poetry

Bakuko, Balas ug Ulahipan
ni Linda Alburo

(By the way, kon ang bakuko
wala na sa inyong bokabularyo
dalikyat ug pangutana kang Iyo Karyo
kay wala na karoy bakuko
sa mga bag-ong diksyonaryo.
Ug karon, sa akong balak.)

Tagasyudad na ko ron nag-inusara pagduaw
sa lapyahan dinhi sa amo nagpabugnaw
kay nagmahayay nanag-ilugay sa karang balay
human namo ikalubong si Nanay Biyay.

Kaniadto managsuon manglukso nianang bato
mosalom magtampisaw hangtud tingpaniudto
bisag manglagom na morag si Agta Kadyo
ug kon hapit na gain mosalop ang kahaponon
manguha mi dinhag daghang kinhason
magkalapok gud magkagukam og lukdo
sa bukong ngat punog aninikad ug bakuko.

Taudtauod nahupayhupay na kining dughan
pagsud-ong sa hapsay-linaw nga kadagatan
may batang babaye sa unahan nagpungko
balaybalay sa balas gihimoan niyag tapangko-
Unsang pangandoy ang iya dihang giluko?
May bata sab nga lalaki duol anang sakayan
nanghulbot man kaha siyag mga ulapihan—
unsang paglaom ang iya unyang mapingwitan?

Human, gisukot ko ang kanhi kong yaya
kon kinsang ugod kadtong mga bataa
taga-silingang baryo kuno sa Canbanua—
si Ceclia kansang mama atua sa Saudi
ug si Joaquin kansang papa napriso pirmi

Sama kanako diay ang karaang lapyahan
Ang kanila usa usab ka dagpanan—
Ang bakuko, bulas u gang ulapihan
Maoy mga dulaan sa nagmingaw namong handurawan.

Sand beetle, Sand, and Sea Centipede
Translation by the author

(By the way, if the sandbeetle
is no longer in your vocabulary
go drop by and ask Iyo Karyo
because there’s no more sandbeetle
in any new dictionary.
And now, to my poem.)

Now a city dweller, alone I visit
The shore while trying to cool off
There’s blaming and claiming at the old house
After we buried Nanay Biyay.

Long ago we are children, from that rock
Would dive and stir the sea until lunchtime
No matter if we grew as dark as Ogre Kadyo
And towards the setting of the afternoon
We’d pick plenty of sea creatures there
All muddy and straining to carry on the head
Coconut shells full of shellfich and sandbeetles

After a while I feel better
Looking at the smooth and clear sea
A girl there sits on her heels
Forming a roof for her house of sand—
What dream does she let curl inside it?
A boy near that fishing boat
Is pulling out some sea centipede—
What hope will he catch with his bait?

Later, I asked out former babysitter
Who those children were
She says they’re from barrio Canbanua—
Cecile, whose mother is in Saudi
And Joaquin, whose father goes in and out of jail.

Now I know that for then as for me
The old shore is also a haven—
The sandbeetle, the sand and the sea centipede
Are playthings of our lovely reverie.

From Sinug-ang, Women in the Literary Arts Inc., Cebu City, 1999

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