Ang Hulagway nga Wala Mahitabo

INTRO: 

Prague, Czechia, October 5, 2026. A solo visit to Old Town Square and a photograph taken that evening inspired this poem, an imagined journey shared with two loved ones.

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by Gerwin Vic E. Bhuyo

Sa Old Town Square, nagdan-ag ang Orloj,
ang astronomikong orasan
sa siyudad.

Gigunitan nako si Nanay Fe
sa wala,
giagbayan si Tatay Goniong
sa tuo.

Midayeg mi sa mga karaang edipisyo
nga gidan-agan sa mga suga
sa kagabhion. Sa estatuwa ni Maria

mihunong si Nanay Fe
ug nangaliya.

Nagpabilin ako sa iyang tupad,
tupad sa monumento ni Jan Hus
diin si Tatay Goniong
mihunong
ug gisusi ang bato.

Nagpadayon kami. Gibaktas
ang mga dalan sa daghang kaliwatan.

Apan sa litrato—
nga akong gikuha niadtong gabhiona,

ako ra

ang makita.

Wala si Nanay Fe.
Wala si Tatay Goniong.

Ang Prague nahitabo
lang

taliwala niining mga pulonga.

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The Picture That Never Happened

(Translated from the Cebuano)

At the Old Town Square, the Orloj glows,
the city’s astronomical clock.

I held Nanay Fe
on my left,
my arm around Tatay Goniong
on my right.

We admired the old buildings
lit by the evening lights. At the statue of Mary,

Nanay Fe stopped
to offer her prayers.

I stayed beside her,
near the monument of Jan Hus
where Tatay Goniong
stopped
to examine the stone.

We walked on. Treading
the streets of generations.

But in the photo—
that I took that night,

only I

can be seen.

Nanay Fe is not there.
Tatay Goniong is not there.

Prague only
happens

between these words.

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About the poet

Gerwin Vic Evarretta Bhuyo is an OFW based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is an educator, writer, translator, photographer, and a listener.