Stand (A Tale of Blood)

Brother, are you with me?
    Against the tide of darkness we brace ourselves
    The Wheel of Time spins round once more
Ngunit kahit anong mangyari, magumpisa nanaman tayo
But whatever happens, we will start over again
        My life for you, till the end of time
                   My life in your hands
                        Though these choices are not yet ours to make

Sister, will you stand beside me?
Though grief, pain, sorrow, woe
     have torn us apart
     Misunderstandings, miscommunications
         Lies are all we hear from each other
              And I am no longer worthy even of your gaze
         The truth lies in someone else's hands
                   Not mine
             brown hands fading
             long hidden from the sun
             Ngunit huwag ka magalala
         Worry not
                  kahit matapus itong buhay
                        walang hangan sa mahal ko sa iyo
          Even if this life ends
                        My love for you will never cease

Tayo lang ba ang naiwan? Are we all that remains
          Here in this benighted world?
Some will not face the danger.  Some are the enemy themeselves.

Manong, eldest
          your journey brought us here
          from darkness into darkness
               and yet
   you still stand across a sea of time
   Hear our call
               Faint beneath the veil of memories, dreams
   Your bright banner shimmering, glimmering, now fading, dying
          The Dream turns into nightmare, for all that is happiness is dust
               Much blood has been spilt for our sake
                   and your wounds, still they bleed
    I see it in your tears
                   but I cannot help but wonder if all that you have wrought
                             is in vain
      We hear your words,
          but the rules of this game, this fight,
               have changed again.

Inay, mother
      upon the shoulders of giants, we have climbed
           Too close to the glass ceiling of the heavens I stand now
                and the only way I can see is down
     Success is failure is happiness is sorrow
                           The Wheel of Time spins, and your truth is my lie
                           Yet, still, your love burns fiercely in my heart

Tumingin kayo!
           Nagiba nanaman itong laro, itong laban.
All of you look! For this game, this fight has changed again.

       The armies mass upon all sides
but brown hands only clutch at their ill-gotten wealth
     brown faces sneer in ridicule behind our backs
     Even as the tide of darkness falls upon us
               Will we ever stand together
                     in this land far across the Sea?
     But when the flood ends, and all is lost
                     only this echo will remain
     Kahit anong mangyari, magumpisa nanaman tayo