Fish that got away

Tagalog

nakawalang isda
palaki nang palaki
sa tungga ng alak

English

one that got away
the fish grows bigger
with every sip of beer

In my book.
Rusrle of bambbo leaves

Ash Wednesday

dust we are
to dust we shall return
Lenten lesson

Tagalog

abo tayo
sa abo rin ang tungo
aral ni Kristo

Writer's travail

Writer's travail

Loneliness

chilly night
under its darkness
hides my loneliness

Tagalog

gabing malamig
sa iyong dilim nagtatago
aking kalungkutan

from my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest

Marital quarrel

marital row
the silence between them
is deafening

Tagalog

away mag-asawa
ang katahimikan ng dalawa
ay nakaka-bingi

Nature's fury

man's ingenuity

still no match

to nature's fury

Tagalog

ang galing ng tao

di makakapantay

sa lindol at bagyo

From my book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest © 2012

wrong trail turn 

the scent and sight 

of wildflowers 

Tagalog

maling daan

bango at tanawin

bulaklak na ligaw

TATLONG WIKA, ISANG KAHULUGAN
(Three tongues, One meaning)
 

KALUNGKUTAN (Tagalog) gabing walang bituin hinihintay kita sinta kahit sa panaginip

SOLEDAD (Español) la noche sin estrellas esperaré por te amor aun en mi sueño

LONELINESS (English) starless night I'll wait for you my love even in my dream

In my book, Haiku and Tanka Harvest

the silent sound
of her absence
fills their room
only the echoes
of yesterday remain

Tagalog version

napuno ang kanilang silid
ng tahimik na ugong
nang kanyang pagkawala
gunita ng kahapon
siya lang naiwan

Published in my book,
Haiku and Tanka Harvest
© December 2001

Bilingual Haiku and Tanka

Here are samples of my haiku and tanka in English and Tagalog, Philippine language, part of my poems just published in the latest issue of Sketchbook, Vol. 6, No. 1, January/February 2011.


HAIKU
wrong trail turn
the scent and sight
of wildflowers

Tagalog
maling daan
bango at tanawin
bulaklak na ligaw

TANKA
the silent sound
of her absence
fills their room
only the echoes
of yesterday remain

Tagalog

napuno ang kanilang silid 
ng tahimik na ugong
nang kanyang pagkawala
gunita ng kahapon
siya lang naiwan

Trilingual haiku

TATLONG WIKA, ISANG KAHULUGAN
(Three tongues, One meaning)

1) KALUNGKUTAN (Tagalog)

gabing walang bituin
hinihintay kita sinta
kahit sa panaginip


2) SOLEDAD (Español)

la noche sin estrellas
esperaré por tu amor
aún en mi sueño


3) LONELINESS (English)

starless night
I'll wait for you my love
even in my dream

Father's death, 2

A picture poem or haiga of my earlier post on Father's death. Click image to enlarge.

God's blessings

About Cinquain
Cinquain, created and developed by the American poet Adelaide Crapsey in the early 1900, is a five-line unrhymed poem with 22 syllables arranged as 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2. It's name is derived from the French word cinq which means five. It is somehow related to the Japanese haiku and tanka. The contemporary cinquain is usually titled, the title becoming an integral part of the poem.

Unfortunately, Crapsey died at an early age of 37 from tuberculosis so she was not able to develop the poetic form any further. Lately though, cinquain has been enjoying a healthy revival especially among haiku writers as well as other poets. I have already posted cinquains here, My New Year’s Wish and Aloneness are examples and here is another, a bilingual one.


GOD'S BLESSINGS
Tagalog, a Philippine language:

Walang
nangyayari
sa buhay ng tao
di may kagalingang dulot
ng D’yos.

English version:

Nothing
happens in life
without some good in it
coming from the munificience
of God.

Writer's travail

In one of those sleepless nights when I am so occupied in writing, it kind of startles me to see the onset of the early dawn.

Here's the Tagalog version which might be hard to read in the image.

buhay manunulat
naghihintay nang pagdating
ng umaga

Note about my haiga or picture poems: I relish the challenge of fitting my poems with graphics such that the two becomes one, a harmonious fusion of arts.

Philippine Typhoon

(For the victims of the Philippine typhoon)

buried under the raging sea
with unrealized hopes and dreams
innocent victims of nature’s fury
no rank nor class distinction
escaped the unbridled calamity


Tagalog version

sa ilalim ng malupit na dagat
lumubog dala mga pangarap
biktima ng galit ng bagyo
mahirap o mayaman man
wala itong sinisino

Wildflowers

wrong trail turn
the scent and sight
of wildflowers


Tagalog version

maling daan
bango at tanawin
ligaw na mga bulaklak


Vic Gendrano