Pagbúhay kan Lengwáhe

Kadaklán na beses, kun saén an saróng lengwahe nagngángarongátong mawará o magadán, dakúl an puwédeng gibóhon tangáning buháyon iní.


Kun maaráman nanggád kan saróng komunidád na tibáad magadán an lengwahe nindá, magíbo sindá nin mga paági pára buháyon o padagúson pa iní.


Kaipúhan na mísmong an komunidád an mámuyang magsalbár kan saindáng sadíring lengwáhe. Mas oróg na makabuluhán kun paháhalagahán sa mísmong mga gawégawé o kultura kan mga táwong iní an lengwáheng ginagámit kan dikit sa saindá, o an ináapod na minoríya.
 

Kaipúhan man na gástusan an mga gigibóhon na iní— puwédeng magmukná nin mga kurso o maggámit nin disiplínang ma-ádal dapít sa lengwáhe, mag-andám nin mga materyáles dángan mag-engganyár nin mga paratukdó na iyó an mabalangíbog kan lengwáhe.
 

Oróg na kaipúhan an mga lingwísta—sinda iyó an mga magámit kan lengwáhe—an katuyuhán iyó na maitalá, mahimáyhimáy, saká maisúrat iní.

 
Kaipúhan kan mga táwong magbása dángan magsúrat sa sadiri nindáng lengwáhe, kun ma’wot nindáng magpadágos iní; kun má’wot nindáng sindá mísmo magdánay.

 

Villa, Ciudad Iloilo
June 2008

                                              

Gold

Pale gold of the walls, gold
of the centers of daisies, yellow roses
pressing from a clear bowl. All day
we lay on the bed, my hand
stroking the deep
gold of your thighs and your back.
We slept and woke
entering the golden room together,
lay down in it breathing 
quickly, then
slowly again,
caressing and dozing, your hand sleepily
touching my hair now.

We made in those days
tiny identical rooms inside our bodies
which the men who uncover our graves 
will find in a thousand years,
shining and whole.


Donald Hall, 
American poet laureate
1970

Summer

Quiet, calm afternoons bring me back to my afternoons in our old house in Bagacay. To avoid the baking heat of the rooms, I often lay down on the canopy of our rooftop, safe under the eaves. There, I fell asleep until a cooler breeze from the backyard of the Absins, our neighbors who owned the house at the foot of the hill, woke me up. The late afternoon was the best time to linger, then someone from the house—Mother, brother, or sister—called me for an afternoon treat of linabunan na batag or gina’tan.

Summer.

Acknowledgment
Paz Verdades "Doods" Santos, Bikol critic
The Literature teacher.

Suburban Madrigal

By John Updike [1932-2009]
Telephone Poles and Other Poems, 1959

 
Sitting here in my house,
looking through my windows,
diagonally at my neighbor’s house
I see his sun-porch windows;
they are filled with blue-green,
the blue-green of my car,
which I parked in front of my house,
more or less, up the street,
where I can’t directly see it.

How promiscuous is
the world of appearances!
How frail are property laws!
To him his window is filled with his
things: his lamp, his plants, his radio.
How annoyed he would be to know
that my car, legally parked,
yet violates his windows,
paints them full
(to me) of myself, my car,
my well-insured ’55 Fordor Ford
a gorgeous green sunset streaking his panes.

Ribu ribong dagom an duros ngonyan na aga.

http://nooonoooy.blog.friendster.com/

For Emma, who loved so much

I hate to leave really.
But I should go home tonight.

Tomorrow  I will build a house
by the forest near the sea
where I alone
can hear my silence.

For it, I gathered six palm trees
stronger than me, to become
the pillars, firm foundations
of my tranquil days to come
which I will not anymore hear.

I know the trees are good
for they survived many typhoons in the past
which uprooted many others
and which made others bend,
and die.

I hope they become bright lamps
along the black road
where I will pass through
when I go home tonight.

I hope they’d be there
and that they would recognize me.
And if they don’t, it wouldn’t matter.
I would not want any trees other than them.
For I know they are very good.

But tonight, please
let them be
my warm candles.

And when I’m home
I will be certain:
Tomorrow, I will have built a house
in the forest near the sea where
Every palm tree can hear his silence. 

And the others can listen.


