Rolinda Onates Española, The Philippines-Singapore
Stitches
Poetry abroad are stitches of words
Rhymes and rhythms of pain
Creatively sewn together
Behind closed doors
With tears of silent cries
Pen and paper are the only
Witness of heartaches
Disappointments and inequalities
People clap their hands
To a great masterpiece
To great words
Full of feelings
Yet nobody realizes
It's the truth
What she writes
Because here
People admire hypocrisy
Others use a platform of humanity
To disguise a false empathy
And they all applaud
Her sad poetry
Everyday
Poetry at home are patches of giggles
Rhythms of laughter
Rhymes of endless hugs
Unconditionally bound together
Inside this simple home
With screams of happiness
Where words are unscribbled achievements
Kindness and humility
Remain in silence
Where here
People don't notice
The great masterpiece
The great works
That are full of actions and expressions
Nobody can read it
Because it can't be written
It can only be felt
It can only be expressed
Without words
It's best in action
And this is poetry
A living poetry
At home, everyday
Take me home
Please take me home
To the place where I belong
To the place of my sweetest memory
To the place where my love dwells unconditionally
To the place of my sanity
Please take me home
Where my children wait excitedly
Where my hand touches each of them magically
Where I'm the queen of this hierarchy
Where I can smile and be angry without hesitation
Where I can show my flaws and imperfections
Please take me home
Just take me home
For I know my loved ones are waiting
But I don't know who they are
I can't recognize the faces of my family
I can't button my shirt or count numbers
My home, I fail to remember
My name, I try to register
My mind falters
Though I try hard
I can't remember a thing
I know in my heart there's something
The most important thing
And I only remember
I need to be home
But I don't know where my home is
I don't know what home is
I still want to go home
So please take me home
Ang Bangka ng Aking Buhay (Tagalog)
Ang bangka ng buhay ko'y lalayag ng muli
Pabalik kung saan ang bahaghari
Na noon ay akala ko payak ang kulay
Kung kayat ninais lisanin at naglakbay
Sa pag-asang mga kulay ay titingkad
Kaginhawaan ang siyang hinangad
Nakita ko nga mga kulay na ginto at pilak
Nakakasilaw,nakakalulang galak
Pero bakit unti-unting naglalaho
Di ko man lng mahawakan ito ba'y balat kayo?
Di ko man lang maipon
Upang sa bangka ng buhay maibaon
Di ko man lng madama
Totoong kasiyahan dito sa ibang bansa
Kaya ang bangka ng buhay ko'y babalik sa kung saan nagmula
Kaligayahan ko'y naroon lamang pala
Ako pala ang kulay na nagpapasigla
Nang simpleng tahanan ng katulad kong dukha
Dukha kung tawagin dito sa ibang bansa
Ngunit sa munting tahanan ako po ay dakila
The boat of my life will sail again
The boat of my life will sail again
In due time, back to where the rainbow sets
Before, I thought it just consisted of plain colors
The reason why I wished to travel and leave
Was the hope of finding those sparkling colors
Convenience in life was what I sought
Indeed I saw gold and silver
Blinding and dizzying me with delight
Yet I saw each color slowly disappearing
Before I could even touch them
Oh what a disguise!
I could not save
So that I could keep it in my boat of life
I could not feel
True happiness in this foreign land
So this boat of my life
Will sail back to where it all started
To my true happiness
For I am the sparkled colors stirring
In the simple house of my plain people
Lowly they may call me
In this foreign land
Yet in my simple home
Mighty is my hand
Translated into English by the author
Rolinda Onates Española is from Bacolod City, Philippines. She is co-editor of Call and Response: A Migrant/ Local Poetry Anthology (Math Paper Press). She spent six years working in Singapore as a foreign domestic worker, and is now back home in the Philippines. Her poems have won prizes at the Migrant Workers Poetry Competition, Singapore.