A repository of social and political commentaries, literary attempts in Ilokano and English. This includes notes on daily occurrences and quotations and sayings. "Abel" is the IIokano term for tapestry or woven cloth. The term tried to capture the contents of the blog.
Friday, January 29, 2010
TI KALIDAYAN A DANIW
NI PABLO NERUDA
Patarus ni Peter La. Julian ti "The Saddest Poem/I Can Write the Saddest Lines Tonight".
Maysa ni Pablo Neruda kadagiti kalaingan a mannaniw ti lubong. Recipiente ni Neruda iti Premio Nobel ti Literatura.
Ita a rabii, makasuratak iti kalidayan a daniw
Kas pagarigan, isuratko, "Nakarangranga ti rabii,
Ket agarigenggen dagiti asul a bitbituen iti adayo."
Agkanta ti agrikusrikos nga angin-rabii iti law-ang.
Ita a rabii, makasuratak iti kalidayan a daniw.
Nagayatak kenkuana, no dadduma inayatnak met.
Idi, kas itoy a rabii, makasuratak iti kalidayan a daniw.
Namin-adu nga inagkak iti sirok ti awan patinggana a langit.
Inayatnak met idi no dadduma, ket inayatnak met.
Kasano nga awan ti agayat kadagiti naulimek ken mangnibinibi
a matana?
Awan kadi mamaayna no napaay ti ayatko a nangigawid kenkuana?
Narnuoyan ti rabii iti bitbituen ket awan iti sidongko.
Ita a rabii, makasuratak iti kalidayan a daniw
Ammok nga awan iti dennak. Riknaek a napukawko.
Denggek ti mangliwengliweng a rabii nga ad-adda a mangliwengliweng
iti kaawanna.
Matnag ti daniw iti kararua a kas iti pannakatnag ti linnaaw
iti karuotan.
Diakon ay-ayaten, awan duadua, ngem inay-ayatko
Ti timekko sapulenna ti angin a mangsagid iti lapayagna.
Addanto sabali a mangtagikua kenkuana. Wen, addanto
a kas iti panangtagikuak idi kadagiti agekna.
Ti timekna, ti nalap-it a pammagina, dagiti saan a
matukod a matana.
Dayta laeng, awanen. Iti adayo, adda agkanta. Iti adayo.
Agtawataw ti kararuak, ket awan isuna iti sidongko.
Birbiroken dagiti matak, kasla yasidegda kaniak
Sapsapulen ti pusok ket awan iti dennak.
Isu met la a rabii purarenna dagiti isu met la a kaykayo.
Dakami. Wen, dakami. Saankamin a kas idi.
Gapu kadagidi a rabii, kas itoy, inikutak kadagiti takkiagko.
Napukawko ti imnas, saan a pulos nga agtalna ti kararuak.
Uray no daytoyen ti maudi a saem nga ipalayna
Ket daytoy metten ti maudi a daniwko kenkuana.
Friday, January 22, 2010
FEELING LIKE ALFREDO, THE POET FROM SAN FERNANDO
to whom shall i address this poem, having read
the masterpiece of alfredo navarro salanga,
published after he died of a disease
that consumed his kidneys in the late 1980s?
he was good in spinning words
into arts of beauty—phrases, sentences,
even individual clauses are alive on the pages, at times
surprising you like artifacts buried in a corner
of a patchwork.
this san fernando city, la union native
was a great poet indeed—his "turtle voices in uncertain weather"
drenches you with his genius
as he poked fun of dictators,
rued street children and small men.
his inspiration came from the news—
he must have read the dailies
every single day of his short life, or at least,
after learning his ABC.
his comments were acerbic,
his statements severe, exact,to the point
like a true newscaster in heat.
but alfredo was different—he was deliberate and cool
wise and his punches came fast and straight
like longfellow’s arrows.
it was sad he died so early
he could have produced more books
of useful poetry.
but like the wind that could not stay
alfredo must go for his body was tired
and broken--he was a fat man once
but the big c gnawed at his flesh
and he was all bones when he went
to his grave.
