SA BAYAN NI JUAN

sa bayan ni juan
mortal na kasalanan
ang maging makabayan
baka pulutin ka sa kangkungan
o saanmang basurahan
lasug-lasog ang katawan
utak at mukha’y pinagpipistahan
ng mga langaw at langgam
baka di ka na rin makita kailanman
kapag isinilid sa dram
sementuhan at ipalamon
sa pusod ng karagatan.

sa bayan ni juan…pakatandaan
huwag kang magsasabi ng katotohanan
basta paniwalaang umuunlad ang kabuhayan
kahit lugaw at asin ang nagliliwaliw
sa bituka ng maraming mamamayan
dumarami man ang nagkakalkal ng basura
para magkalaman ang tiyan
milyun-milyon man damit ay basahan
bata-batalyon man palaboy sa lansangan
mga parke’t damuhan man ang himlayan
o nagtitiis paalipin sa banyagang bayan
basta isiping mahalimuyak ang buhay
sa bawat pagsikat ng araw sa bayan ni juan
maghosana sa kaitaasan
maghaleluya sa mga diyus-diyosan
laging may glorya raw sa bayan ni juan.

sa bayan ni juan
huwag mong isasaysay sa sambayanan
hokus pokus at kahiwagaan
ng kung anu-anong pandarambong
sa pondo ng bayan
huwag palalabasin sa lalamunan
inhustisya’t kasuwapangan
ng iilang hari-harian sa lipunan
baka dila mo’y hiwain
mga ngipi’y lagariin
pati mata ay dukitin
iturnilyo mga labi’t pasabugin.

sa bayan ni juan
huwag na huwag makipagkaisa
sa mapagpalayang adhikain
ng manggagawa’t magsasaka
huwag makipagtaling-pusod sa masa
sa uring alipin at ibinartolina
ng balintunang sistema
huwag kang sasama
sa kanilang sagad-langit na protesta
laban sa uring mapagsamantala
babansagan kang subersibo’t terorista
banta sa seguridad ng republika.

sa bayan ni juan
malupit mga senturyon ng impakto
kaya huwag matigas ang ulo
kapag dinampot ka’t pinalad na ikalaboso
at hindi naging desaparecido
bababuyin ka ng mga utak-kurtado
paaaminin kang rebelde laban sa estado
ingungudngod ang mukha mo
sa mataeng inodoro
hubo’t hubad kang pahihigain
sa bloke ng yelo
pipilitin kang uminom nang uminom
ng tubig na naninilaw sa mikrobyo
hanggang pumintog nang pumintog
ang tiyan mo
saka biglang tatadyakan ng demonyo
di ka titigilan kapag di umaamin
sa nilubid na mga kasalanan
bayag mo’y kukuryentihin
isasaksak sa titi mo
bagong sinding palito ng posporo
o bibigtihin ng kuwerdas ng gitara
lupaypay na ulo nito.

o, diyos ni abraham
malilibog ang senturyon ng impakto
kung babae kang isinalampak sa kalaboso
lalaruin ang suso’t kiki mo
saka kakabayuhin ka nang husto
matapos laspagin ang puri mo
at hingal-aso ang berdugo
iiwan pang nakapasak sa ari mo
anumang boteng nakatuwaan nito.

talagang ganyan sa bayan ni juan
dinuduhagi’t sinisikil ang mga makabayan
ipinagkakait ang demokratikong proseso
mapapalad lamang ang basalyos ng impakto
at kauri nilang salabusab at tuso
mga payaso’t sirkero
mga batikang salamangkero
nilalaklak nila ang dugo ng bayan
nilalamon ang laman ng mamamayan
sa paulit-ulit na pagtatanghal
sa karnabal ng kasinungalingan
isasakay sa ruweda ng panlilinlang
hinihilong masang sambayanan
iduruyan sa ilusyon ng huwad na kaunlaran
at doble-karang katarungan
ang taksil sa pambansang kapakanan
at interes ng kumain-diling mamamayan
may lakas ng loob pang mangalandakan
na sila’y lantay na makabayan.

sa bayan ni juan… talagang ganyan
mortal na kasalanan ng masang sambayanan
ang maging makabayan
at maghayag ng sagradong katotohanan
pero di habang panahong laging ganyan
sa bayan ni juan
naglalagablab na ang liwanag sa silangan
bumabangon na sa dilim ng nagdaang gabi
ang mga alipin
upang sa wakas mga sarili’y palayain!

