Jun Lit

Jun Lit Nov 2019

Noong musmos pa’y sabaw
sa isang malukong na pinggan
puno ng kaning may kaunting tutong
pagkaliban ko ng bakod, ika’y nakasalubong
kalooban ko’y kimi, dila ko noo’y urong

wala sa aking hinuhà,
walang sinangguning manghuhulà
sino ba’ng mag-aakalà
marmol **** bantayog
gatô palang kahoy ang loob
nang katotohana’y nabantog
sa kaunting yanig, gumuho ang moog

huwag daw sasamba sa mga d’yos-d’yosan
ngunit tila larawan ka ng may-kabanalan
haliging inasam na masasandalan
sa ilaw ko pala’y naging tampalasan

imaheng nadurog ay dagok sa aking likod,
at tila balisong na sa puso’y kumadyot
kulang ba ang hikbi ng pusang malambot?
labis bang nagmahal ang asong malikot?

Mahabang panahon ginugol, dumaan
Ang kapeng mainit lumamig,
Napanis na’t nakalimutan

Sa paglalakad, dinampot, hinimay
ang duming iniwan ng mga alamid
matiyagang pinagyaman
Isinangag ng paulit-ulit sa nagmumuning isipan
Giniling sa puso tumanaw sa pinagmulan
Tinimplahan ng matam-is na kapatawaran
Paglagok ng mainit, aking naramdaman
Tiwasay ang dibdib, may kapayapaan.

My ninth in my Brewed Coffee Poems series - poems much influenced by my memories of my old home and childhood in Lipa, Batangas.

#coffee

Jun Lit Oct 2019

Pointing Navels

Butterflies are guides
Where trees cheer and air is fresh.
Our navels point there.

#haikuinformnatureintheme

Jun Lit Sep 2019

Silent Queens

Simplicity bloomed
Silent scents lured fly fairies
Where ground orchids rule.

#haikuinformnatureintheme

Jun Lit Aug 2019

Another one gone too soon

I know this.
I knew this.
I’ve always known this -
that life
no matter how precious
could be snatched away
in the wink of an eye . . .
or even less . . .
even quicker.

Another tree
with so much promise,
cut in the careless gust
of a passing wind;
Another soul
who cared much
for this one and only Earth
had gone too soon.

I know this.
We know parting
but whenever parting comes
the sadness is never familiar.
We’re shocked
and need to be consoled:
This loving planet
never forgets its carers -
trees, butterflies, birds
and all it breathed to life
and all it nursed.

And when big trees go
the wildlings and saplings
the seeds you’ve sown will grow
in your steps, in your shadow
they’ll follow

the forest of our dreams lives
and that, as you rest in solemn space
you’d be happy to know
It would comfort us
who you’ve known , , ,
I know this . . .

To the memory of Ms. Eds Lopez, forester and environmentalist

Jun Lit Aug 2019

Molawin

bukal na buhay, dalisay, malamig
agos ng pag-ibig
ni Mariang Makiling
mula sa kanyang dibdib

duyan ni Rana
nagpapatulog kay Troides
ipinaghehele si Buot
sa harana nina Balikasyaw at Tariktik
pook-sayawan ng mga bayawak
tuwing konsiyerto ng mga paagang
at mga kuliglig

ninuno ng Lawa
ina ng kapa-kapa
ama ni Strongylodon
kapatid ng tibig at lipa
among tunay ng kawayang-tinik
uway, gugo, saging na pula
Aristolochia

Kagalang-galang kay El Niño
kinakanti-kanti ni La Niña
paliguan ng mamang hubo
labahan ng aling maganda

naglalaro
ang batang takot sa engkanto –
bingwit, tampisaw, lukso
sa mga bato

subalit
ang polusyon –
tahimik na namamaybay
isang almuranin –
mabalasik
ang kamandag
nakalalason, nakamamatay
sapagkat
mga tao’y nagbubulag-bulagan,
bulag.

English Translation:
Molawin

a living spring, pure, cool,
flow of love
from the *****
of Maria of Makiling

cradle of the frog Rana
puts the birdwing butterfly Troides to sleep
sings lullabies to Buot, the cloud rat
accompanied by serenades from the passerine Balikasyaw
and the hornbill Tariktik.
dance floor of the monitor lizards
every time the cicadas and the crickets
have their concerts

ancestor of the Lake
mother of the magnificent Medinilla
father of the Jade vine Strongylodon
sibling of the riverine fig and the nettle tree
the true lord of the spiny bamboo,
among tunay ng kawayang-tinik
rattan, shampoo liana, red banana
the vine Aristolochia

Respected by El Niño
Tickled by La Niña
bathing place of the naked man
washing area of the pretty woman

there they play
children weary of the forest fairies –
line fishing, treading, hopping
among the boulders

but
pollution –
silently swims with the flows
like the cobra, that there also grows –
potent,
its venom
poisons, kills
because
humans feign blindness,
are blind.

Additional Notes:
Rana, Troides, Strongylodon, Medinilla and Aristolochia are scientific (genus) names of a frog, birdwing butterfly, the Jade vine, a magnificent-flowered shrub at a vine that serves as a butterfly larval host plant, respectively, all found along the areas of Molawin Creek; their use in this poem is an attempt to illustrate the important role of biology in understanding the intricacies, not only of Molawin Creek, but also of the entire Mount Makiling, a forest reserve in the southern part of Luzon Island, The Philippines..

Jun Lit Jul 2019

Punò ng Pag-ibig

Kung dumating ang panahon
Ulap na lang, aking dahon
Kung sakaling may magtanong
Pag-ibig ang s’yang tutugon.

My poem in Tagalog written in traditional dalit form; dalit is a short poem with 4 lines per stanza, and 8 syllables per line.
English translation:
TREE OF LOVE
If and when does come that season
My leaves have dropped, just clouds to don
And someone asks where have I gone
My love for you shall speak, lives on.

Jun Lit Jul 2019

Haiku for Pinoy Pieta

On her lap still warm
Hugging dear life and her man
Judged by social gun.

Inspired by a photo by Raffy Lerma of the Philippine Daily Inquirer: https://frame.inquirer.net/2694/la-pieta/