Huling Awit ni President Cory

Published on August 9, 2009

Ni RICHARD R. GAPPI
Inilathala ng Bulatlat

”We told Mom that we are so guilty that we’re letting her suffer a lot. That is why we’ve decided that we’ll let her join dad (Ninoy),” Kris Aquino recalled. The day after, the former president told them that she saw her late husband who was offering her to come with him in the afterlife. Kris said it was the first time she saw her mom smile again.

Salamat, mahal, sa tatlong ulit na pagmamahal.

Tingnan mo sila, ang ating mga anak –
sa dilaw na dagat, kumikinang ang naninilaw
na pahina ng kasaysayan:
mga alambreng tinik na may dilaw na kurbata,
nakabarikada sa mahabang kalsada ng pakikibaka.

Tulad mo, mahal, sinubok kong ihatid
sa luwalhati ang lahat. Ngunit sa pagbagtas,
may mga pinto na tumangging magbukas.
Paano sisinag ang ginto-dilaw na kinang at aliwalas?

Mahal, ipagpaumanhin kung ano man
ang ‘di naging sapat tulad ng mga kinimkim ko
sa bulsa ng puso nang wala sa aking tabi ang iyong anino.
Ang ating pagkukulang ang kanilang tutungtungan
upang ang puwang ay mapunan.

Ngunit sa ngayon, mahal,
sa huling hibla ng bugtong-hininga,
damhin natin ang init ng ating nagbabalik-bayang titig.
Ipabaon natin sa kanila itong nakakwadro nating larawan:
ang magkatuwang nating pagyakap sa bayan
tulad ng pagdaop ng ating mga palad noong ikasal
hanggang ngayong nasa bukana ako at patawid ng hukay.

Salamat, mahal, sa tatlong ulit na pagmamahal.

Last Song of President Cory

Thank you, my dear, for loving me not just once but thrice.

Look at our sons and daughters —
brittle leaves of yesteryears are shining
once again on the fields of gold:
thorny fences, wrapped with yellow ribbons,
line up along the endless road of struggle.

Like you, my dear, I have tried my best
to bring them to a life of divine. But there
were others who refused to open their doors.
Would sunlight and comfort come into their living room?

My dear, forgive me
for my shortcomings as what I have done when your
absence hovers upon me like a shadow, but which I quietly kept
in one of the rooms of my heart. Our weakness
shall be their strength while they stand firm on the ground.

But for now, my dear,
as I draw out my last breath
let us cherish the warmth of our sorely missed gaze.
Let us hand down to them our carefully framed image:
a couple who mutually embraced our Motherland
and with palms cupped together like newly-weds vowing to stay together
even in death and even if I am just a step away from my grave.

Thank you, my dear, for loving me not just once but thrice.

(Inilathala ng Bulatlat)