Kling Klang....  Kling.. Klang..

Tunog ng kampana'y sumisigaw ng kagalakan,
Amihan hanging sumisimbolo ng isang Banal na kaarawan.

Saanman pumaroo't-pumarito'y puno ng kasiglahan;
Mga hapag-kaina'y dinadagsa ng iba't-ibang kasaganaan,
Mumunting kislap sa bawat bahay ay pawang madadaanan,
At mga magigiliw na parol sa bawat poste'y isa-isang nagtitingkaran.

Habang ang lahat ay masiglang nagkakantahan,
Isang lalaki ang naglalakad sa makipot na eskinitang daanan,
Maruming damit, gusgusing katawan,
Balbasing mukhang mistulang mga puno sa isang mayabong na kabukiran.

Pasuray-suray n'yang tinahak ang kadiliman,
Dala ang isang boteng alak na kanyang nag-iisang kasamahan.
Mga lasing na hakbang ay pilit binibitawan,
Mumunting yapak patungong bahay na kubli sa kasayahan.

Pagdating sa bukana, bote'y itinapon sa pintuan.
Nagsusumigaw at pilit humihiyaw na siya'y agad na pagbuksan.
Isang babaeng puno ng pasa't sugat ang kanyang naalinagan;
Mayuming mukhang naging busangot ng dahil sa kahirapan.

Ilang minuto pa'ng nakakaraan,
Isang nakakakilabot na sigaw ang pumagitna sa masasayahang kantahan,
Iyak na pilit tinatago, pinipigilan ngunit sa huli'y sumuko't mabilis na nagsilabasan.

Ang katanungan, ano nga ba ang dahilan ng kasuklam-suklam na sigaw na nasaksihan?

Mistulang iyak ng pagkahabag ng kalangitan
Ang unti-unting nagsipatakan.
Ulang nakisabay sa nakakakilabot na kalagayan -
Binubugbog ng lalaki ang asawa; ang kanyang pinangakuan ng pag-iibigan,
Isang taon pa lamang ang nakakaraan!

Dugo'y nag-unahan sa pagpatak,
Nagsimula sa kanyang kaibuturan binaybay hanggang sa kanyang talampakan.
Babae'y nanghina't nagsumamo
Na tigilan na ng kabiyak ang pambababoy dito at sa *anghel sa tiyan nito.

Ngunit ang tainga niya'y nagmistulang sungay;
Walang bahid ng pag-aalinlangang pinagpatuloy ang maling labanan.
Tengang-kawali't pinag-igihan pa'ng pagsipa't pagsuntok sa tinuturing n'yang kalaban.

Dala ng matinding droga, ang haligi ng kabahayan ay naging sundalo't kaaway sa sarili niyang tahanan.
Mistulang militar na naging ispeya't traydor sa dapat sana niyang pinagsisilbihang kaharian.

Ilang araw pa'ng nakalipas, isang nakakabangungot na kaganapan,
Ang naging usap-usapan sa pamayanan.
Isang inang nilapastangan ang nakitang walang malay, duguan at butas ang sinapupunan.

Sa gitna ng pighati't panlulumo,
Ang kampana'y muling umiyak ng pakikiramay.
Tunog ng madamdaming dalamhati.
Musikang malumanay,
.......dahan-dahang naghahatid sa inosenteng sumakabilang buhay.


*Kling Klang... Kling.. Klang..

Tiktok
The clock says in a hurry
Tiktok
The clock croaks in a constant rhythm

Pit pat
The rain rattling on the roof
Pit pat
The rain runs down in a fast marathon

Dug dug
The heart of your mistress beats
Dud dug
The heart of your lady pulse in a slow dance

Your lady in her white dress
On the floor she lays
Her eyes closed
Her hand closed tight into a fist

Her light lavender hair
Splayed around her head like a halo
Her bottom lip is bleeding
Her breathing unsteady

Kling klang
The chimes sings in a high note
Kling klang
The chimes chants in an attempt of announcement

Woosh woosh
The wind blows harshly
Woosh woosh
The wind whispered loudly

Dug dug dug
The heart of your mistress beats
Dud dug dug
The heart of your lady pulse in chaos

The clock
The rain
The chimes
The wind

Even her heart
The letter clasped in her hand
That contains the news of your demise
Reminds her of what she lost

