golden sun of victory will shine...
free, freedom I'll embrace!