Category: Poetry

Kanimo Gihapon Ako

Ing paghandom ko kanmo daw dagat sang Oriental

Malawom, daw kamangon ako sang balas

Igo da sa ing kanak mapanaw bag-o ako kan-on ng kanak kamingaw

Ing tubig sang sapa, muuli gihapon sang dagat

 

Laong ko sang kanak pagpanaw na di da ako muuli,

Yadaman, yalisang, yag-tyahu

Ing paa ko di makahuwat makatamak ng lupa na di kanmo,

 

Gusto malimtan ing mga yanghitabo

Yalain kaw ba kanak? Di mo da ba ako gusto paulion?

Iyan ako sang grasya mo, yangayo ng pasaylo

Yasayod ako na yadaman kaw,

Gugma mo ako, pero itraydor takaw sang kanak pagpanaw

 

Mahinumdom mo gaw ing kanak siki sang tubig

Yatog ako sang ilawom ng kanmo grasya,

Pinanga mo ako sang awon,

 

Yakita ko da ing kanmo kagwapa doon

Hapit da ako, ay da ako tabuya

Malapit da ako, yagahandom sang kanmo hangkop

Mupanaw man ako, ngansaan gihapon ako mamatay

Mupanaw man ako, ikaw gihapon ing yanag-iya kanak

 

I Am Still Yours (Translated Version)

I remember you like the seas in Davao Oriental

Deep, as if the sand will swallow me up.

I can only walk so much before I am consumed by my longing.

Like how the waters in lakes return to the sea.

 

I declared in my leaving that I would not return,

Angry, delirious, wailing.

My feet longed to step on grounds that were not yours,

Wanting to forget what had taken place.

 

Do you resent me? Do you not want me to return?

I am in your mercy, asking for forgiveness.

I know about your rage,

But I know of your love for me, I betrayed you in my leaving.

 

I hope you remember my feet in the water,

I slept under the shade of your grace,

You have loved me before,

I only see your beauty now.

 

 

I am near, do not turn me away,

I am near, hoping for the warmth of your embrace

Although I may leave, you will be my final resting place.

Although I may leave, I will still be yours.

 

 

• a letter to my homeland.

 

 

 

 

Mary Frances Gambong  graduated from UP Mindanao with a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology. This poem is from a short collection of Mandaya Poetry I wrote for a class back in my college days. Growing up in Davao Oriental, I have always struggled in dealing with my identity as a Mandaya, and my love for my homeland. With this, I hope to reconcile my aversion to it, and understand that it is a crucial part of who I am.

 

Illustration by Noy Narciso,Editor