Late Night At The Ground Floor Of Tabaco Supermarket Poem by Jaime Jesus Borlagdan

(This is a translation. The original poem in Bikol is bellow)

The roads aren't sleeping
as they cradle the colorful carts
which will feed the men made forgetful
by the blinking of red lights.
The shadows about to dress are shy
to the wake of the balut vendors
serenely loafing like whores
along the closed stores,
waiting for someone who'll suck the soupy egg.
Consistently the plates and utensils are clinking
in the bright turo-turo,
many are blinded by the scream of the gas lamp
whose light is scented by the spices and steam
of the adobo sauce and balaw,
which also makes a pauper restlessly begging
from the plump cook some rice and soup.
Endless is the grilling of coals
at the barbicue stand near the terminal,
while the girl fanner's make up is washed off
by her tears and sweat, listening to the whispered
gossips of two fags leaning on soiled stores
made toilet-like by worm-infested cretins.
On the middle of the garbage dump, a crazy
campaigns to the cartons and smoked fish paper wrappers.
Balistoy hardly convinced the rotten cabbage
of his 100-piece Stork wrapper bribe.
The dew is merciless on the sleeping mendicants
who had Fuk Yen-printed papers for blankets,
who grows skinny with the odor of carbide and rotten mangoes.
Icy is the skin of the pavement of the ground floor market.
The pillars precipitate tears
rank with the smell of the drunk's urine,
dirtied by names of girls
and sketched penises.
Dim are the windows of the concrete mammoth
in the center of town, the sky is smeared when it washes
its filth of exhaustion.
The abandoned mouths of the sewers murmur a prayer,
stuffed with innards, peelings and mud;
with the intense odor of its breath, a tricycle driver
on his walkman failed to hear the weeping of a child left behind
by the bus home.


Matanga Sa Sirong kan Saudan kan Tabaco

Dai mangiturog an mga tinampo
sa kauubo kan makulor na mga karita,
na mapakakan sa mga lalaking pinanlingaw
kan imat-imat kan ilaw na pula.
Nasusupog an mga masanling anino
sa mga naglalamay na para balut,
trangkilong nagtatangka na garong mga puta
sa gilid kan mga saradong tindahan,
naghahalat kan mahigop kan masabaw na bonay.
Daing pundo an paglagatik kan mga plato
buda kubyertos, sa maliwanag na mga turo-turo,
dakol an nasusuriaw sa suriyaw kan de-gasang
minahamot an ilaw sa bangot buda sangaw
kan sarsang adobo buda balaw,
na minapakulit man sa makilimos na naghahagad
sa matabang kusinera ki diit na maluto buda sabaw.
Dai natatapos an pagdangdang kan mga oring
sa barbikyuhan sa may paradahan,
mantang napupulnas kan hinang buda luha an koloretes
sa pandok kan daragang parakayab, nakikidangog
sa huringhuding na ngaspakan kan duwang bakla
na nakahurandig sa sarong bangkitang nagdugima
ta ginibonang kasilyasan kan mga bulatikon na parot.
Sa tahaw kan tambakan kan basura, oratihon an sarong bua
sa pangampanya sa mga karton buda peryodikong
pinatusan ki tinapa.
Dai nanggad minaako an lapang repolyo
sa suhol ni Balistoy na sanggatos na patos ki istork.
Daing hirak an túnog sa mga nagnananok na makilimos,
na nagtatamong ki papel na may imprentang puk yen,
na minayating sa ansod kan kalburo buda duga kan lapang mangga.
Malipot an unit kan paril kan sirong kan saudan.
Nagdudumig na garong luha an singit kan mga hariging
minaparat sa ihi kan mga buyong,
minamurit sa gurit kan mga pangaran ki babayi
buda kinurit na lusi.
Marumirom an mga bintana kan dambuhalang semento
sa sentro kan banwa, minaati an langit sa paglabar kaini
kan murit kan karugadohan.
May pigngungurob-ngurob na pangadyion an nangarayakaya
na ngimot kan mga imburnal, hakog sa hasang, ubak asin dugi;
sa sobrang bata kan hangaw kaini, dai lamang minakiling
an sarong de-walkman na para-traysikol sa ngurahab
kan aking nag-uula, ta nabayaan kan byahe pauli.