CANCION NIN MGA TAWONG LIPOD

I
Magdamlag akong nagbaklay
Inaawit an agrangay
Dila tang naghihingagdan

An mga kariribukan,
Magin daing katapusan
Na banggi ka’ning banwaan,

Sinaysay, inawit ko man

Sa tangod asin atubang
Hinuhunang mapaumay.

An lipot nin kadikluman,

Mga saradong puertahan
An saindang kasimbagan.

Igwa man mga nagdungaw

Nagsabing siguro marhay
Kun siya ilubong ko na lang.

Inabot na niya an aldaw

Bagay sanang taan naman
Tamang kapahingaloan.

Huling panahon na ngonian

Kan dilang nasasabutan
Nin kadaklan sa saudan.

Iyan an saindang olay

Maski sa pangiturugan
Mahiwas na kagadanan.

Dinagos ko ang paglakaw

Ta hiling ninda sa dalan
Dai man nin padumanan.

An panahon nangapudan
Dai itugot an ilaw
Mapara sa kabanggihan.

Kaya sakuyang kinabray

Awit sa dilang namotan
Asin dagang namundagan

Abot na sa kalangitan,
Sa dalan sakong madalan
 Pagbutwa kan satong saldang.

II
Pagbutwa kan satong saldang mayong makikilimos sa sementadong dalan
Asin aapodon ining kauswagan,

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong sasakloton sa pangaturugan

Asin ibabandilyo ining katoninongan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong mabutbot sa kaban nin banwaan

Asin oomawon ining katanusan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong tatanuson na mga kaputikan

Asin ipapahiling ini an katotohanan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayon titilokon na mga liog

Asin ikukurahaw ining katalingkasan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong titikoon na tataramon nin Diyos

Asin tatandaan ining kabanalan.

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong matagbang sa hampas sa ibang pangpang

Asin ibabandera may paglaom sa sadiri tang banwaan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong sadit na tawong sisikadan

Asin iririrong ining pagkaburat sa kapangyarihan.

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong mawawara sa kadikluman

Asin itutukdo ining kadunungan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong makurad-kutad an daghan

Asin sisigurohon ining kamurawayan

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong masunod huli sa pantatakot

Asin ibabalangibog ining pagtubod.

Pagbutwa kan satong saldang, mayong matalikod sa nalugadan

Asin isusurat ining pagdamay asin pagkamoot.
 SONG OF THE UNSEEN

I
All night I walked
And sang the lament
Of our dying tongue,

The chaos
And our country’s
Eternal night.

I spoke and sang

Before those I hoped
Could give some comfort.

The cold dark

And close doors
Were their only response.

Some looked out

Their windows and said
Better to bury him,

He should be given
His proper rest
His time is done.

For now’s the time

Of the tongue
Of the marketplace
That was what they thought
Even in their dreams
Where death was widespread.

I continued walking
For they said the road
Would lead nowhere.

But the age called

For the light not to yield
To the night.

So I strummed
A song in my beloved tongue
About my beloved land

My song reached the sky

Until at road’s end
I saw our sun rising.
 II
At the rising of our sun, no beggar will walk the paved streets
and called it progress

At the rising of our sun, no one will be seized at midnight

And announce it as peace

At the rising of our sun, no one will dip in the coffers of government
And praise it as righteousness.

At the rising of our sun no lies will be smoothed out

And presented as the truth.

At the rising of our sun, no necks will be strangled

And bandied freedom.

At the rising of our sun, no one will bend the word of God
And name it holiness.

At the rising of our sun, no one will jump from the cliffs of another land
And proclaim there’s hope in our own land.

At the rising of our sun, no one will trample the common man
And deny he is drunk with power.

At the rising of our sun, no one will be lost in the dark

And teach it as wisdom.

At the rising of our sun, no one’s breast will heave in fear

And assure everyone it’s security

At the rising of our sun, no one will be intimidated and obey

Then preach it as faith.

At the rising of our sun, no one will turn away from the wounded
And write a story of love.

Translation by Marne L. Kilates (M.L.K.)

