Living in Sagada: Poems (SY 2016-17)

For youth living Sagada, there is more to the place they call home than the tourist spots it is known for.

Gintong Lupa

by: Felany Gomgom-o

Gala dito, gala diyan.
Ang araw-araw na gawain,
Ayokong mamungkal ng lupa,
Nakakapagod diyan.

Kay saya ng buhay kung ganito lamang:
Kain, gala, kain, barkada,
Ngunit ngayon ay dumating,
Ang araw na itinakda.

Ako’y naiwang mag-isa,
Kasama ang kuwento niya.
Araw-gabi sa lupa,
Pawis pay iniinom na.

Niloko ako ng aking ama,
Ginto sa bukid niya’y nawala.
Minasdan maigi ang bukid,
Oh! Kay ganda ng resulta.

 

Simpleng Sulat, Simpleng Tula

by: April Fakat

Wala ng oras upang malaman ng iba
Maraming tao pagkat napakalawak ng mundo.
Walang telebisyon sa aming baryo.
Kaya kami huling-huli sa anumang balita.
Maraming hadlang at pagsubok sa tao
Pero sa simpleng sulat ng aking kamay
At simpleng tula na mula sa puso.
Malalaman na ng tao sa anumang panig ng mundo.
Sa pagsulat ng tula ay hindi basta-basta.
Sa pamamagitan ng tula, tayo’y nakakatulong sa iba.
Tulang isinusulat, tulang isinasalita.

 

I Fell Again

by: Kathlyn Semon

Holding a bucket with my left,
And a small can in my right,
With just a step forward,
You wouldn’t know what happened,
But I fell again,
Right into the pigpen.

 

Ten Months

by: Morino Pizarro

I still remember.
Father told me a story.
Story about tribal war.
The Pidlisan and Dalik.

Dalik still fighting for water.
The main need to survive.
A conflict leads to war.
War that makes people tremble.

My mom always worries that,
Father is in a war.
This takes more than 10 months.
A conflict about water.

Ten months a great worry.
Ten months I felt no love.
Ten months I became an orphan.
Ten months I had no peace.

 

Rain Drops

by: Maxine Awingan

Plip! plip! plip! plop! plip!
The sound of dripping rain from the rooftop disturbs.
Morning comes, floor is wet.
Even the sunrays can be seen openly,
Rooftops made of old galvanized iron.
Car tires around it.
Like a box that when the wind blows,
it follows.
When typhoon comes,
it can be destroyed.
When rainy season arrives,
it seems we don’t have a house

These rain drops have been my life.
They became my water,
bringing me life,
And giving me the reason to flourish,
and survive these days of hardship.

Seeing the people around me,
living life luxuriously,
makes me feel jealousy.
Tears fall as a sign of exertion.
Plip! plip! plip! plop! plip!

 

Five Pesos

by: Lingling Bacgalang

I accompanied the driver.
I was called a helper.
On the way, we met a gardener,
Asked the price and replied,
“Better.”

Driver stepped on the gas,
hurriedly.
Both faces smile gleefully,
Upon reaching the noisy city,
Quickly unload—I was so
weary.

We asked the price in unison.
It is five pesos per kilo.
I borrowed money by loan.
I was not welcomed a hero.

 

To-Do-List

by: Azriel Botigan

Wash the car
Fix the gutter
Check source of water
Then repair the mower

Go buy a broom
Clean my room
Do my laundry
Then head to the bakery

Fix our dinner
Check the freezer
Go to bed early
Cause tomorrow I’m free

 

Gongs

by: Balibah Wadingan

gongs can have harmony
if played properly.
one wrong stroke
and the rhythm will be broke

gongs have different sounds,
different sizes, different timing,
but when played together,
it creates one big song.

bringing community together,
bringing happiness to people,
bringing together couples,
because gongs have magical powers.

 

Daily Scene

by: Brenda Ay-yawan

Sa aking araw-araw na paglalakbay
Di ko maiwasan ang lumingon muli,
Sa direksyon ng aming mumunting bahay.

Masaya kami sa aming bahay.
Pero may lungkot pa ring di maikubli,
Sa aking araw-araw na paglalakbay.

Pagsasaka an gaming ikinabubuhay,
Kaya’t ang bakuran nami’y puno ng sayote,
Sa direksyon ng aming mumunting bahay.

Masayahing tao ang aking tatay,
pero lagging may luha sa kanyang pisngi,
Sa asking araw-araw na paglalakbay.

Di mawala ang sermon ng aking nanay,
Na siyang parang puputol sa munting poste,
Sa direksyon ng aming mumunting bahay.

