A Cracked Letter (With Its Fillipino Translation By Chito Faustino Poem by Bharati Nayak

A Cracked Letter (With its Fillipino translation by Chito Faustino)
I chanced to see the letters,
You wrote me a long long ago,
Each alphabet,
Stood before me with an image,
That hid so many stories, and
So many tender moments of affection.

I held them in my palm,
Smelt the scent,
That was hidden under each syllable.
The letters were worn out by time,
The folds cracked,
As each one of them were read and re-read
Innumerable times,
Lost the strength
To bear the emotions
That were falling heavy on them.
Some syllables had vanished by tear drops
Some had vanished in the folds.

As I held the letter,
Bits of paper fell in my lap,
Reminding me of the time gap.
I gathered the torn pieces
Tried to join them in their places
But some syllables were
Never to be found.


Ang Gusot Na Liham - Poem by Chito Faustino

natagpuan kong muli ang iyong mga liham,
na ibinigay mo sa akin matagal ng panahon,
bawat isang titik,
ay naghahayag ng ibat-ibang larawan,
na may sariling salaysay, at
maraming matamis na saglit ng ating pag-ibig.

hawak ko sa aking mga kamay,
nilalanghap ang kanilang bango …
na nakatago sa ilalim ng bawat salita;
ang iyong mga liham ay niluma ng panahon,
ang kanilang lupi ay putok sa pag-tiklop,
sa dami ng beses ng ulit na pag-basa,
nawalan ng lakas
na balikatin ang mga damdamin
na nakalapat na mabigat sa kanila,
maraming titik ay nag-laho sa patak ng luha,
marami ay nawala sa ulit-ulit na pagtiklop.

habang hawak ko ang iyong mga liham,
mga piraso ng papel ay nagkalaglag,
para bang paalala ng panahong nagdaan;
isa isa kong pinulot mga pirasong papel
pinilit kong ibalik sa lugar na may punit,
ngunit ilang titik
hindi na makita.

This is a translation of the poem A Cracked Letter by Bharati Nayak
Chito Faustino