Bigornia/Kilates

Only the Lonely
(kay MLK)

Tayong anak ng lumbay lamang
ang ganap na nakakikilala
ng ganyang melodiya at lirik.

Isipin mo,
bawat subyang ng pantig na ihagkis
ng bibig ng mang-aawit ay banal
na imbitasyon upang mas sumigasig
ang ating panglaw at hapis.

Nakasalampak tayo dito
sa malamig na sona ng dilim
at waring ipinagdadamot
ang naimpok na kasawian.
Marami tayong pangarap
at mas hilig natin ang mahirap abutin.
Maaaring humihiling ako ng ulan
at ikaw'y ng mahabang tagtuyot.
Pero tignan mo, di ba't
para tayong langong arlekin
pagkindat ng malisyosang mga ilaw?

Sa bagay, talagang tayo
ang kartograpo't soberano
sa kilungib ng ating salamisim
na kay-ingat na inaruga't ginigiliw
tulad ng pagsimsim ngayon
sa lasong banayad na dumadaloy
sa dila't lalamunan.

Makatwiran samakatwid
na ituloy natin ang pagpapatianod.
Batiin natin at tagayan
ang ating sarili
at isiping isa lamang ito sa mga dulang
dapat marinig bilang awit.

Hala, laklakin mo ang iyong tagay
at parating na ang susunod na bote
at iba pang lason.

Only the Lonely
(for MLK)

We alone, Children of Sorrow,
can appreciate
this kind of melody and lyric.

Listen,
each splinter of verse the singer
sings as if with the flick of a whip is a sacred
summons for us to be more zealous
in punishing ourselves.

Slumped here in the chill
of air-con in our zone of seclusion,
we jealously guard
our hoard of anguish.
We have a variety of wild dreams
and we hanker for the wildest.
I would ask for rain
and you for drought.
But look, aren’t we
just soused harlequins
when the naughty Tivoli bulbs blink?

Truth is, we are
the cartographers and sovereigns
of our own cave of illusions,
such illusions we’ve nurtured and nursed
the way we nurse ourselves now
sipping the poison that salves the back
of our tongue, the gullet of our throat.

It is forthright, therefore
that we continue to drift.
Let us congratulate and toast
ourselves
and regard this as one more play
that should have been sung.

Very well. Down your drink,
my friend, because another bottle is coming,
and other poison.

Maagang Gabi

Sa labas ng bintana,
nakadikit sa salamin
ang himbing na mga kulisap.
Ang mga balingkinitang pino
ay rehas ng dalisdis.
Ang kaliligo't pinilakang bahay
ay pinalalabo ng gumagapang na hamog
na nakikiisa sa usok ng tsimniya.

Pinaaga ng biglang ulan
kangina ang gabi.
Maya-maya, masayang dadamba't aawit
ang mga putikang paa at botas
sa sahig ng malamlam na kantina.
Pagkat kahit umuungol pa ang langit
at paminsan-minsang nagpupukol
ng matalim na liwanag,
sangmilya na ang layo ng kidlat
na nagtaboy sa patpating aso
patungo sa ilalim ng punong alnus.

Nagbuntong-hininga ang lagarian.
Samantala, limang uhuging bata
na may balikat na panggatong
ang bumabagtas sa giniginaw na daan,
at gaya ng ulilang ibong
nasa kampanaryo ng kapilya
ay muli't muling nagpapagpag
ng basang pakpak.

Early Evening

At the window,
clinging to the other side of the glass pane,
the moths are fast asleep.
Beyond, the slim pines
stripe the slope like grilles.
A house, rinsed with silver,
fades in the creeping mist
now mingling with chimney smoke.

A sudden rain
hastened the evening.
In a moment, mud-caked feet and boots
will step lightly, as if with music,
into the dimly-lit canteen,
for while the sky might still grumble
and hurl its knives of light,
the storm that sent the scrawny mongrel
into the alnus’ shade has passed.

The sawmill gives a sigh.
Meanwhile, five sniveling urchins
shouldering bundles of kindling
traverse the cold-stricken path,
and like the lone bird
perched atop the belfry,
they flap, from time to time,
their dripping wings.

About the Poet

Mike L. Birgornia was one of our finest poets. He was also a translator, editor and fictionist. He was a founding member of the Galian sa Arte at Tula (GAT), chairman of Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (Umpil), and managing editor at Phoenix Publishing.

He was  a consistent winner of the Palancas and the National Book Awards. He also received the SEA Write Award from the King of Thailand. His books include Puntablangko, Prosang Itim, and the posthumous Salida. He succumbed to a heart attack at age 50.