Ang aming pagsasama ay sobrang tibay,
Na an gaming kamay kapit lagi lagi,
Sa aking araw-araw ng paglalakbay,
Sa direksyon ng aming mumunting bahay.

 

 

Tenth graders from Sagada respond to troubling world events (through poetry)

The following are selections from the Grade 10 class of batch SY 2016-17.

I’m writing about love

by: Joni Aglipay

 

I’m not writing about a boy I love,

I’m writing about this world I’m in.

I’m not writing about these butterflies I have,

I’m writing about my brother’s sin.

 

I’m not writing about my lover’s face,

I’m writing about my world’s situation.

I’m not writing about my personal case,

I’m writing about my annihilated nation.

 

I’m not writing about the money we should use for the changes,

I’m writing about our free will to love.

I’m not writing about the level our hatred ranges,

I’m writing about the level of affection each of us should have.

 

I’m not writing about how this world runs,

I’m writing about how we open our hearts and see.

I’m not writing about the use of bombs and guns,

I’m writing about using our hearts to bring back humanity.

 

 

Us

by: Brix Laging

 

We flowered into this generation triumphantly,

So we have no fear for their atomic energy.

For none of us can’t stop our destiny

to live, enjoy, with happiness for eternity.

No war, no guns, no violence, no slavery,

but peace, love, family, and harmony.

 

How long shall they kill our brothers?

And disrespect and rape our sisters?

But as it was said by our fathers,

Why not live as a family, strong, and stronger?

 

 

Change

by: Clark Liwas

 

It’s been a long time

after the horror of the past,

where the sea of blood

runs throughout the crust.

Deafening screams and cries, saying,

“The world is damned.”

 

But beyond the destruction,

rises a new hope, of everyone’s faith,

to change the past illusions,

and to spread love, rather than hate.

 

New life, new start, new home, and plain,

No worries, no fear, no war, and pain.

To love, to care, to help, and share,

And to live forever, safe and fair.

 

 

Give Me Your Hand

by: Harper Calabias

 

He can’t hear you,

Because of the wild bullets.

I sense what you’re trying to say…

When is it going to stop?

 

Don’t close your eyes,

Reach for my hand,

And let’s make a new profile of the world.

Let’s stop them from pulling the trigger.

 

I tell you, I see the world with a new tomorrow.

I face tomorrow with a smile.

I can’t predict what’s going to happen.

But I know love will change everything.

 

 

In Fire

by: Miggy Pacyaya

 

Even if the whole world is on fire,

Even if the flames get higher,

We have to carry each other,

Help each other and start a new world.

 

The whole world’s in danger.

We have wars because of anger,

We have to learn to love each other.

Make friends and start a new world.

 

 

Untitled

by: Hannah Lagasi

 

Sharks flowing with the tide,

Little tunas need to hide,

This is a natural redundancy,

Land and water, there is agony.

 

 

Peace, Peace

by: Ayaezah Balisong

 

A silent moon gazes down on me,

A feeling so solemn in my heart.

This night the stars are blinking free,

This saddened soul falls apart.

 

The warmth of light, the touch of wind,

This raging feeling of ease.

The pains and regrets all forgotten,

Here come the happy memories.

 

Like dove of soul, all white and pure,

Freely flying through a gusty breeze,

Then into the world, to the vast Earth’s sky,

Spreading rays and rains of Peace.

 

Awaken

by: Arvy Ayban

 

Too many trees burnt to Ashes,

a cavity spreading on the Earth’s surface.

Done from our Demons’ Trespasses,

The violence of the Factions and the Factionless.

 

Armed men tearing each other and innocent hopes,

Causing an irritating sore in my throat,

Each of us has our loving Home,

So let’s stop the cruelty against our own.

 

Untitled

by: John Dungca

 

Though they may have known,

Putting their lives on the line,

leaving family and kids behind,

the worst torture they felt in mind.

Poems on Places (SY 2016-17)

The Twilight

by: Fred Atiwag, Jr. (Grade 7)

 

A good twilight,

Then the moon shines at night.

Stars that I can’t even catch,

And a fire that I can’t touch.

Voices of the creatures,

That call me and my brother,

To go on an adventure.

Fragrance of roasted meat,

And I think it’s savory for me to eat.

As I swallow and eat it right,

I shall enjoy this starry night.

 

Marlboro Country

by: Mae Dawn Baniaga (Grade 7)

 

Seeing the beauty of the mountain,

I wish they could maintain,

You can see the wild horses running,

And the cows grazing.

The sour pinit,

I can get it.

The relaxing wind of mountain tree,

I can feel it free.

I can hear the wind howling,

While I’m walking.

