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Death is spooky, don’t you think? Here’s a old, nevertheless thought-provoking, Cebuano poem by Canuto C. Lim (translated in English by Simeon Dumdum Jr.), which is dedicated for poet Floripinas on the death of his son. Bakunawa means monster.
Ang Bakunawa Kaniadto (1936)
Ni Canuto C. Lim
--- Kang Floripinas,
sa kamatayon sa iyang anak
Gabi-i tong way timik, daw gihadlaan
Niadtong mga bitoos langit, ang bulan;
Sa hayag nga’s kabugnaw sinagulan,
Katawhag kalibutan gihatagan.
Miahat singgit-basal ang kabataan
Kayng bulas bakunawa na gidul-an,
Dakuung tawo miapil sab, kay nagul-an,
Basal-singgit, “Buhi-ing among dulaan.”
Bulan mingiub! Kabanhang makalisang!
Sa mangapatalinghug alanggisang
Dunggan ug mabungol’s soliyaw lamang
Kay konong bulan dyutay na may kulang
Sa bakunawa, daw kusog mikamang,
Pagalamyon, suma’s mga tigulang.
* * *
The Monster of Old (1936)
By Canuto C. Lim
Translated by Simeon Dumdum Jr.
--- For Floripinas.
on the death of his son
It was a still night, and amused
By those stars in the sky, the moon;
Light and coolness intermingled,
Gifts to the people and the world together.
And suddenly, the children drumming, shouting
Because the monster’s edging to the moon,
A grown man, his heart heavy, joined, too,
Shouting and beating, “Let go! Let our toy go!”
Moon getting dark! Terrifying noise!
To all within hearing, assault
On the ears, the shouts deafen
For, they say, the moon is almost taken
By the monster crawling fast, oh the moon
WIll soon be swallowed, warn the folks.
* * *
What are your thoughts? The fact that the poem is dedicated to a person who lost someone very close, the monster in the poem could mean a lot of things, don’t you think?
- Nancy -