Balitaw

By DJ Workz - November 27, 2017






BALITAW


LUIS:
Kining akong paghigugma
Sa bukog, Inday, mikagit
Kong hinog ka pa lang sab-a
Lamyon ko hangtod ang panit.

PINAY:
Dili ako, Luis, motu-o
Nianang imong mga sulti
Pila na kaha ka babaye
Ang imo nianang gitunto?

LUIS:
Kining akong pagtindog
Ako na nga ginatukib
Ingon sa balay gitukod
Giuna ko ang paglatid.

PINAY:
Ang imong mga tuyo
Daan ko nang hingsayran
Wala pa gani ikaw manghangyo
Ako na ikaw gibalibaran.

LUIS:
Human ko na baya latiri
Gikutkot ko na ang yuta
Gipatindog ko na ang haligi
Gisunod ko ang mga damba.

PINAY:
Ako na kanimong gisulti
Nga dili na ikaw magbudlay
Ibta kanang imong haligi
Kay dili gayod ako muangay.

LUIS:
Ako inday ang nagabalay
Usa ra ang akong haligi
Pagbutang sa abay-abay
Gidungan ko ang kaballete
Pagbutang sa kaballete
Dungan ang mga pagbo
Maoy lig-ong espiki
Ang tagkos ug mga tarugo.


PINAY:
Ako gani magsulti
Wala ing balikbalik
Kanang imong haligi
Kaanugon lamang kausik
Kaballete ug mga pagbo
Kon muabot na ang bagyo
Walay manghisalin
Lulugtion tanan sa hangin.

LUIS:
Kutob ko ikaw makita
Sa usa ka pagpamilok
Ingon ako sa gipahigda
Sa maidlot nga mga tunok.

PINAY:
Kutob ko usab ikaw makita
Dako kong paghitingala
Anaa pa gani ang gatas sa baba
Namulong kana bahin sa gugma.

LUIS:
Sa gamay ka pang bata
Daan ko na ikawng ginapalandong
Karon ikaw nga dako na
Dili ba ako Inday makasilong?

PINAY:
Sa gamay pa akong bata
Daan ko na nga gipamulong
Nga kong ako madako na
Sa sulti dili ako palimbong.

LUIS:
Kanang sudlay mong sisik
Sa buhok nagatugabong
Ingon sa gugmang naglabtik
Sa dughan nagapanghagbong.

PINAY:
Kining sudlay kong sisik
Timaan kini sa katarong
Nga sa sulting palabtik
Dili kini palimbong.

LUIS:
Unsay bulong sa mingaw
Sa paglakat walay makuha
Gitinguha ko sa adlaw-adlaw
Ang pagpaagay sa mga luha?

PINAY:
Adunay tambal sa mingaw
Mao ang humay ug saging
Ayaw katulog maadlaw
Pagdaro ug pagkaingin.

**********

LUIS:
Lipaya ang akong kamingaw
Utang kong buot kanimo
Baslan ko ikaw sa ulahing adlaw
Kay ako magasilbi kanimo.

PINAY:
Dili ako mao ang makaglipay
Nianang imong mga kamingaw
Pamiling sa laing Inday
Nga sa tinguha mo makatagbaw.

LUIS:
Ay, gipanilungan ko man gani
Ang kahoy nga walay dahon
Ikaw pa ba kaha ang dili
Gitan-aw ko nga may makaon?

PINAY:
Ako Luis ingon sa lagtang
Nga imo karon gipanilungan
Dili makatambal sa gutom
Kay makalanag pagakaunon.

LUIS:
Maayo ikaw, Inday, kay lipay
Ako tugob sa mga kasakit
Ingon ako sa ginabitay
Sa tungatunga sa mga langit.

PINAY:
Ang kalipay atua sa langit
Wala na dinhi sa Kalibutan
Ang sa yuta pulos kasakit
Wala nay sarang kalipayan.

