Ang perlas na dapat
nasa loob
ng kabibe, hayo't
nakalaylay
sa dulo ng sanga.
At ang duhat na sana'y
naghantong doon,
hiyas na babantayan
ng dakilang
pugita.
Halos ganito nga
ang pakiramdam
ng nalalaos
sa hangarin.
Nagkakanda-bali-
baligtad ang binahagdan
na ng ulirat.
Umitim ang hiyas sa ilalim
ng dagat, nagkalama't
buto, naku, maaagnas!
At ang hiyas sa ituktok
ng punongkahoy, aba'y pumuti't
medyo may kabigatan,
bahagya man itong bumanaag.
Iyong para sa walang habas
na sorpresa,
palay na ibinilad
sa tanghaling-tapat.
At ang laan para sa takdang
unos, kagabi'y
kumukulapol na langis
at tubig na lamang
sa batalan.
Ganunpaman, ano pa rin
ang sayang
kung magkapalit,
hiyas sa hiyas?
Gayundin ang salot,
kumpas lamang
ay rigodon!
Nalalaos,
di na naghahangad.
Ibinunton
ang abot-kayang
duhat sa di-abot-diling
perlas.
Ang nasa
hinayaang madarang,
maaaring masagasaan.
Nagparaya't nagwaldas,
mahahalang
sa habagat.
Mababaliw pa
kung maghunyangong muli
ang hangad.
The pearl that was meant
to be inside
the shell, there
it hangs now
at the end of a branch.
And the plum that should
be dangling in its place,
a gem now guarded
by the giant devilfish.
This is how it must
feel like
to wither
in desire.
Everything
out of place
where the mind has placed.
The pearl turns black
in the heart of the ocean, becoming
flesh and bone, O, decaying now!
And the plum at the treetop
now becomes white,
grows heavy, even
as it glistens in the sun.
As a ruthless
surprise,
the rice grains dried
in the midday sun.
And in the looming
storm, just the oil
and water
on the dishes
last night.
Yet what would even be
a waste
if they all switch places,
a gem with another gem?
Just as in pestilence,
dancing only
in circles!
Withering,
no longer desire.
Turn
the reachable plum
into the unfathomable
pearl.
Desire
let ablaze,
perhaps overrun.
Letting go, wasting away,
giving in to madness
in the monsoon rain.
And only more madness
must desire
wilden.
Translated by Christian Jil Benitez
Jaya Jacobo is a Filipina poet and critic residing in Birmingham, UK. Arasahas, her debut volume of poetry in Filipino, will be released by Savage Mind Press in 2023.
Christian Jil Benitez is a Filipino poet and critic based in Bangkok, Thailand. His book Isang Dalumat ng Panahon (A Theory on Time) was published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2022.