Charlene
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
Even from this song bursting from what hearts
Echo the unfolding violence of our time
It had resist the countless calls of change
Into entrails of bitterness and poverty
As evidenced by the shantytowns and the countryside
And men whose minds filled with hunger and hatred
But wombs are still fertile with hope
Yet may come what may
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
That speaking of the devil,
Army men with its civilian-clad intelligence agents
Goons garb in uniforms
High coolish rookie policemen wade through
The rank and file of chanting young demonstrating radicals
Flooding out of communities and universtity halls
Their nightsticks eager to slash soft flesh
And water cannons to burst itchy feelings in one's skin
Plainclothesmen taking pictures of those who aspire and inspired
To be disappeared after as time comes forward
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
Peasants, out in the fields still suffer from onslaught
Of both sudden rain and heat
Of burning furuous summer suns
And of drenching torrential rains
Yet the worst suffering they face
Is the hellish face of landlords denying request
In spite of giving the biggest share of their crops
If not giving the lords few crumbs to hungry stomachs
That deny the passage of progress
And even a bit of promise is nowhere seen on the horizon
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
That mass transport drivers and workers complain
About rising prices of oil and other products
Cut short the promise of bountiful boundaries
And still low paid costs of living allowances
While their wives nag time and again like fishwives to death
And still the majority of apathetic citizens remain deaf
Trying to escape with their newfound enjoys
From all the clamors of the suffering nation
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
That call center agents with their overtimes
Feeling stressfull from time to time
The nagging voices of the complainants
Be replied with the foul mouths of the burned outs
Coffees for weekdays and beers for weekends
Necessities and state fees drain monthly allowances
Reason enough for them to commit suicide
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
Whores and prostitutes sell short time bliss
To loveless husbands and forsaken lovers
Also to worldly and warm-blooded teenagers
Over the districts whose notoriety is life
Yet as wild flowers spontaneously bloom
Diseases come too soon
Yet still red lights reek like wild flowers strewn
Charlene,
There are no stars glowing from the sky,
That the system controlling the society is going down the drain
Self gratifying, profiteering
Anything terrifying
What with graft and corruption, state terrorism intersped
In between to the benefited:
To the moneyed elite
To the powered structure
To the kingmakers, fiefs, and lords
The moneyed few sprinkling crumbs
Trickle down yet the have-nots none
I know you can't understand all these
As you hear the music playing
You kept running from all realities
Despite feeling pain astounding
Yes, there are no stars in the sky
But we seen dogs eat dogs
And the old rapes the young
Even if the night is darkly pregnant
Promising a brilliant array of dotting twinkling stars
Still, there are no stars in the sky
Charlene,
Yes, there are no stars in the sky
But instead a red lantern glowing
Raised by your militant hand.
To Charlene Bernabe,
2014