THE SUN SETTING
INTO MANILA BAY
Not yet ready to cry,
The sun, lingering over Manila for a while,
As the evenign chime urges,
Suddenly slides off from the top of a coconut tree
Falling down hard against the sharp blade
Which cuts the sky and the sea in two
Blood gushes forth
Turning the entire Manila Bay
Into a blood-red sea.
What a tragic ending!
It recalls a scene repeated along the road:
A Filipino holding a knife in hand
As sharp as it should be
Suddenly lops off coconuts from the coconut tree
Falling like a bleeding sun, falling one after another,
----- All of a sudden, am astonished
Without even time enough to hold my breath.
(Translated by Sang
Kuang-Jin)
