Back to Main
To Overseas Start Page
The Online Magazine for Sustainable Seas
May, 1999 Vol. 2 No. 5
 



(Sighs of the Sea)


 

 

 

   


Ako ay isang bayang mayaman sa dagat
Nguni't ang buhay ko ay salat na salat
Mayroon nga akong dagat, wala namang alat
Mayroon nga akong buto, wala namang balat.

Ang buhay na sagana, sa una lang nalasap
Dahil tao ay kaunti, yamang-dagat ay laganap
Isda ay marami, dagat ay malinis
Walang dinamita, plastik, bote at langis.

Isang umaga, tayo ay gumising
Bayang masagana, nawala sa atin
Tubig na malinaw, ngayo'y malabo na
Isdang hinihintay, lumiit at nawala pa.

Ikaw ay nagtanong, bakit naging gayon?
Parang hindi alam, ang laman ng tanong
Hindi ba ang tao, sa bayan ding yaon
Ang siyang pumatay, sa dagat natin ngayon.

O, ang tao, kapag nagkasala
Sisisihin ang tahong, pati ang talaba
Ang kamay ay ituturo, sa mukha ng iba
Habang hindi pansin, maling gawa niya.

Mayor Gody C. Ferrer
Hermosa, Bataan
May 27, 1999

 

Sighs of the Sea

I, land embraced by the sea
My life, mired in misery
The sea, my sea, but Earth's salt no more
All bones, no skin, so ravaged, so poor.

Once, a life overflowing
No crushing crowd, the ocean so teeming
Fish aplenty, waters unsoiled
No bombs, no muck, no poison, no oil.

One day, suddenly awake
I, land once rich, now lying in wreck
Waters clear, turned dark and foul
Bounty sought, all shriveled, then gone.

What has wrought this, you ask
Blind, unseeing, forgetting the past
Don't you recall, the town turned mob
The sea, they plundered, they killed, they robbed.

Ah, man, guilty as sin
Blaming it, them, her and him
Finger pointing, his words accusing
Never realizing, his own hands' doing.

English adaptation by Asuncion Sia

 


  

        To Over Seas Start Page
Back To Main

This website was made possible through support provided by the USAID under the terms of Contract No. AID 492-0444-C-00-6028-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID. Articles may be quoted or reproduced in any form for non-commercial, non-profit purposes to advance the cause of marine environmental management and conservation as long as proper reference is made to the source.