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28, Sa Himpapawid
Paolo Tiausas

Ligaw na loro, hapon noong dumapo sa balikat ng tatay ko
sa Pasko ng Pagkabuhay—tila isang malatsambang talinghaga,

tila pagkapit ng dandelion sa balikat tuwing nasa siyudad
at nanliliit sa mga karaniwang bantayog ng sangkatauhan.

Alinlangan, kailan ang pag-uwi sa mga dapat nating uwian?
Sa ilalim ng mga dambuhalang ulap sa bunganga ng bulkan

may kawan ng ibong tumatalilis sa pagbabanta ng kamera.
Sa dalampasigan, sabik kahit ang alingawngaw ng hangin

na makapiling ang nakasanayang pintig ng pagbabanyaga.
Sa ikaapatnapung palapag, humuhuni ang ugong ng makina.

Ligaw na loro, handa akong ipagkanulo ang mga talinghaga
kung mabubuhay ka. Isang pag-antanda. Kung maaari sana.

28, Up in the Air
Paolo Tiausas

Wild parrot, it was afternoon when you perched on the shoulders of my father
on the Feast of the Resurrection—like a metaphor resembling luck and chance,

like clinging of dandelion florets on the shoulders whenever in the city
and feeling small against the ordinary monuments of humankind.

Hesitation, when is our return to the ones we need to come home to?
Under the gigantic clouds on the mouth of the volcano

there is a flock of birds evading the threat of a camera.
By the seashore, even the gusts of wind are yearning

to reunite with the accustomed pulse of migration.
On the fortieth floor, the whirr of machinery hums with rhythm.

Wild parrot, I am ready to betray the metaphors
if you survive. A signing-of-the-cross. If possible, please.

Translated from the original Filipino by Nicko Caluya
This poem sprouted in the Philippines. Highlighted lines above are from “Semillas que resisten” by Daniela Catrileo in Wallmapu (“Seeds that resist”, translated from the original Spanish by Helen Dixon).
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Listen to the poem read out loud by the author

Paolo Tiausas is the author of Lahat ng Nag-aangas ay Inaagnas (2020) and Tuwing Nag-iisa sa Mapa ng Buntong-hininga (University of the Philippines Press, 2021). In 2021, he was the recipient of the Talaang Ginto: Makata ng Taón, awarded by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF). His poems have been exhibited in the online art gallery Curare Art Space. Along with Nikay Paredes, he coedits TLDTD (tldtd.org), a biannual poetry journal for Filipino poets.

Photo used on this page were provided by Paolo Tiausas.
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