 WAITING FOR GODOT
PAGHAHALAT KI GODOT
For WWII Veterans
Para sa mga beterano kan ika-2 giyera mundial

In the last light of an afternoon

An huring liwanag sa sarong hapon
You will stretch out on a cane chair
Ika maunat sa huyong butaka
Like the cat curled at your feet.
Arog kan pagkakabulukon nin ikos
You will watch the day die,
Sa simong pamitisan,
The dark falling
Tinatan-aw an aldaw na nauupos
Like a curtain on the trees.
O kun paano minataklob
It will flicked and fade
An kadikluman sa rarom nin kakahuyan
Like your failing vision.
Minakimat-kimat arog
So let those mute medals,
Kan de-grado mong mata.
Earned during the last war,
Kaya bayan mo na sana
Be your witnesses, anonymous hero.
Magin pulang saksi
Leave them
Ining nagunong medalya
In the chest in our memory,
Kan naka-aging giyera,
Together with the documents
Saimo, bayaning nakamaskara.
Promising your benefits.
Isaray mo na sana
There no pesky cockroach
Sa baulk an samong memorya
Will nibble them to pieces.
Kaibahan kan mga papeles
Nin hinahalat na grasya,
M.L.K.
Huli ta duman dai ini mapipispis
Kan mga pesteng curacha.
OPON SA IBALON: PAGCAHALE CAN MASCARA THE WILD BOAR OF IBALON: UNMASKED

Casuarina lang, Cadugnong Just lately, O Wise One

Casubangguing madiclomon In the dark of the night
Namidbidan ko an opon I got acquainted with the wild boar
Na naggagabot can satong tinanom. That uproots our plants.

Nagquiquiliab, nagquiquiliab Flashing, coruscating,

An saiang mata Its eyes
Siring sa nacapuestong plato Shine like China
Asin plata And silver laid out on a table
Mantang an manga caaquian While children
Nacatingag sa cagutuman Are wild-eyed with hunger ---
Na iyo, an saiang tingo. Its fangs.

Ciudad an saiang pangaran. Its name is City.

Guinabot nia an nagpa-selyo It uprooted him whose verses

Sa mga critic, sa saiang mga verso Have gained him the critics’ seal
Si Homerius X, sacong amigo Of good housekeeping: Homerius X,
Na binaiaan an manga corrido My friend who left his songs
Para sa manga libro de banco. For bank books.

M.L.K.
DINUGUAN
Manila – Sarong sentenciadong Amerikanong Marino an
ibinalyo hali sa sarong kalabos pasiring sa custodia kan
Estados Unidos, kasunod man kan reklamong diplomatiko,
segun sa sarong parataram kan embahada kan Biyernes.
-PHILIPPINE NEWS (Enero 3-9, 2007)
Kaya kaidto kun an mga Kastila
Magkakaigwa nin saindang tertulia
O kafiestahan nin saindang mga patron
Ipapabuno ninda sa mga muchacho sa harong
An orig na pinakataba asin pinakadakula.
An piling mga laman tamang-tama sa oliva
Hali pang Andalucia, lilitsunon an iba.
Para sa mga Indio, an mga bituka
Asin an dugo na malulutong kakolor nin kakaw.
Asin kun an mga tawo mabibisto sa saindang kinakakan,
Dai kamo dapat magngalas kun an “pagbalyo”
Iyong termino kan parataram
Para sa pagpapadulag nin sarong sentenciado,
Asin an “custodia” pag-otob sana
Na satong mga “kasunduan sa iba.”
Natood na kaya kitang akoon na sana
An inaapon satuya hali sa orig, mga bituka.
BLOOD STEW
Manila- A U.S. Marine convicted of raping a Filipina has been
transferred from a suburban jail into US custody, following a
diplomatic furor, the embassy spokesman said Friday.
-PHILIPPINE NEWS (January 3-9, 2007)
And so it was that when the Castillians
Held their tertullias*
Or observed the feast day of their patron saints,
They would have their servants butcher the fattest pig.
The choicest cuts would go well with olives
Brought from Andalucia, the rest, roasted.
For the Indios, the entrails and the blood,
Which they would cook to the color of burnt cacao,
And become the gravy for the stew.
And if people are what they eat,
Don’t ask why “transfer”
Is the spokesman’s term for spiriting away
A convict, and “custody,”
Is in keeping with “bilateral commitments.”
We have long been used to, after all,
What was thrown to us from a pig, offal.
M.L.K.
* Afternoon tea