Haiku in Iloko: Parbangon Nanem (It's Dawn Again.)

Dr. Abe V. Rotor

1. Pumarbangonen:
Sarzuela ken komedia,
Mangrugi manen.
(Dawn ushers daily grind
of life's drama and comedy)

2. Ti ukoy-ukoy,
Agur-uray diay abut
Iti agbiddut.
(The antlion waits for prey
that blunders and falls into its pit.)

3. Nakasutsutil -
Bacchus, Ambrosius Venus,
Tulongandak!
(Help me from tempters - Bacchus,
Ambrosius, Venus. From Greek mythology
gods and goddess of ostentatious living.)

4. Igudagudmo,
Agsangit, agkatawa;
Langit ken daga.
(It's the violin being referred to.
It cries and laughs with heaven and earth.)

5. Kapanunutan
Ken takyag iti mangged,
Puso ti tured.
(Intellect and brawn to earn;
courage is in the heart.)

6. Saan nga ammo,
Nat-natay diay adayo,
Ilagip tayo.
(Reverence to the dead -
even those unknown in distant land.)

7. Kapanunutan,
Narigat nga abaken,
Malaksid kukuam.
(You really can't win an argument,
except your own.)

8. Umisemkan,
Tapno maturogen ti
Dakkel a bulan.
(Your sweet smile
makes the moon sleep. )

9. Nakadumog,
Labaslabasan ti angin,
Agngil-ngilangil.
(Refers to good harvest:
Heavy panicles bow low,
ducking the passing wind.)

10. Naturoganna't
Panagbaliw ti lubong
Ni Rip Van Winkle.
(From Washington Irving's story,
Rip van Winkle, about a man
who slept for twenty long years
amid changes going on in the world.)

11. Panagkakadua,
Awan iti baetna,
Mamagsisina.
(Too close for comfort, referring to friendship. )

12. Malinlinay,
Lumakay, agbabaak,
Ag-gigiddiak.
(Getting old and aging
don't mean the same thing.)

13. Gura ken ayat,
Bumtakman wenno umpes,
Arig ti ulep.
(Love and hate may be compared to a cloud -
it dissipates or falls as rain.)

14. Diay pag-gugubatan
Ubbing laeng ti matay,
Ilida’t lumakay.
(As the young die in the battlefield,
the country unprecedentedly grows old.)

15. Warnak inaldaw,
Amin nakaragragsak,
Daksanggasat.
(A daily reminder: Too much
fun may lead to sorrow.)

16. Toy agkabanuag,
Adut’ pakairamanan,
Pakairanudan.
(The youth have good
and bad things to share.)

17. Kapapategan,
Dua laeng iti pagpilian -
Kappia ken Kappia.
(Peace is peace. There is no other choice.
It is the most treasured thing.)

18. Flanders, Bataan,
Agur-uray ti turay,
Kappia, pakawan.
(Forgiveness and Peace reign in the WWII
memorials in Flanders Field in Europe,
and Bataan in the Philippines.)

19. Uray laglagip
Tinubuanen iti ru-ot
Didiay Austerlitz.
("I'm the grass, I cover all," says a poet, referring
to the dead in this battlefield in WWII.
It covers also memories)

20. Akasia’t malem,
Ti panagawid ammuem,
Makaturogen.
(Call it a day when the leaves of the
acacia tree droop.)

Living with Nature, Volume 3, AVR. All Rights Reserved.