accept my late farewell, comrade of the pen,
by now more than two decades later
you have become the earth we tread
but we walk on with your messages.
to whom then shall I address this piece?
it would not be fair to you, alfredo,
if i speak to political clowns and fools and buffoons
instead of you.
yes, shall i say, shall i say it would be unfair
if i speak to them in these uncertain times
of scandals and screaming headlines:
maguindanao massacre/barbaric ampatuans
heartless muslims beheading christians
robber barons of congress
gloria’s executioners of the poor
mike arroyo the most distrusted filipino
even katrina halili, james yap and kris aquino?
JOURNEYS/DALDALLIASAT
JOURNEYS/DALDALLIASAT
1.
This looking for the pot of gold/Daytoy panagbirbirok iti sangamalabi a balitok/This looking for the rich gentleman/Daytoy panagbirbirok iti baknang a malalaki
This looking for the young years/Daytoy panagbirbirok kadagidi kinaagtutubo
In Darayday, Santa Maria ken Gabu/Idiay Darayday, Santa Maria ken GabuThis looking for another shore/Daytoy panagbirbirok iti sabali a sangladan Is it looking for what is not there?/Panagbirbirok kadi iti awan?
2.
In Honolulu did the sun rise in the west?/Idiay Honolulu, simmingising kadi ti init idiay laud?
Did you see the full moon at noon?/Nakitam kadi ti kabus a bulan iti agmatuon?
Or did you look for the bitchy word or was it/Binirbirokmo kadi ti narugit a balikas wenno
Baguio’s naked shadow in the garbage can/Ti lamolamo kadi nga anniniwan ti Baguio iti basuraan On a back street in Waimanalo?/Iti maysa a lengleng a kalsada idiay Waimanalo?
Was the apparition at Halekulani on the beach in Waikiki/Ti al-alia idiay Halekulani iti aplaya ti Waikiki/
A memory of the white sands of Saud in Pagudpud?/Lagip kadi iti napudaw a kadaratan idiay Saud, Pagudpud?
3.What did you say to him—the huge/Ania ti imbagam kenkuana—ti narungbo a
Polynesian in rumpled coat —who begged/ Polynesiano iti kunes nga amerikana —nga ikkam koma/
For a dollar as you stepped out of Dimsum/Iti doliar idi rummuarka iti Dimsum
After gorging on noodles in the late hour?/Kalpasan a nagarub-obka iti miki iti naladaw a rabii?
Did you wave him away? Or was it the grease man/Pinaidamam wenno adda iti isipmo ti grasa a tao
Stretching his arms for alms on the pavement beside/A mangitangtanggaya iti imana iti bangketa iti abay
The Catholic church along Quezon Boulevard?/Ti simbaan-Catolico iti igid ti Quezon Boulevard?
The Honda Civic waited for you near a lampost/Inuraynaka ti Honda Civic iti asideg ti pagsilawan/Until the moon closed the ancient eyes in Oahu's Chinatown./Agingga a nagkidem dagiti daan a mata ti bulan idiay Chinatown ti Oahu.
4.
And what did you say to her, who greeted you,/Ket ania ti imbagam iti babai a nangkablaaw kenka,/A smile breaking her Oriental face, as you jabbed at/Umis-isem iti Dumaya a rupa idinto a nagpiselka
Eggplants and okra and ampalaya among Asian greens/iti tarong, okra ken paria kadagiti nateng ti Asia At Dong Phoung’s Texas grocery in ? Did she make-believe/Iti groseria Dong Phoung idiay Texas? Namati nga awan duadua
You were the cousin lost in the Tet offensive?/A sika ti kasinsinna a napukaw iti rinnupak ti Tet?It was a day when the word was made flesh/Aldaw idi a nagbalin a lasag ti balikas
And you laughed—tears in your eyes-- as she babbled on, her verbs galloping/Ket nagkatawaka—agluluaka— iti tarabitabna, napartak dagiti balikasnaLike wild horses from the great plains of Amarillo to San Francisco./Kas kadagiti atap a kabalio nga ages-eskapi manipud kadagiti nalawa a tanap ti Amarillo agingga idiay San Francisco.
