ANG MASA ni César Vallejo, tulang salin

ANG MASA
ni César Vallejo, makatang taga-Peru
salin ni Greg Bituin Jr.

Matapos ang paglalabanan,
at namatay ang mandirigma, isang tao ang nagtungo sa kanya
at nagsabing 'Huwag kang mamatay, minamahal kitang labis!"
Ngunit ang bangkay, alalaong baga'y, patuloy na nauupos.

Dalawa pang tao ang nagsalita't inulit yaon:
"Huwag mo kaming iwan! Magpakatatag ka! Mabuhay ka!"
Ngunit ang bangkay, alalaong baga'y, patuloy na nauupos.

Dalawampu, sandaan, libo, kalahating milyon ang nagtungo sa kanya,
humihiyaw: "Sa matinding pag-ibig, at walang magagawa ang kamatayan!
Ngunit ang bangkay, alalaong baga'y, patuloy na nauupos.

Milyong katao na ang pumalibot sa kanya,
na may iisang panawagan: "Manatili ka rito, kapatid!"
Ngunit ang bangkay, alalaong baga'y, patuloy na nauupos.

Hanggang sa buong sangkatauhan ang pumalibot sa kanya;
naramdaman, napatingin ang malungkot na bangkay sa kanila;
at unti-unti siyang bumangon,
at niyapos ang unang tao; at nagsimulang maglakad...


MASSES
by César Vallejo

At the end of the battle,
and the combatant dead, a man came unto him
and said ‘Do not die, I love you so much!’
But the corpse, alas, kept on dying.

Two men approached and repeated:
‘Do not leave us! Be brave! Come back to life!’
But the corpse, alas, kept on dying.

Twenty, a hundred, a thousand, half a million came toward him,
shouting: ‘So much love, and nothing can be done against death!’
But the corpse, alas, kept on dying.

Millions of people surrounded him,
with one common plea: ‘Stay here, brother!’
But the corpse, alas, kept on dying.

Then, all the men of the earth
surrounded him; moved, the sad corpse looked at them;
he rose up slowly,
embraced the first man; started to walk . . .


MASA
César Vallejo

Al fin de la batalla,
y muerto el combatiente, vino hacia él un hombre
y le dijo: “No mueras, te amo tánto!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Se le acercaron dos y repitiéronle:
“No nos dejes! ¡Valor! ¡Vuelve a la vida!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Acudieron a él veinte, cien, mil, quinientos mil,
clamando: “Tánto amor, y no poder nada contra la muerte!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Le rodearon millones de individuos,
con un ruego común: “¡Quédate hermano!”
Pero el cadáver ¡ay! siguió muriendo.

Entonces, todos los hombres de la tierra
le rodearon; les vio el cadáver triste, emocionado;
incorporóse lentamente,
abrazó al primer hombre; echóse a andar . . .

* César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only three books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century in any language. Wikipedia