 

The campfire is burning

by: Jason Addag (Grade 7)

 

The campfire is burning,

The scouts started singing,

Their voices are so good.

The patrol leader just stood.

When we went to our camp,

We taste the food.

I can’t believe it’s so good.

We slept in our tent,

It’s so cold that night.

I told them to open the light.

 

Ken Sanay

by: Zyrick Timmango (Grade 11-STEM)

 

There lies a river just below a road.

It was clean, infinite, and it has no law nor code.

People go there often to wash their clothes,

Also, to take a bath and catch toads.

 

Sanay, a young maiden, went there alone.

At that time, there were no phones.

She still went without her parents knowing.

She’s young and she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

 

She dived in without first throwing stones on the water.

Folks say a spirit created that river.

Without the stones to make the spirits go away,

That was Sanay’s official last day.

 

She was pulled in and the spirit took her.

It took her to a place God knows where.

Sanay is now in Heaven, the palce up high,

So the folks then named the river, “Ken Sanay.”

 

Bright night on the hills

by: Stanton Ban-eg (Grade 11-HUMSS)

 

Bright night on the hills

And a calm surrounding of the night.

As I let my eyes see through darkness,

I spot the light of the torch on the mountains.

 

It starts with one light,

Suddenly two in a single blink of my eye.

Another four in another blink,

But it turned to nothing, as they merged.

 

Fire called butbutatew—

Player of the mountains,

Who gave beauty at night,

Lighting darkness of the night.

 

Sangi

by: Divina Didican (Grade 11-STEM)

 

I went to dig some camote in Mount Polis

With all the sweat pouring out from my body,

With all the materials carried along the way,

It is still a long journey, I will go.

 

Down the trails of Mount Polis,

I take rest under a pine tree and drink water.

I didn’t notice that I fell asleep.

It’s dim and still I didn’t go dig for camote.

 

“Kabunyan, who created me,”

I asked help yet He did not answer.

I am hungry and thirsty,

Seems so hopeless and my soul seems so weary.

 

The sun rises from the east

And I started to look for camote.

Oh, where is my sangi on the back of my body?

I take my seat with an empty world.

 

I went back under the tree,

Ask the nap-owan of the mountain,

To return my precious and valuable

Sangi! Where will I place camote?

Mga Perspektibo sa Serbisyo

Lingkod Bayan (Villanelle)

by: Geraldine Manegdeg (Grade 11, SY 16-17)

 

Halika na sinta, humayo ka na.

Ang mundo ay puno ng kasamaan.

Matulog na, matulog ka na muna.

 

Iyo pang proprotektahan ang bansa

Ika’y pagod mula sa sandatahan

Halika na sinta, hunayo ka na.

 

Oras na’t magpahinga aking sinta.

Bukas na naman ay ika’y  lilisan.

Matulog na, matulog ka na muna.

 

Labis ang iyak ng ‘ting bata, sinta,

Halika at siya’y iyong ipatahan.

Halika na sinta, humayo ka na.

 

Lukso! Itong natanggap kong balita,

Ang iyong kahon mula sa bakbakan,

Matulog na, matulog ka na muna.

 

Kapayapaan, kailan pa kaya?

Bukas ay iyo ng ipagpaliban,

Halika na sinta, humayo ka na.

Matulog na, matulog ka na muna.

 

 

Serbisyong Totoo

by: Kenny Palpal (Grade 9, SY 16-17)

 

Namatay ang dilim at isang ligaya

ang inginingiti ng bagong umaga,

at sa Besao namang kay liga-ligaya,

ay may bumubukang bango ng buhangi’t pala.

 

Lumalapit na nga ang dating kay layo-layo

na may ihinihintay na mabigat na trabaho,

kaya nga’t ang dating mahinang tinig ng Sagada

nagiging isa nang lugar na inaalala

 

Mukha’y siguradong mababago ng trabaho,

kung wala ka, nakangiti, kung mayr’on ka, malungkot.

Pero sisikapin kong hindi magtengangkawali

Dahil sa mga guro baka kung mambato

 

Ang oras ay sadyang hindi nananatili

Buti nalang walang akyat-bahay na sumali,

Pero kahit anong hirap at sakit na namamayani

Mga patay-gutom na to’y mag-aalmusali.

 

Inaasahan ko ng buong pag-asa

Na tayo’y magbabalikbayan na,

Kung magkakagayo’y silid-tulogan ay makikita,

Mawawala na itong aking dusa.

 

At ngayo’y tapos na itong serbisyo

Papasok na’ng pasko’t bagong taon ko

Kay rami-rami ang bagay na natutunan dito

masasayang alaala ang dadalhin ko