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6.24.2005

Gerry's Cup of Melancholy


*my "extra challenge" for the day. Lost in translation at some points. Hehe.


My cup is a far a cry from the concoctions enjoyed
by the likes of you with discriminating palates.

I do not even come close to par, I admit
for I thrive in this simplicity:
hot water boiled in an old soot-caked kettle
from which I melt brown sugar
then add Café Puro.
On lucky days there’s a hint of Abrasa milk ,
if none, I make do.

That’s it.

This cup is enough to keep me company
as my mind sleepwalks
in the wakefulness of evenings such as this
when I dwell on love,
watered down by the passing of time
and ponder why silenced heartbeats
can’t be drummed back to life,
even by the very last drop of this bitter brew.


A.S. Cruz

6.24.05




La Tasa Dolorosa


By: Gerry Rubio, PP to!

(para ki Steph, asin saiyang pag-iriba, for their rendezvous at coffee shops that sparked penchant for poetry)

Harayo sa pagnamit nindo an sakuyang timpla,
Kamo, na igwang mga dilang metikulosa.

Mayo sa kalingkingan, inaako ko,
Simple lang ini: tubig na mainit,

Pinakala-kaga sa luma na asin oringon na takuri,
Tutunawon an asukar na brown (o pula?),

Asin Cafe Puro, buda kun sinusuwerte, gatas na Abrasa.
Kumpleto na, iibahan na ako kan sakuyang tasa,

Sa paglakaw kan sakuyang isip,
Sa kamatanga-an nin banggi, na ako gimata.

Linalamayan ko ang pagkamoot, na sa kahaluyan
Nin panahon, padagos nang na remata.

Dai pa mabubuhay pa ang dating kala-kaga nin daghan,
Higupon ko man ang ultimong tagdo nin matap-haw kong timpla.

allvoices

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Astiiieeeeeg! Oragon! Hehe. Thanks, Mabalos for lending my vernacular tongue with Shakespearean charm!

- Gerry S. Rubio
www.tabulas.com/~sketches

Stephie Cruz said...

My pleasure Gerry. It's a vernacular my tongue cannot speak but one my heart listens to. Bicolanos are fierce lovers, aren't they? I should know. Hehe.

Andoy Castellano said...

I may not know enough bicolano, but I get the drift of Gerry's poem and this looks like a good translation.

--andoy

Stephie Cruz said...

Thanks Andoy! *hugs* damn this is getting to be addicting