TOWARDS NORTH

Forget all the news about politics and the songs
of celebrities. Tonight the bus roars the sound
of a hard day’s work completed; the sigh of the worker
homeward bound. Northbound along EDSA the eyes
of the city have three colors – green, red and yellow.

Parang usok matapos humithit ng yosi nakita ko lumutang
palabas ng bintana ang mga katagang isinambulat ng mama
sa tapat: Sa Ngalan ng Ama, ng Anak at ng Espiritu Santo.
Aabot kaya sa langit ang dasal ni manong? Walang
signal ang cellphone sa Ayala Tunnel.

Tell me how prayers reach Heaven, because Mary, your name
was a prayer I used whisper before I slept, your voice
an infant’s good morning coo on a bright sunny morning. I miss
the mornings just as I miss your voice. Coming up to Buendia the stars
are so far and a blank look is what I see on the moon’s round face.

Dagisdis papasok sa bintana ng bus ang nagdala sa’yo
sa aking isip. Paakyat sa Guadalupe nakita ko ang templo
ng iyong mga alapaap, at sapul sa aking guni-guni nung sabihin mo
na huwag kitang iiwan. Ngayo’y isa akong bagamundong
estranghero at ika’y bitbit ng lawin na dumaglit sa iyo sa akin.

Did you know, Mary, that at night, the air smells like
freshly-made cocoa when you pass by Boni? Such a shame
that you don’t. You can hear the Ricoa Factory growl even with all this
roaring the bus engines do. But I guess you’d rather sleep on his passenger seat than on my shoulder while riding a bus towards north.