Norsalim Haron

Nangalimud silan ku padsudan nu walay ningka
Bagagayan ku bangko ku kasangulan nu malendo a lamisan
Pegkapi, pegkan sa pan, pedsebung
Belabiten nilan su langon’u kapiyanan ningka
Ugayd seka anya a bagiga ku manaot a katre
Bangalingkakep ko liliw nu ikam
Sa mana ka bon pedtindeg sa sambayang
Nalibet kana masla palanggana
A napenu na matenggaw a ig
A ibeligo salka
Mana bon kanu timpo a bago ka ginemaw
Ku kapebpaigo ni ina nengka salka
Uman ka gawasa na ig na belesik ka bagulyang
Ugayd saguna uman ka pembubuwan
Na pakauliyang su mga suled-pagali nengka
Kagina niya den ba su mawli a kabpaigo nilan salka

Bath

They gathered in the yard of your house
Sitting on a bench in front of a long table
Drinking coffee, eating salt bread, chatting.
They recount all your good deeds
Yet you lie there on a small bed
Wrapped by the surface of a mat
As if you are standing in prayer.
You are surrounded by huge basins
Filled with cold water
For your bath.
Much like when you were just born
When your mother bathes you
Each splash of water pushes you to cry more.
But now, every pour
Makes your relatives cry
Because this is the last time they will bath you.

—Translated by Nurmina Abdul

Laurehl Onyx B. Cabiles

Riding four borrowed habal-habal, high school boys skipped class
one sunny afternoon, traversing the outskirts of their town, passing
old trees, rough roads, and lonely houses before reaching Manili:
people were circling around the drivers even the women
wearing hijabs were present. They stopped
on a hundred-meter-long concrete road, hearing
the roar of the engines from the modified motorcycles.
The street was filled with exclamations of the crowd, joined
by the teenagers, when the motors dashed
to the finish line. They went home right after, driving
as fast as the racers, bringing this story home

Inside a cramped-up room with three double-deck beds, during
the beginning of the presidency of Marcos Jr., a boy
from that Manili trip will be a bed-spacer in that rented
space in his college years at USM, accompanied
by his Maguindanaon friends. Some nights, when the schedule chooses
to be kind, at a dinner table, little gatherings will arise:
from asking about the Quran to bartering half-truths
and inherited beliefs, stepping into each other’s world, bridging
the gap, then the topic will sway to the horrors they heard
and saw, moving from local to foreign, spanning
through the present and the past, from Kabacan to Gaza
to Congo, zooming back in Palimbang
In Manili, on June 19, 1971, when our country was still
in the grip of Marcos Sr., a meeting should have happened,
but the Ilaga threw grenades inside a mosque, slaughtering
more than seventy innocent people, turning
the place for showering of blessings into a bloodbath.
And even when they buried the dead on the next day
for the ones who will carry the memory, after
those gruesome hours, scenes of body parts sticking
to the ceiling and fellow survivors wading along
through knee-deep of warm blood to find pieces
of their loved ones among the submerged will be engraved
in their minds. The place and their memories wait for the boy

But right now, the boy is with his friends in front
of the store where they always hang out, obliged
to listen to his buddy’s stories, who is painting
his grandfather as a mythical figure, whose skin
cannot be penetrated by bullets, or guns would not even fire
at him because of his anting-anting, and using only a sundang
to eliminate his targets. As the clouds eat the moon, the friend’s
tales continue  like the telenovela Ang Probinsyano while
the boy is still glued to his spot

Al-jhamier Mosib

Nakauma su manuk sa utan
Inurukan nin si belsiyan
Da nin den mun ubagi
Taman sa mibpulugo si ngali

‘daw guna inya nakabpun?
mimbedtek sa katipu
midtuka sa padulat
a mimbumbul sa tagakal

midsalag den ku dama-palay
taman sa migkadakel
nasansala nin su palay
‘ndaw den si belsiyan?
nataring?
namagena, sangat den a nagilekan

Sinusup nin su leman na ped nin
leman ni belsiyan
takulab bu matag i nasama
niya den mambu i ganggula
kanu paganay,
da pun sin makauma
madidis pan si tuka
saguna a nakauma,
napumpul den sa subla.