"The Sea House"
Philippine Graphic Weekly
November 1996

The Touched Life

By David Ray
1969


The touched life
gives up dignity,
cries aloud in public,
gets down on the floor
with the children of light
and of darkness,
weeps openly
or in secret,
yearns for a face
that is gone or
a face in the mirror,
defends the assassin,
sees only glory,
sees no end
to the suffering,
no opening up,
no gifts coming                                                        "The Scream,"  1893
finds meaning in wheat,                                            by Edvard Munch [1863-1944],
mostly isn’t wanted,                                                 European expressionist painter
is victim to anything
a cow, a wooden bucket,
can stand in the doorway
and gawk,
weeps at bikes leaning
together, scrawls notes
madly, shoves them
into books,
is lunatic, wonders
which will come first
the collapse of
capitalism or the emancipation
of man,
can be a gatekeeper,
can paint plates,
can hear the terrible meanings
go on speaking
can stand offering spirit,
saying would do anything for—
and what do we do
how do we pay back
the touched life
that spirit pure
as the baby rabbit—
with bars across the road
slaps across the face
by edict saying
it shall not happen
this miracle of
human closeness.

Paggisa Nin Tiniktik with Some Garnish

Gisahon mo an bawang, sibulyas, kamatis; later, ilaag mo na an perang patos na tiniktik fresh from the talipapa. Just a pinch of salt lang ta may asin-dagat pa baga an talaba—iyan an mapahamot kan saimong obra-kusina pag nag-alusuos na. La’ganan mo nin two cups of water, tapos alalay lang an kalayo, low fire lang ba? Takupan ta nganing dai mag-evaporate an sustansya. Pakala-kagaon mo ta nganing maluto an tiniktik. Simmer for a while, mga three minutes or less, depende sa dakul kan nasabing seashells. After that, puwede mo nang ilaag an berdura. Or kangkong can do. Pero garo awkward siya kun la’ganan mong pechay o patatas—bako man kaya ning menudo o pochero. Dai mo bitsinan tanganing wholesome siya—maski siisay na bisita, health-conscious o boy scout, puwedeng maka-free taste. Pag pigluwag mo na an saimong ginisa and serve it with some steaming hot rice, in fairness, sa dapog pupuroton an sinasabi nindang fine dining.

Ateneo Serrado

            Serrado an Ateneo pag-abot mo. Mayong tawo. An guardia sa tarangkahan dai mo bisto. Mabisita ka sa sarong pading dai nag-uli pag bakasyon. Pero mayo daa siya. Pero pinadagos ka.

             Hali sa guardhouse nahiling mo an Four Pillars may bago nang pintura. Nagduwaduwa kang maglaog ta garo dai mo aram kun Ateneo man nanggad an linaogan mo. Pininturahan ni nin kolor na garo man lang bagong shopping mall sa Centro. Nagimatan mo na kayang kupas an pintura kan Four Pillars kaya nataka ka kan nahiling mo.

            Saboot mo tapos na man nanggad an mga aldaw kun kansuarin sa façade kan eskwelahan na ini, nagparasad-pasad an magagayon na coed na pencil-cut an mga palda—yaon ka duman sa hagyanan kairiba si Emil, Bong sagkod Gerry, iniiriskoran pa nindo an magagayon na nag-aaragi.

            Nagsalingoy ka sa wala. Mayo na an soccer field kun saen kamo nagkaramang sa carabao grass ta may nagpasaway na parehong kadete sa Delta Platoon. An Xavier Hall na dati wooden building pa kaidto na dati man na SIO (Social Integration Office) saro nang konkretong edipisyo. Dai mo na mahiling an Pillars Office kun saen mo pigmakinilya sa bukbukon nang Olympia an enot mong love letter ki Jenny. Huli ta bago, dai mo na ni nabisto.
 
            Nagsalingoy ka sa tuo. Mayo na an mahiwas na grounds kun saen kamo naggiribo nin Belen para ilaban sa Pintakasi. Sa may batibot na ito nabisto mo si Lani, kaklase mo sa Sociology ki Nong Fernandez. Tapos na an Pintakasi kaidto pero dai mo pa nalingawan si mahamison na huyom kan Miss Irigang ini. Totoo man nanggad an cultural myth na pinag-adalan nindo sa subject na ito. Dai pa natapos an semester kadto naprobaran mo na tulos kun ta’no ta an Iriga pamoso sa mga aswang—pirang banggi kang dinuno kan sarong kagayunan na Lani an pangaran. Haen na man daw siya ngonyan?

            Naglakaw-lakaw ka. Nagsara-salingoy.