LUIS:
Inday, ang imong pagdili
Daan ko na nga nasabut
Kong duna pa akoy bahandi
Tingali ikaw mubuot.

PINAY:
Ako nganing gidili
Ang anak sa mga Hari
Ikaw pa ba ang dili
Gitan-aw ko walay bahandi?

LUIS:
Kanang imong kagahi
Gidutlan sa dakong kahumok
Gani ang lubas tabigi
Gilagbasan sa isdang tamilok.

PINAY:
Antusa ang imong palad
Ayaw kasakit sa pamalibad
Kay bisan unsaon sa pagpaagi
Palad ko gayud nagamasuki.

LUIS:
Ikaw ba ang kahoy nga miyapi
Nga miturok sa luyong tampi
Pagbantay kay hikankanan ka
Ning tubig nga nagaagi.

PINAY:
Kini, Iti, nga kahuya
Dili madali pagkatumba
Kay wala pa gani ang hangin
Nasuko na nanuwaysuway.

LUIS:
Bisan adto ka sa langit
Kaanyag nga walay sanglit
Kong ako ang magasangpit
Mukanaog ka gayod sa pilit.

PINAY:
Kong akoy adto sa langit
Lalake ka nga lumayan
Ayaw pagbudlay pagsangpit
Kay sa linti ko ikaw pakanaugan.

LUIS:
Pusta ako, Inday, limisa
Sa binukalan mong kandungga
Kong si Nanay mo mangutana
Ingna pinili nga bunga.

**********

PINAY:
Kong ikaw, Luis, mangasawa
Si Tatay ug si Nanay maoy sultihi
Kay kinsa bay musaka sa kahoy
Nga sa punoan dili muagi?

LUIS:
Matuod ikaw mao ang bulak
Sa usa ka maambong nga kahoy
Dili ko muagi sa punoan
Kong dili hagdanan sa imong kalooy.

PINAY:
Kong buot ka, Luis, mangasawa
Atuay katunggan daruha
Dili ka gani makadaro
Si Inday dili maimo.

LUIS:
Kinsa bay imong hindunggan
Nga pagadarohon ang katonggan
Dili ba kita higaba-an
Kumbinto kana sa tambasakan?

PINAY:
Kong buot ka, Luis, mangasawa
balay namo ayuha
Ang salog niya nga bahi
Alisdi sa pulos sapi.

LUIS:
Hulata sa dili madugay
Kay mudangat ako sa inyong balay
Ang salog ninyong bahi
Alisdan ko ug pisos kahati.

PINAY:
Kong buot ka, Luis, mangasawa
Atuay balay namo ayuha
Ayaw pag-atupi sa nipa
Atupi sa pulos tisa.

LUIS:
Unsaon mo, Inday, ang tisa
Halayo kadtong Manila
Maayo na lamang ang nipa
Kay ania ra sa atong yuta.

PINAY:
Kong buot ka, Luis, mangasawa
Atuay balay namo ayuha
Ang atup niya anahaw
Alisdi sa pako ug langaw.

LUIS:
Magaunsa kita sa langaw
Madugay pagatigumon
Maayo na lamang ang anahaw
Kay ania ra sa atong libon.

PINAY:
Kong buot ka mangasawa
Atuay lasang daruha
Ang kabatu-an ug kabatangan
Imong pagahinlu-an.

LUIS:
Kanang tanan nga gisugo mo
Sa madali akong tumanon
Maoy mahimong daro ang baboy
Ang amo maoy magkupot sa liboy.

PINAY:
Kong buot ka, Luis, mangasawa
Atuay balay namo ayuha
Ayaw salugi sa anibong
Salugi sa pulos dagom.

LUIS:
Giunsa mo paghunahuna
Pagasalugan man nimo ug dagom
Kon duna na kitay mga bata
Dili ba mahatuyom?

**********

PINAY:
Ayaw, Iti, ikasakit
Kining pamalibad kong himpit
Dili pa kaha buot ang langit
Kitang duha magakadait.