Wild Chicken
English Translation

The wild chicken came,
It clocked Belsiyan without mercy,
Till blood stained the mouth.

Where did it come from?
Bearing Judas’ spur,
A beak of a betrayer,
Feathers of a deceiver.

Nested in the rice fields,
Breeding beneath the sun,
But the rice was damaged—
Wait, where is Belsiyan?
Missing,
Hid away, frightened. 

It ate the eggs of its own kind—
Belsiyan’s eggs,
Only empty shells remained. 

What madness is this?
Long ago,
It had not yet arrived,
Its beak still sharp and keen.
Now that it’s here,
The edge has grown dull and weak.

Aleah Sulaiman Bantas

Kagkalendem ko seka sa uman mabulig i mga palopalo sa balangan na kulay nu mga ulak.
Kagkalendem ko ged seka sa kapedsayog nu mga kayu sa bagel na sambel.
Di ko magaga u di ka gapagitung, gadtatanggit ko seka sa itungan ko
Apya endaw ako pebpawang tayan.
Apya kapedsagad nu mga babak, talangas endu tapuri sa benday ni ama,
Umengka mana kapok a penggantung i mga gabong sa pulo na langit.
Seka bu i gailay ko,
Umengka semagad sa itungan ko, gagkalendem ku,
I kapya na mata nengka, su lantik na pipilik nengka ka,

Seka bu i gadtareman sa magabi endu mapita—
Daren ped a gapangilay ko ka seka bu sa langun na makaukit sa lupa a pigkaselanan ko.

Ikaw sa lahat
Filipino Translation

Naiisip kita sa tuwing nagkukumpol ang mga paru-paro sa iba’t ibang uri ng mga bulaklak.
Naiisip kita lalo sa tuwing umiindayog ang mga puno sa simoy ng hangin.
Di ko maiwasang hindi alalahanin ka, dinadala ka ng isip ko.
Kahit saan magpunta, mahal.
Kahit sa tuwing dumadalaw ang mga palaka, tutubi’t tipaklong sa bukid ni ama,
Kapag ang mga ulap ay parang mga bulak na lumulutang sa itaas ng kalangitan.
Ikaw lang ang natatanaw ko,
Kapag dumadaan ka sa isipan ko, naaalala ko,
Ang ganda ng mga mata mo, ang hubog ng iyong pilik,

Ikaw lang ang gunita sa gabi at umaga—
Wala ng ibang hanap pa kundi ikaw sa lahat ng tumapak sa lupang tinubuan ko.

Ronaliza Manangat-Wagas

I
Jumaat lisag walu’ palabey ma pantan
Mata magtummu karuwa magloman
Atey takuddat sigak si baran
Kau na hati he’ ngamu, ni Tuhan!

II
Nganda’ tuwi ni mata hunit ni hinang
Dikayu’ pangaddatan hambey kabiyasahan
Danda lalla mag-anda’ ti magpandang
Atoa bey mandu’, tantu pangalangan.

III
Lai kow patokko’ minsan magduwa-ruwa
Talow ta jampa sa’ kinum papanda’
Kinuman nu ngalapal salama-lama
Patatak taindan ku ma pantan ya lowa.

IV
Sakadjap naan baran ‘mba tahati
Parasahan takissa pabidda’ pasiddi
Tangan tenne kok tuut lamma nuwi
“Love at first sight”tutu na dali’!

V
Puwas Isa takale ku suwara
Gitar nu mahilling TM Boys maka Den Bisa
Banan ongka’ nu malabey kabtangan kasilasa
In kau mehelo ma budjang bihing-luma’.

VI
Maghelo-helo kita kaangey-angeyhan
Boho’ kasi patumbu’ ma pangatayan
Kita tadikayu’ ma kahandak min Tuhan
Bang pin pamintadda pagkasi nilabayan.

VII
Masi taentom baning badju’ nu
Walna’maentom paluun nu ni aku
Lalla ma pantan palabey bey subu
Suratan patakka hambey taniyat ku.

