Mahulog Sa’yo | Fall For You*

*Very first collaboration with the writer-best-friend I never got to have, my now proud Filipina blogger-best-friend and an equally gifted poetess and storyteller, Maria of Doodles and Scribbles.

She wrote the lovely Tagalog (language of the Philippines) poem and I tried translating it to English. ❤ Thank you for letting me do that, Maria. ❤

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Mahulog Sa’yo | Fall For You

Sanay na akong nakasunod | I have always been
sa iyong mga yapak, | a follower of your steps,
At ang anino mo’y | Behind your shadows
pilit hinanagilap. | I have never left.

Kuntento na akong pagmasdan | It is enough for me to stare
sa likod ng pintuan, | behind silent closed doors,
Ang pagsilay ng iyong mga ngiti | Waiting for your sweet smile
na sa aking pagod ay pumapawi. | that erases my soul’s remorse.

Kaya, mahal, pakiusap ko lang, | To you my love I beg,
Hayaan mong ako’y magmahal, | Just let me love you,
sa lihim lamang. | inside hidden heart’s keg.

Wag mo akong dalhin sa tuktok | Don’t let me reach your heart’s peak
para lang iyong iwanan, | Only to wait for your absent heart beats.
Wag mo akong bigyan ng dahilan para isipinm | Don’t let my mind wonder,
na maaaring may pag-asa, | that we have a future to share,
na maaaring ako’y mahal mo rin pala | that you can love me too, oh dear.

Dahil kung sakali man | Cause just in case,
handa akong tumalon. | know that I’m willing to jump.
Handa akong mahulog para sa iyo. | From a high cliff towards you.
Handa akong mahulog sa iyo. | To fall even to death just to be with you.

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©2016 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.

Photo credit: Unsplash.com

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In response to Napowrimo Day 30. (yes, I’m done catching up! :D)

 

And now our prompt (still optional!) Because we’ve spent our month looking at poets in English translation, today I’d like you to try your hand at a translation of your own. If you know a foreign language, you could take a crack at translating a poem by a poet writing in that language.

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Read the rest of my Napowrimo 2016 poems here!

 

Kilig sa Harana (Sweet Serenade): A Kasa*

Kilig sa Harana (Sweet Serenade): A Kasa

Bawat indak ng gitara               Your guitar’s dancing, in sweet strums
ang daliri’y tumitipa                 with your fingers, lovely tune hums
o pagsintang kay tamis            intense passion, so warm, so dear
musikang bumibigkis.              in music, you say it, so clear.

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©2016 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.

Photo credit: Mike Giles

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In response to Napowrimo Day 17.

 

Today, I challenge you to find, either on your shelves or online, a specialized dictionary. This could be, for example, a dictionary of nautical terms, or woodworking terms, or geology terms. Anything, really, so long as it’s not a standard dictionary! Now write a poem that incorporates at least ten words from your specialized source.

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I am from the little country of the Philippines and I used two of the 36 Of The Most Beautiful Words In The Philippine Language: kilig and harana.

(Quick note: Kilig is now part of English oxford dictionary!!! <3)

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*Kasa

Kasa in Korean means song-words and is compared to the Chinese rhyme prose (fu). Its defining features are the lack of stanza breaks, lines of variable length and its tendency to describe through parallelism. The form dates back to 15^th century Korea.

The Kasa, (song-words) is:

• syllabic, 7-syllable lines broken by caesura into alternating groups of 3 and 4 syllables or 8 syllable lines broken by caesura into equal 4 syllable phrases.
• strophic which can vary in number of lines.
• tends to describe or expose through parallels.
• written from unrequited love, patriotism, daily life, nostalgia, etc.

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Read more of my Napowrimo 2016 poems here!

Indak*: An Imayo

Indak*: An Imayo
©2016 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer

Drum beats loud jiggly jive, turns hips up, alive,
Guitar strums country folk tunes, brings foot taps so soon,
Trumpet exhales lively noise, awakes nerves and bones,
Saxophone hums sexy notes, heats up bods afloat.

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*Indak  is a Tagalog/Filipino word which means to dance in time with music.

Photo credit: Thomas Kelley

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In response to Blogging from A to Z Challenge: I is for Imayo.

Imayo

Imayo It seems that whenever I research a Japanese form, it involves an alternating 5-7 or 7-5 syllabic structure. The Imayo (present style) of the 12th century is no exception. This form creates long lines broken by caesura separating 7 and 5 syllables in the line.

The Imayo is:

• a 4 line poem.
• syllabic, written in 12 syllable lines broken by caesura after the 7th syllable.

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Missed a letter/poem? Read all Poetry from A-Z here.