LUIS:
Ang pamalibad mong himpit
Imo lamang kanang binu-utbuot
Sak-on ko ang mga langit
Kay adto ako makigsabot.

PINAY:
Ayaw, Luis, kahiubos
Sa pamalibad kong bug-os
Dili ta palad ug signos
Fortuna ta nagakabalios.

LUIS:
Unsaon ko sa pag-hiubos
Sa imo, Inday, nga pagpamalibad
Nga dugay ko na ikaw gigapos
Sa gugmang dili mabadbad.

PINAY:
Kasingkasing ko nga madasig
Tabangi ako sa pagpamalibad
Aniay lalaking buot mulupig
Kanako buot mubihag.

LUIS:
Bisan unsaon mo sa pagpamalibad
Niining gugma kong matuod
Dili na ikaw makabadbad
Kay maayo nga pagkalangbud.

PINAY:
Oh! Daw tubig kang matin-aw
Nga gibunyag ning kasingkasing
Niining dughang mamingaw
Nanaha ka ug nanalingsing.

LUIS:
Pagkamaayo sa imong gawi
Wala akoy takos ibalos
Ania ang kalag ko ug kinabuhi
Kanimo akong itapus.

PINAY:
Kong mga bayhon pa lamang
Dili ako kanimo mag apas
Ugaling kay kagawi-an
Iunong ko kanimo kalag ug lawas.
BALITAW


Luis:
This love of mine,
Inday, bites to the bone
If you were a ripe banana
I’d swallow you skin and all.

Pinay:
I won’t believe, Luis,
A single word you say
I truly wonder how many girls
You have deceived this way.

Luis:
Even as I stand here
My plans I have prepared
As in the building of a house
The design’s already made.

Pinay:
Your intentions
For sometime I have known
Before you will even ask
A ‘No’ is what you’ll get.

Luis:
I’ve laid out my designs
And have dug up the ground
The post has been erected
The scaffolds are all set.

Pinay:
I have warned you
Your toil will go to waste
Pull out that post
For this will never go far with me.

Luis:
Inday, I have built a house
With but a single post
Upon this post I’ve fixed the braces
The eaves and trusses of the roof
Held by spikes so strong
And dowels straight.



Pinay:
I do declare without repeating
Your post a waste will be
Your trusses and rafters
Will with the strong winds go
No traces remain
For broken to bits they’ll be.



Luis:
Each time I see you
In a wink, I feel as if I were
Laid out upon a bed
Of thorns so bare.

Pinay:
Each time I see your person, too,
My wonder’s great
How such a one with milky mouth
Can speak of love like some crude lout.

Luis:
When still a child you wer
I nurtured thought of you, I swear,
Now that you’ve grown
Won’t you, Inday, allow me room?

Pinay:
Since I was a child so small
To myself I’ve said
When grown-up I’ll be
Words shall not deceive me.

Luis:
That comb of tortoise shell
Atop the bundle of your hair
Is as love that taunts me still
And makes my breast throb with thrill.

Pinay:
This comb of tortoise
Stands for righteousness
That words that tease
Will not see me teased.

Luis:
What’s the cure for loneliness
When all toil comes to naught
From day to day
Is it to drench myself with tears?

Pinay:
There is a balm for loneliness
Rice and bananas
Don’t sleep by day
Go plow the land, your swidden plant.

**********

Luis:
Assuage this loneliness
A debt of gratitude
At some future time I’ll pay
When your slave I’ll be.

Pinay:
It’s not for me to grant that joy
Your loneliness dispel
Go seek another Inday
Your wishes can fulfill.

Luis:
Ay, I even seek the shade
Of a tree without leaves
Why not then the shade of you
Seeing the bounty that you show?

Pinay:
Luis, I am like the lagtang
In whose shade you wish to stay
Its fruits can’t cure your hunger
For eaten, they’ll only sicken.

Luis:
Good for you, Inday, for you’re so gay
Even as my poor self wallows in misery
I feel like I were suspended
In limbo, I suffered.