5.
So what will you write in 15 minutes on three ruled-pads?/Ania ngarud isuratmo iti kinse a minuto iti tallo a bulong ti kuaderno?
Just jot down anything that strikes your mind/Isuratmo laeng ti sumken iti riknamSays Ricky Lee echoing Julia Cameron the American writer ./Kuna ni Ricky Lee iti parmata ni Julia Cameron a Puraw a mannurat
(Silence has afflicted the brown brain—the poet is dead--/(Inarabas ti ulimek ti kayumanggi nga utek—natayen ti mannaniw--And death is interred among the bones of dried words.)/Ket naitabon ni patay kadagiti tulang dagiti kupag a balikas.)
6.
The TV was on and the bad man was cursing son-of-a-bitch/Agan-andar ti TV, agsinsinallit ti kontrabida, okinnana/We are in terrible danger and the wife was lying flat on the bed/Agpeggadtayo iti napalalo idinto a nakadata ti kasimpungalan iti katre Her eyes covered with round slices of cucumber and Juanjuan/Nakaluban dagiti matana kadagiti ilap ti pipino ket ni Juanjuan
Was by his lonesome playing Cordillera notes on his plastic flute/Agkubkubukob iti kuartona, ipatpatayabna dagiti samiweng ti Cordillera iti plastik a pitona.
7.
No more are the snows under the pinewoods/Awanen ti niebe iti sirok dagiti saleng
And so are the icy mornings and evenings at the lake/Kasta met dagiti nakalamlamiis a bigat ken sardam iti dan-aw
Where dwell a thousand white ducks and multi-colored flying geese/A naed rinibu a puraw a pato ken marisan nga agtaytayab a ganso
Now agitated as the black man throws bird food/Nga agar-arikiakkak idinto nga ipurpurruak ti nangisit a lalaki ti taraonda On the murky water at 10 the morning./iti nalibeg a danum iti alas dies ti bigat.
8.
Stop it! Stop it! Was the Caucasian lady in red-blue jogging jeans screaming?/Saan!Saan! Um-umkis kadi ti Caucasiana iti nalabaga-asul a pantalonna/Was she terrified of the camera aimed at the grove of pine trees/
Disappearing behind the mists/Mabuteng kadi iti kamera a naipaturong rimmuong dagiti saleng a langlangeban ti angep?Or was it a hound dog barking in nightmarish dreams?/Wenno nangngegmo’t taul ti mangnganup nga aso kadagiti bangungot iti rabii?
9.
Whatever, arise, my friend, and walk again the meandering path/Tumakderka, ketdin, gayyemko,unorem manen ti umuleg a dana nga agawid/
Home where waits the New York Times’ best-seller ./Iti balay a pagur-urayan ti numero uno a libro ti New York Times .
It is a must read tonight while brown men toil, their hue turning bloody red/Kasapulan a basaem ita a rabii bayat nga aguper iti taltalon dagiti kayumanggi a tattao a tumingtingra a dara ti kudilda iti init/
In the sun in the country of shattered windows and vanished dreams./ Iti naliday a pagilian dagiti narumrumek a tawa ken natungday nga arapaap.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Journal of January 17, 2010
There is nothing in my mind now but I shall go on writing what comes to mind, an advice from Julia Cameron,the American writer. Am I thinking what? There is a noise in the kitchen. Must be the cat looking for something, or monitoring small mices. The other day, it caught one in its mouth and was playing with it. It would throw it away, and then catch it in its mouth and the ritual is repeated.
it is april 23. mama is supposed to come to baguio today but she called she would be making the trip tonight. the buyer of the lot in burgos village has not come and may not have the money that rene is borrowing. rene and his family are going to singapore on monday. they will be residing permanently in the island-state.
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