Day 98: A Poem From 1983 Goes Viral

Dialogue

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1. 1
   A

   Maupo ka, iha. Kahapon pa walang tigil ang telepono ko. Ganito pala kapag nag-viral.

   Sit down, iha. My phone hasn't stopped ringing since yesterday. So this is what going viral is like.

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2. 2
   B

   Mang Paeng, ipinapaskil po ng isang panig ang tula ninyong isinulat noong 1983. Kanino po kayo kampi?

   Mang Paeng, one side is posting the poem you wrote in 1983. Whose side are you on?

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3. 3
   A

   Wala akong kinakampihan. Basahin natin. Unang saknong: "Ang tinig ng bayan, kahit pa ibaon, sa lupa'y tutubo, sisibol, uusbong."

   I'm not on anyone's side. Let's read it. The first stanza: "The people's voice, though you bury it deep, will rise from the earth, will sprout and break through."

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4. 4
   B

   Iyan po mismo ang ipinapaskil nila, kasama ang litrato ninyo noong binata pa kayo.

   That's exactly what they're posting, along with a photo of you as a young man.

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5. 5
   A

   Ang guwapo ko roon, ano? Pero sa palagay mo, kaninong tinig ang ibinabaon noong 1983?

   I was handsome there, wasn't I? But whose voice do you think was being buried in 1983?

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6. 6
   B

   Ang mga hindi po makapagsalita noon. Pero ngayon, lahat po ng panig, nagsasabing sila ang pinatatahimik.

   Those who couldn't speak back then. But now every side says it's the one being silenced.

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7. 7
   A

   Iyan ang malas ng tula, kahit sino'y puwedeng makisilong. Ikalawa: "Ang dilim ng gabi'y hindi habambuhay, may bukang-liwayway sa dulo ng lumbay."

   That's a poem's bad luck: anyone can take shelter under it. The second: "The dark of the night will not last forever, there's a dawn waiting at the end of sorrow."

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8. 8
   B

   Noong 1983 po, iisa lang ang liwayway. Ngayon po, ang liwayway ng isang panig, dilim ng kabila.

   In 1983, there was only one dawn. Now one side's dawn is the other side's dark.

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9. 9
   A

   Makata ka rin pala. Pero walang nagpo-post ng ikatlong saknong, at iyon ang sagot sa tanong mo.

   So you're a poet too. But nobody's posting the third stanza, and that's the answer to your question.

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10. 10
    B

    Wala nga po akong nakita. Babasahin po ba ninyo para sa mga mambabasa namin?

    I really haven't seen it anywhere. Would you read it for our readers?

    Line 10
11. 11
    A

    "At kayong humiyaw nang kayo'y lumaya, di dapat ibaon ang tinig ng iba." Para iyan sa sinumang mananalo, noon man o ngayon.

    "And you who cried out when you were set free must never bury the voices of others." That's for whoever wins, then or now.

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12. 12
    B

    Kung gayon po, buong tula ang ilalathala namin. Kung sino man ang tamaan, bahala na po sila.

    Then we'll publish the whole poem. Whoever it hits, that's up to them.

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