Skip to main content

I am a Woman Living Alone (Babae Akong Namumuhay Nang Mag-isa)

By Anonymous
I Am a Woman Living Alone
by Joi Barrios
translated by J.A. Del Prado

I am a woman living alone,
divorced,
old maid,
mistress,
whore.

They define my solitude as a stain,
a welt endowed by history,
a scar to bear for eternity.

There is a trial that I cannot pass,
a scale that measure my insufficiency,
a scrutiny that assesses
The effigy of my upbringing.
They will always scrutinize my solitude.

What they do not see is
it’s my decision.
My society tries
to confine and enslave me
by taking away
this miniscule liberty.

My solitude is not to forsake
love, or lust or liability.
This is not to recoil from
following my oath
or fulfilling my dreams.
This is not to look at life
bare of hope.

It is only my desire
that my hands will run my own time;
my heart and mind will write my history,
I, myself, will shape my being.
Let me live in peace,
by not appending to my name
the labels of scorn:
whore,
mistress,
old Maid,
divorced,
though I am a woman living alone.

In the original language (Filipino):

Babae Akong Namumuhay Nang Mag-Isa
ni Joi Barrios

Babae akong namumuhay nang mag-isa,
hiwalay sa asawa,
matandang dalaga,
kerida,
puta.

Ang aking pag-iisa’y batik na itinuring,
latay na pabaon ng nakaraan,
pilat na taglay habambuhay.

May pagsusulit na di ko nakayanan,
may timbangan sumukat sa aking pagkukulang,
may pagsusuring kumilatis
sa pagkatanso ng aking pagkatao.
Lagi’y may paghuhusga sa aking pag-iisa.

Ang di nila nakita’y
akin ang pasya.
Maliit na kalayaang
hinahamak ng iba pang
pagkapiit at pagkaalipin
sa akiing lipunan.

Ang pag-iisa’y di pagtalikod sa
pag-ibig, o pagnanasa o pananagutan.
Hindi ito pagsuko
sa katuparan ng mga pangako
o pagkakatutuo ng mga pangarap.
Hindi pagtanaw sa buhay
nang hubad sa pag-asa.

Paghangad ko lamang
na kamay ko ang magpatakbo sa aking orasan;
Puso at isipan and sumulat ng aking kasaysayan,
Sarili ko ang humubog sa aking kabuuan.
Hayaan akong mabuhay nang payapa,
nang hindi ikinakabit sa aking pangalan
ang mga tawag na pagkutya:
puta,
kerida
matandang dalaga,
hiwalay sa asawa,
babae man akong namumuhay nang mag-isa.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Because You Are a Man (Pagka't Lalaki Ka)

By
Because You are a Man by Michael Coroza translated by J.A. Del Prado I. Because you are a man, Son, Learn how to cry. It hurts when tears wash your mind Or the new wound of your last stumble But tears are clean and Can remove microbes In the mind, the heart and the whole being. Because you are a man, Learn to regret. Confession may shake your pride But no one can dominate reason. Let them judge and persecute you, Because you will find the right ingredient To realize your being. II You have inherited, Son, The ten thousand privileges That satiated Those who built the tower of Babel, The pyramids, coliseums, Ziggurats, temples, And empires. Yours is the glory They grasped In the muscular Pages of history. But, Son, their brutal Logic and names That violated, assaulted, Detained your mother And all mothers and women in the world flow in your nature. Cry out, Son, Their past. Regret, Son, Their mis
Post a Comment
Read more

The Woman who Daydreamed (Ang Babaeng Nangarap nang Gising)

By Anonymous
The Woman who Daydreamed (Ang Babaeng Nangarap Nang Gising) by Rio Alma (Virgilio Almario) translated by J.A. Del Prado She was embracing a broken ladle When she woke up from a dream, As the dried fish and rice she was frying, whizzed and hissed. From the corner of her eyes, still sparkling Were the planets and stars, Though her beloved prince, Jasmines, and palanquins had vanished. When she was young, she vowed That she would rise From the stench and the damp field Of her secluded village. Owned by the City’s temptation And by her noble purpose, She carried her dreams in a trunk And never looked back. Like the tale of the lost chick, Tired and withered, She lived her life in An old apartment. Someone told her that today Her stray spouse would come home soon. So she prepared and cleaned early. Later, she dressed herself. When the door opened, she closed her eyes In the hymn of a violin And drenched herself in jasmine and t
Post a Comment
Read more

You're a Woman (Babae Ka)

By Anonymous
You’re a Woman by Inang Laya translated by J.A. Del Prado You’re a woman, desired, adored protected, but you have no freedom. Your world is always in a house. Your beauty is the only asset; unaware of life. You have proven that you can fight for your right and complete freedom. The door of success for you is constantly closed. Face it, open it, lift your being. You’re a woman. You’re the other half of life. If you do not exist, how can life begin? You have proven that you can be oppressed but you can also rule a country. The door of success Is now in front of you. Face it, open it, lift your being You’re a woman, thought to be weak; your value, ignored. Though you lack physical strength your mind is blessed, so your voice shall decide, so you can be free Fight, woman, it’s your duty to free this country, our origin. In the original language (Filipino):
5 comments
Read more