            Haen na an gym? A, natahuban na palan kan Xavier Hall Building na bago. Dai mo na tulos nahiling an Blue Knight sa letrang A na enot mong nahiling kan nagpila ka para mag-exam sa First Year High School beinte anyos na an nakakaagi. Pagbalik mo pag-ralaogan, ogmahon kang maray kan mabasa mo na an ngaran mo sa lista kan LG 12.

            Mayo ka pang kabisto kaidto kaya pagtingag mo sa façade kan building, nahiling mo an Blue Knight na nakasakay sa kabayo. Hiya! Maski sa kabayo saboot mo masakay ka makauli lang tulos sa Bagacay—iiistorya mo ki Mama mo an marahay-rahay na bareta ito.

            Tinahuban na palan kan Xavier Hall Building na bago. Dai mo na mahiling si Blue Knight na tiningag mo kaidto.

            Mayo na an dating Ateneo de Naga. Sarong aldaw pagbisita mo, dai mo na ‘ni naabutan. Marayo na sinda. Mayo ka nang mabisto digdi. Dai ka na madagos sa laog. Tibaad ka kaya maanayo. Malakaw ka na lang pabalik sa Avenue.

            “Tapos na ang maliligayang araw,” sabi ninda ngani kaiyan. Tibaad an Golden Age kan Ateneo de Naga nakaagi man nanggad na. An Four Pillars Lucky Fortune Hotel an pintura.

            Maraot man nanggad daw na magsangli nin itsura an Ateneo—na an Ateneo magbago?

            Bako daw an Ateneo bako man sanang sarong edipisyo? Bako daw an sinasabing Ateneo ika mismo—an tawong naglaog sa antigong edipisyong ini? Tibaad ika man nanggad an makaluma— habong magsangli, habong magbago.

            Dai man daw an ngaran mo—Ateneo Serrado?

Times and the Man

To the left of the chapel fronting the registrar’s
I am warmly greeted by the bust of the late
school president, his head up in royal stance,
one that commanded, in his life, not necessarily
respect, but rather generosity of spirit
so that everyone in my community heard
“to serve Bikol and country” as a tall order,
as towering as the Four Pillars
beyond which much I have done.

 
Bronze perhaps, the bust’s broad shoulders
remind me of one prominent, imposing
civility, who considered diplomacy a byword,
exactness a crime, rapport a virtue,
the verities even I need now
that the man is long gone.

To Raul J. Bonoan, S.J. [1935-1999]

Authorized Personnel Only

Inspired by Uncle Badong, on the occasion of his retirement

 

 

For some people, retirement from a job is not a welcome change. Others who hardly plan their retirement at all are even prone to deteriorate because they might not be prepared for the day when they will have virtually nothing to do anymore.

 

People should be encouraged to remain in paid employment for as long as they want. For one, an employee can be efficient if he is driven to do something. If he still wants to work regardless of his age, the company can always bank on his efficiency because more often than not, he or she will deliver the tasks expected of them—or even go beyond it.

 

Second, employees who have reached a certain length of experience in their work most probably have acquired a distinct level of expertise as well, one that is needed in a company or organization in its fulfillment of successful operations. So instead of taking time to invest in training newcomers who will (have to) learn the needed skills, the company can always entrust its vital tasks to the veteran. The case can be compared to that of wine wherein the older the wine is stored in the barrel, the more suave its taste becomes—hence, the better quality and satisfaction.

 

 

 

 

 

Retiring from government service at 60 this year,
Uncle Badong is pictured here in his usual afternoon outfit
in our ancestral libod, perhaps after having swept the yard

of his house and finished the luon which drives away

the noknok and other pestering nocturnal insects,

along with a horde of evil spirits around the yard.

Some 20 meters away from this house is his MARO office,
the workplace where he had helped countless farmers

to properly claim their land titles, and perhaps even

saved a number of them from the paraanab [landgrabbers]

of all kinds. His has been the kind of work, or more aptly,

a sense of commitment that not just any CSSAC graduate

can read into in order to fully deliver.

 

If people are allowed to work for as long as they want, which would mean that the personnel will be filled by seasoned workers and staff, the company is sure to face challenges in the future headstrong. Its seasoned personnel and human resource will inspire everyone else with the wisdom they (must have) gained from the many years of exposure to the kind of work in the organization.

 

Indeed, if people are employed in a company so that they serve it in the best sense of the word and, in essence, help build it, keeping them for as much as they want can benefit the organization, enough to sustain itself through the years.