Kay Gat Andres Bonifacio Mula Sa Isang Hudas

by Justine Camacho Tajonera

At kung magkikita tayo
balang araw
sasabihin mong
ako’y taksil
dahil lumaki ako
sa wika at lahi
ng mga dayuhan
at hindi man lang ako
lumaban.

Nilulon ko
pati ang pagbigkas
ng bawat
salita,
pati pagsuot
ng damit,
pati
pagsulat.
Nilulon, minahal,
inangkin.

Sinusugatan kita,
kadugo ko,
kapatid.
Turuan mo akong
masaktan,
magalit.
Gisingin mo
ako.

Translation into English by the author:

And if we shall meet
one day
you will say that
I am a traitor
because I grew up
on the language and race
of foreigners
and I did not even
put up a fight.

I swallowed
each pronunciation,
each word,
even each style of dress,
how I wrote.
Swallowed, loved,
claimed.

I wound you,
blood brother.
Teach me how
to be hurt,
how to be overcome
with anger.
Wake me up.




Justine Camacho Tajonera's picture

ABOUT THE POET ~
Justine Camacho – Tajonera was born and grew up in Cebu City, Philippines. Her mother named her after Justine, the stepdaughter of Justine Hosnani, from the Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. She lost her mother at the age of three and this loss has been a recurring theme in her work. She has a degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines) where she got a Dean’s Award for the Arts for her prose and poetry. Despite starting a corporate career in telecommunications, she pursued an M.A. in English Literature to keep her close to her first love of writing., She has had her poetry published in several anthologies and local publications and she recently published her eBook, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/justine-camacho-tajonera/artemis-lets-go/ebook/product-20735014.html" target="_blank">Artemis Lets Go</a>, on Lulu.com. She maintains a poetry blog, <a href="http://claimingalexandria.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Claiming Alexandria</a>, from which she has gathered most of the poems for her book, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/justine-camacho-tajonera/gift-poems/ebook/product-20734890.html" target="_blank">Gift</a>., She works full time in the mobile content industry in the Philippines, is married and has two children. Writing is her passion and she will continue to write all her life.


Last updated May 16, 2013