Balay by Salidummay

(English translation)

My father and my mother
Came to Baguio
Because there is no employment
In the village where they came from

My parent’s house
Is a single room
Where we sleep
Eat and wash

We wake up early
Everyone leaves the house
Even my younger sister
Who sells plastic bags

My mother buys and sells empty bottles
Father work odds jobs
So that we have
Something to pay four our daily meals

The house of my father and mother
Is always being threatened
We worry when the day comes
Of violent demolition

We are at our wits’ end
Where can we live in peace?
Where can we get work?
What lies ahead of us?

Oppressed brothers and sisters
Unity is the answer
We have to cut off
The roots of poverty