ANG POSAS
Hait kini og tango
Ang paak niini
Mas sakit pa
Sa paak
Sa usa ka hugpa
Sa lamok
Nga nigakos
Sa akong kalag-
Ug bisan katol na
Kaayo, ning
Kasingkasing
Kay way undang
Ang paak
Sa mga lamok.
Dili nako makatol
O mabutangan
man lang og Off lotion.
Unsaon man?
Ang akong
Kamot giposasan
Ang akong hunahuna
Gihiktan
Ang akong kalag
Gipriso.
Igo na lang ko
Sa pagsud-ong
Sa kangitngit
Sa panganod
Maghulat-
Sa kahayag
Kay dili ko kasulat
Og balak
Nga nakaposas
PASUMBINGAY.
THE HANDCUFFS
Have sharp fangs
Its bite
Is more painful
Than a swarm
Of mosquitoes
Embracing
My soul-
Though the itch
In my heart
Is too much
Because there
Is no stopping
The bite
Of the mosquitoes.
I can not scratch
Nor use off lotion
How Can I?
My hands
Are handcuffed
My mind
Is manacled
My soul
Is caged.
All I can do
Is watch
The darkening
Of the clouds
Is wait-
For the light
Because I
Can’t write a poem
On handcuffs
METAPHOR.
By Maria Victoria Beltran
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
-George Orwell
(Update April 26, 2020: Cebu businesswoman artist and poet Bambi Beltran said she will press counter-charges against the Mayor of Cebu City Edgardo Labella for warrantless arrest, illegal detention, and health endangerment while in prison in the time of coronavirus pandemic.)
See related article: http://justcliqit.com/cebu-artist-businesswoman-jailed-for-her-satire/
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