IN JUAN’S LAND

(my English version)

in juan’s land
being a nationalist is a mortal sin
you might be abandoned in a shrubby lot
or in some pungent dumpsites
feasting on your butchered corpse
with exposed brain and entrails
troops of murmuring flies
and crawling hungry ants
you might be lost forevermore
when cemented in a drum
left to rot and decompose
in the ocean’s grave-like mouth.

always remember in juan’s land
never tell the truth
just believe the economy’s good
though porridge and salt
often fill-up the belly
of so many unfortunates
though daily multiplying
the scavengers of trash bins
to eat anything and survive the day
though many parade in tattered clothes
and seem lost in poverty’s harsh jungle
or the grassy parks their waiting bed
or sacrificing to be enslaved
in some cruel foreign lands
just always think life is sweet
in every rising of the sun
in juan’s land
make it a habit to raise your hands
praise to high heavens the demigods
as they always say
glorious is life
in the land of juan.

in juan’s land
never reveal to the masses
the mystery and hocus pocus
of the plunderers of public fund
never let out from your throat
injustices and greediness
of the bastardly ruling class
your tongue might be slashed
teeth sawed-off
eyes gouged-out
lips screwed and bashed.

in juan’s land
never, never emphatize
with the liberating aspiration
of the toiling workers and peasants
never unite with the exploited class
being continuously enslaved
by the rotten, loony system
never be one
with their reverberating protests
against society’s pests
you’ll be branded
a subversive and terrorist
a grave threat to the security
of the jelly-like republic.

in juan’s land
brutal are the state’s centurions
so don’t be hardheaded
when picked-up and arrested
and fortunate enough
to be incarcerated
nameless desaparecido you’re not
you’ll be tortured by the fascists
and the forces of evils
forcing you to admit you’re a rebel
against the sanctity of the state
your face will be shoved into
the toilet bowl full of vowels
you’ll be made to lie down nude
on a block of thick ice
you’ll be forced to drink more and more
yellowish liquid germs-full
till your belly bulges and rebels
then the devil will stomp on it
till you admit the fabricated charges
electrocuted sometimes are your balls
or inserted into the penis hole
a newly-lighted matchstick
or tied tightly on its soft head
the string of a broken guitar.

oh, god of abraham
lascivious are the state’s centurions
if you’re a lady inside
a stinking detention cell
they’ll fondle your vagina and breast
they will rape you repeatedly
after the bastard gasped for breath
and done with his uncontrollable lust
he would even insert
and leave inside your genital
any empty bottle he so desired.

it’s really common in juan’s land
to torture and repress
the lovers of justice and righteousness
and deny them the democratic processes
only the men of the exploiters
scheming lords and greedy rulers
even the clowns and magicians
in the palace of mammonism
yes, they are all blessed
while bleeding dry the people’s blood
and masticating their flesh and limbs
by always masquerading as nationalists
on the stage of brazen lies
continuously hoodwinking the people
through empty promises
of an illusionary good life
and sweet-scented future for all
in juan’s barren land
yes, very usual in the land of juan
those traitors to the national welfare
and interests of the common man
those thieves in towns and cities
are the ones feasting on the table
of detestable power and privileges
and arrogantly proclaiming still
they ardently love this wretched land.

in juan’s land
that’s the order of things
love of country is a mortal sin
much more to speak the truth
but it will not prevail forevermore
in the land of juan
glaring is the blazing fire in the east
and rising from the darkness
of the past and gloomy night
the long-oppressed slaves
to finally liberate themselves!