One fateful Tuesday afternoon, I hopped on a train called LRT2. And there above the train's door i saw the words:
Al perderte yo a ti, tú y yo hemos perdido:
Nang mawala ka sa akin, ikaw at ako’y nawalan:
I stopped reading, then continued.
yo, porque tú eras lo que yo más amaba;
Ako dahil ikaw ang minahal ko nang lubusan
y tú, porque yo era el que te amaba más.
At ikaw dahil ako ang sa iyo’y lubusang nagmahal.
My lips tugged a smile that pulled strings in my heart.
Pero de nosotros dos tú pierdes más que yo:
Ngunit sa dalawa ay ikaw ang higit na nawalan:
I went a bit closer and squinted my eyes. The font is way too small and the train is moving way too much.
porque yo podré amar a otras como te amaba a ti,
Dahil pwede kong mahalin ang iba tulad nang pagmamahal ko sa iyo,
A robotic voice filled the train; time is running out and here I am waiting for the climactic ending.
pero a ti no te amarán como te amaba yo.
Ngunit ika’y ‘di mamahalin tulad nang kung paano kita minahal.
The doors opened, and I walked out of the train smiling that smile that pulled strings in my heart.
the poem in Spanish was by Ernesto Cardenal