BY KAREN PAPELLERO
Contributed to Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 24, July 22-28, 2007
(alang kang Karen Empeño) (for Karen Empeño*)
ang buwan nga mosilang, mosalop the moon that rises and sets
sama sa adlaw like the sun,
ginatawag nga buwan usab did you also call it as moon
ba kaha nimo samtang while you were
ikaw gidakop, gigapos held, bound
sa mga kawatan nga by the robbers
misignit kaninyo who snatched you
aron sa ilang koleksyon to add to their collection
sa ulo ug tropeo? of heads and trophies?
Aduna ba kaha’y awit Was there a song
o tingog man lang, or even a sound,
gikan kanimo samtang from you, while you were
ikaw gitaptapan og kangitngit blindfolded with the darkness
ug kaitom sa ilang laraw? and blackness of their intent?
Mihilak ba kaha ka Did you also cry out
sama sa imong pagtiyabaw like the way you wailed
sa paglugwa mo gikan when you emerged from
sa imong inahan your mother,
nga karon nagpangita kanimo? who is now in search of you?
Ay, Karen… Alas, Karen…
Asa na di-ay kaha ka? Where might you have been?
Adunay gasangpit na sa ngalan nga Somebody’s calling out the name
atong gisalohan, we are sharing,
ug ako ra ang milingi. And I am the only one who acknowledged.
Inilathala ng (Bulatlat.com)
*Karen Empeño, a graduating BA Sociology student at the University of the Philippines (UP), was abducted by soldiers on June 26, 2006 while doing research on a peasant community in Hagonoy, Bulacan. With her were community youth organizer Sherlyn Cadapan and farmer Manuel Merino. There have been reported sightings of Cadapan, but Empeño and Merino have yet to be surfaced.
