4 Translated Reagan R Maiquez Poems

By and | 1 February 2017

Day of the Apocalypse

The sky is torn
as the wings of birds
fall in unison.
The salt is melted
as stars dot
the black skin of the sea.
The remaining people
take a puff together
as animals lose their lungs.
Plants rain down
as language is lost.
Perhaps this indeed is the Apocalypse,
this world, a dying dog
in a hospital of cadavers.
But if I will see this all with you
as if it were a polite ending to a program
on a black-and-white TV,
where each press and turn
and embrace and caress and breath on the body
is like a sinking ship,
I won’t let this day pass by.
I will take the remote control,
scan through the channels on the TV
even if it’s just static and silence,
I’ll wash whatever dirty clothes there are
and hang them out to dry as the Sun explodes
and I’ll wait for that moment when all is light,
when everything is reduced to a silence and a whimper
a few minutes after Earth’s last day has gone by.


Araw ng Gunaw

Nagigiba ang langit
sabay-sabay na nahuhulog
ang mga pakpak ng mga ibon.
Natutunaw ang asin
at napupuno ng mga bituin
ang itim na balat ng karagatan.
Sabay-sabay na kung manigarilyo
ang lahat ng natitirang tao
habang nauubos ang baga ng mga hayop.
Umuulan na ng halaman
sa pagkawala ng wika.
Siguro nga, paggunaw itong maituturing
itong mundo na isang naghihingalong aso
sa ospital ng mga bangkay.
Ngunit kong kasama kang masasaksihan
ang lahat ng ito bilang isang magalang na pagtatapos
sa isang black and white na telebisyon
na para bang ang lahat ng higpit at pihit
ng yakap at halik at hininga sa katawan
ay isang papalubog na barko,
ay hindi ko pa hahayaang matapos ang araw na ito.
Kukunin ko ang remote kontrol
patatakbuhin ang mga tsanel ng telebisyon
kahit puro istatik at katahimikan na ang lahat
lalabhan ko ang natitirang maruruming damit
magsasampay habang sumasabog ang araw
at hihintayin ang sandaling maliwanag na maliwanag,
tahimik na tahimik, at may sumisiyap
ilang sandali matapos ang pinakahuling araw
ng daigdig.

 


This entry was posted in TRANSLATIONS and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

Related work: