From Tanya
(Poem)
thank you
for the odes and fragrant words
thank you
for the cluster of fresh flowers
for the compassions and condolences
of the fudge tajars
and kislap alitaptaps
of those unified
by grief and misery
of the tormented
long-suffering masses
yes, thank you
to all friends and comrades
in our decades of struggle.
thank you, my comrades
weep not our parting
be not saddened by my departure
am not lost
you can still feel my lips
when the wind smacks your face
you can still hear my voice
in the rumbling of protests
against the putrid system
along the city streets
near the palace of greed.
am not lost, my comrades
shed not a tear for our rupture
in the crystal-clear spring
of our liberating dreams
you can epitomize my face
you will feel my undying love
in every pulsating heart
of those enslaved
and deprived of human dignity
in every ricefield and factory
of injustice and rapacity
yes, you can feel me
in every worker’s blistered palms
you can smell me
in the peppery odor
of a peasant’s armpit’s sweat.
am always there, always…
am one with the dancing
blooming talahib of the hinterland
am one with the dewdrops
descending on every blade of grass
am one with every swaying stalk of palay
am one with the flying sparrows
am one with the united front
holding vigil in the moonless night
and fireflies are the lonely light.
we are still together, my comrades
bear in mind always
a life sacrificed for one’s country
and the oppressed masses
will never be like rotten debris
never let the hissing lightning
smolder our love for our country
our sole breast and belly
though the earth soonest gobbles
our flesh and bones
we are the steaming blood
flowing incessantly
in every rebellious vein
against injustice and penury
sacred dreams we are
always reaching for the sky
to see social justice reigns
always flapping the tireless wings
for the country’s metamorphosis.
thank you for the odes, my comrades
thank you for the fragrant condolences
thank you for the incense of concerns
our earthen bodies though separated
still conjoined are our veins
with the same type of revolting blood
consecrating in our consciousness
the righteousness of purpose…
to set ablaze the petals of freedom!
(my modified English version of MULA KAY TANYA)