VIII
Bang tallak na bulan aku ngamu’-ngamu’
Ma ta’ sapow dangan-dangan ni Iya maku:
“Dunya-Ahirat suratan ni patudju”
“Ullum-kamatey iya tasehe’ ku.” 

IX
Ma panagnaan asal bey tahati
Lasa magtoggol daa niparuli
Satsat baliyu ma atey kapali’
Piddi’ pagbutas ‘mbal pauli’.

X
Kissa ta karuwa niya’ deyo’ jata’ na
Paglimbangan natas ‘mba taasa-asa
Pagbiddaan maka kasean daa ni kasusa
Tuhan nipatampal yana Sangat Kawasa.

XI
Suppu kalima tahun sapantun dansasaat
Heka talabayan hogot bey niyat
Sannang pagbeya’ ngangdol magtaat
Pasong waktu paglasa hunit nibakkat.

XII
Pantan saksi’ ma he’ ta maglasa
Sakahaba kow palabey si danda ma kusina
Lanyap ma pamikil pandu’ atoa
kita maghati bang mag-abut mata.

XIII
Ma pantan subu Jumaat panagnaan
Ma pantan tanda’ ma palabayan
Ma pantan palingi’ kow song ni kanan
Ma pantan lai nagna’ parsugpatan.

XIV
Ni Rabbul Alamin pagsarangsukul
Sabab ma Kau sukud kami tahatul
Kapagkila, lasa he’ Nu matanjak pinaturul
Suratan maglingan ma pantan magmakbul.

XV
Kaullum tantu niya’ tobtoban na
Kamatey magsak kita ma dunya
Hurul Eyn patapit nikau minda
Daa meya’ satsat entom nu si lasa.

Destiny on the Footbridge
(A poem to the Love of my Life)

Friday, eight O’clock you passed by the
footbridge
Eyes have touched bashful of each other
My heart astounded; I was delighted
You must be the answer to my prayer!

Looking directly in the eyes is tough
A manner not accustomed to that
Woman and man gazing at first meet
Elders have taught, a ban indeed.

You halted despite the vacillating thoughts
Though anxious yet a smile was forged
Your smile has spoken of forever
Your sight by the footbridge engraved to
remember.

At that very instant I was indiscernible
The feeling I had so special and rare
My hands were cold my knees went weak
This might be the “Love at first sight” I seek!

After Isha I could hear the voice
Your guitar sounded Den Bisa and TM Boys
The words of tenderness your songs conveyed
That you have liking of the maiden next door.

We fell in love for the first time
I was your first and you were mine
Joined together in His hands
Hopeful to love only once.

I still recall you were wearing yellow
The hue reminds me of your coming
The man by the footbridge that morning
I didn’t notice my fate unfolding.

When the moon is bright, I pray
Alone at the rooftop to the Lord I say:
“Grant my destiny in this world to the
hereafter”
“In life and death shall be my partner.”

Since the beginning I have understood
Love withstands when you heed no more
Spilled gossips the heart endures
Grief of parting has no cure.

Our tale has its ups and downs
Lasting marriage can fail- it’s bound
Do not fret of your disparity
Let God rule, The Almighty.

Fifteen years as though a moment
Gone through many trails, my intent held
tightly
Marriage is serene with trust and piety
With time, to shatter love won’t be easy.

The footbridge is the witness to our affection
Each time you pass the woman at the kitchen
The teaching of elders has been forgotten
When our eyes meet, everything makes sense.

At the footbridge Friday morning, the inception
At the footbridge seen in that direction
At the footbridge when you turned toward your
right
At the footbridge the knot has been tied.

To the Lord of the World the gratitude is due
Our fate was laid because of You
We crossed paths, the love You willed
At the footbridge, the call of destiny was sealed.

Life certainly has its ending
In this world we shall part by passing
Hoor ul Ein would come as inviting
Don’t be lured keep in mind your darling.

The sharing of my poem has to end
My love to you from the footbridge to the
afterlife
At the Straight Way we vowed to unite
If Allah wills! Our dream shall be fulfilled.