Drip drip drip
The tears streaming down her face
Sniff sniff sniff
The grief starts to set in

I could still recall how gently I held your seed
and brought you to your bed.
There a drop of sweat from this forehead
joyously mingled with some grains of your soil.
I lay you there and saw the approval of the sun
as he sent his warmth reflected on your cheerful coating.
You lay down restfully on your life bed
And I dreamed…

You rose with your sturdy trunk
so robust with pride that your neighboring flagpole
felt intimated by your presence.
They sang him hymns
they bowed at him with their hearts
while you humbly stood there
swaying your greens, reaching atop, conquering the scorches of your sun
so that they, underneath remain unharmed, unscorched, unsoaked.

Soon you bore velvety fruits that the young munched as well as the old
On lazy days you gave them games of soccers and boomerangs,
and tennis, and catches and fetches.

On moonlights, you appeared to be a violinist
as the lovers kissed under your warm company.

You were the silent listener to the broken hearts
when you offered your comforting barks as a shoulder
till they cried and wept
till they breathed and smiled once again.

You had a way with humans who slouch under your shade
You hummed serenades that only your chirping friends
and fluttering colorflies hear and together
you created an orchestra harmonizing songs of friendship, of peace, of love.

I saw you arise and write down histories on to your memory—
how you tried to reach for the graduates’ caps in the air,
how spirited you applauded for great speeches  on that podium
but no one ever noticed.

I saw you sway your branches gracefully as the marching band went
boom-boom, tug-tug, and kling-klang.
It was your favorite part of the day.

So many times you bore witness to silly fights
of the young and the old too,
but most often you saw these creatures
make peace at dusk.

There I saw you in eternity.
There I saw you to be forever standing tall on your life bed.

Then I heard the hellish rumble of their chainsaw,
the shrill reverberation piercing through this feeble core
as they ruthlessly cut your body.

I could not afford to watch you being slain.

You are my life.

Your death is my death.

The openly defiant offensive measures
And the agonizing indignant actions
Are ardent attempts to cling tightly
To the peace of mind set
And the faith
Trust in the fact
That God loves not hates
My arms flailing half crazed
In a frantic open hug
As Tears of guilt and shame
Soaked with fear flow down
From my eyes closed tight
Help cleanse the pain
And soak out the hurt
An attempt to save my soiled love
Kling to what little  happiness remains
In my non reciprocated refrain of why so bold
Now deferred away in a silenced
Sound of love gone cold

I keep thinking about it
Looking for a sign
I know I'm not blind
But I still kling to the idea
The idea of you and I
I can see she makes you happy
More than we'd ever be
And for that I'm grateful
You're living your dream

Two lost souls floating through space
An empty love void trying to find their place
Never knowing that they need each other
Searching through the emptyness to find one another
Separate the glow dim, and long lost spark
But when combined they outshine the dark
Maybe they'll never meet but they both Kling to hope
Two lost souls connected by a rope

THE VOICE OF ENERGY - In memory of Florian Schneider

"The people who understand music understand silence."
                                 David Hockney


1975 or thereabouts and
my father is infected with

Radio-Aktivität
I lost in it

Kraftwerk's latest
offering.

It emerges from its inner
white sleeve

with a slight shhhhhh
tuck

shucking off its black
'Deutscher Kleinempfänger' cover.

Alien as anything
we have heard

straight from
Kling Klang studios.

Enjoying the fun
of its hyphenated pun.

Fizzing with radioactive decay
conflated with radio communication.

The album spinning
a black pool of sound

mesmerising the mind
as the needle picked up fluff

advancing from track
to track

finally arriving at
"Ohm Sweet Ohm."

"Dónall son...what on earth
is that!"  my father winces.

The da da dit bit
eating into my father's brain

spelling out its name
in Morse of course.

"Aghhh I can't stand it!"
he blurts out.

"Sorry Da!" I say.
Turn it off 'til he goes away.

But a mere day later he
hums as he saws

wood to make
a window.

"Radio-Aktivität
Fur dich und mich in All entsteht!"

Contaminated with it now
he even sings the Morse Code bit.

"Radio -Aktivität
Strahlt Wellen zum Empfangsgerat