Pinay:
Happiness is in heaven found
Not in this world abound
For the earth is filled with sadness
And not with happiness.

Luis:
Inday, your refusal
I have long sensed
Perhaps had I some treasure
Maybe you would relent.

Pinay:
I have even refused
The sons of kings
Surely, I’d do the same
To you who have nothing.

Luis:
Your hard veneer
To the soft will yield
Even the hardwood, Teak,
To the shipworm breaks.

Pinay:
Bear your destiny
And be not pained by ‘nay’
For no matter what means you conjure
My fate runs counter to yours.

Luis:
Are you that tree, the Miyapi,
That by the delta grows
Take care, eroded you shall be
By moving water as it flows.

Pinay:
This is one tree, Iti,
That falls not too easily
For even before the winds blow
It braces itself and fury shows.

Luis:
Even when you’re in heaven
Beauty without equal
When it is I who shall call
Descend you will.

Pinay:
If I to heaven go
O, Man with the love potion,
Bother not to call
For I shall send you lightning.

Luis:
Wrap me up, Inday,
In your flower-printed skirt
And when your Nanay asks
Tell her it’s choice fruit.

**********

Pinay:
If you, Luis, wish to marry
Tell Tatay and Nanay
For whoever climbs a tree
Must pass along the trunk.

Luis:
Truly you are the flower
Of a beautiful tree
I shall not pass along the trunk
Unless offered the stains of your mercy.

Pinay:
If you wish, Luis, to marry
There lies a swamp, plow it
If you can’t plow it
Then Inday you can’t have.

Luis:
From whom have you heard
That a swamp maybe plowed
Won’t that be sacrilege
Since it’s the mudskipper’s convent?


Pinay:
If you wish, Luis, to marry
Go mend our house
Its floor is made of palm trunks
Change it all with money.

Luis:
Wait, for in a short while
I’ll reach your house
Your flooring of palmwood
I’ll lay out with coins.

Pinay:
If you wish, Luis, to marry
Go mend our house
Don’t roof it with palm leaves
Cover it with clay tiles.

Luis:
What, Inday, do you want with tiles
It’s a long way to Manila
To use palm leaves is better
For we have them right here.

Pinay:
If you wish, Luis, to marry
go mend our house
Its roof is of fan-shaped palms
Change it with wings of flies.

Luis:
What can we do with flies
They’ll take so long to gather
To use the palms is better
From our groves they can be gathered.

Pinay:
If you want to marry
Go and plow the forest
Clear it of rocks
And rid it of debris.

Luis:
All of your orders
I’ll carry out right now
the pig shall be the plow
And to drive it, the monkey.

Pinay:
If you wish, Luis, to marry
Go and mend our house
Floor it not with fishtail palms
But of needles, the floors should be.

Luis:
Whatever made you think
Of a floor of needles
When we shall have children
Won’t they only get pricked.

**********

Pinay:
Do not, Iti, be pained
By my complete refusal
It may not yet be heaven’s will
That the two of us be paired.

Luis:
Your refusal so complete
Is only by your will
I’ll climb the heavens, dear,
And come to terms up there.

Pinay:
Don’t, Luis, be humiliated
By my sincere refusal
It’s just not our fate
Our fortunes are separate.

Luis:
How can I be humiliated
Inday, by your refusal
When long have I tied you up
With love that can’t be unraveled.

Pinay:
Eager heart of mine
Help me to refuse
Here’s a man who would wind
And wants to captivate me.

Luis:
No matter how much you refuse
My love that is so true
You cannot break the knot
That abut you is coiled tight.

Pinay:
Oh, you are the clear spring water
That has baptized this heart
In this lonely breast
You’ve grown shoots and saplings.

Luis:
How admirable your traits are
I can’t thank you enough
My life and soul I give you
For all eternity.

Pinay:
Had you fine airs alone
I never would have bothered
But since your nature’s good
Body and soul I’ll share with you.

Translated by Erlinda K. Alburo

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