Joanne Jessa C.

Tan, 2014 - 93094

Ang Mahiyaing Manok

ni Rebecca Añonuevo-Cuñada

Lagi siya sa isang sulok.

Parang hindi napapagod
Inaantok.
Ang mga manok ni Mang Oca.
Sumisinghot.
Pag nagsimula ang isa,
Namamaluktot.
Susunod ang iba
Tuka’y tumitiklop
Sa pagtilaok halos oras-oras.
Pag nagtangkang tumilaok.
Mula umaga hanggang tanghaling-tapat,
Hanggang hapon, hanggang hatinggabi —
Ubo, ubo lang ang tunog
Lahat sila’y nakadilat.
Na kaya niyang ibuga.
Lahat sila’y nagpupuyat.
Akala tuloy ng iba,
Nakalulon siya ng itlog
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
Na kailangang iluwa,
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
At hindi siya ang manok
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
Na sa itlog nagmula.
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
Akala naman ni Onyok,
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
Parati siyang pinagtatawanan
Ng mga kapwa-manok.
“Ta-tak-tak-tok-tuk.”
Kaya’t hindi matapos-tapos
Si Onyok, ang bunsong manok,
Araw-gabi sa bakuran ang mga tilaok!
Ang bukod tanging nagmumukmok.
Namumula na naman ang tuka
“Onyok,” sabi ng kalarong si Kokok,
Ay hindi pa rin makatilaok.
“Mababait ang mga kapwa-manok.
Gusto ka lang nilang matutong sumunod.
Minsan ang tuka niya ay biglang nangitim,
Mag-ensayo ka sa pagtilaok,
Nalublob sa putik sa loobang kulimlim:
Tuloy-tuloy, huwag matakot.
Mula noon ay lalong hindi siya makatingin
Para ano’t naging isa kang manok
Sa mga manok na salo-salo pa naman kung
Kung hindi ka rin lang titilaok
kumain.
Nang ubos-lakas, lubos-lubos?”

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Joanne Jessa C. Tan, 2014 - 93094

“Mahal na kaibigang Kokok, At saka tumilaok

Bakit kasi isinilang pa ako? Nang matinis at sunud-sunod:
Paano akong naging manok
Ay puro naman ungol? Ngayo’y hindi mapigilan
Anong boses itong Ang batang si Onyok.
Wala namang maitulong? Minsan ang sabi sa ina at kay Kokok,
Boses ba ang masahol pa “Paglaki ko, ako naman ang magtuturo
Sa may kalawang na palakol?” Sa mga mahiyaing batang manok
Kung paano ang pagtilaok.”
Nakikinig sa tabi ang butihing ina.
Hinimas si Onyok, kinantahan, pinatawa.
Onyok, o Onyok ko, wala nang gaganda,
Sa boses mong dahil musmos ay nanginginig “Una: Iunat ang likod…”
pa.”
Kumurrruk si Onyok at lalong napasinga!
Tumungo at sinubukang tumilaok mag-isa.

“Onyok, tumingin ka sa lahat ng manok.

Walang nakatungo kapag tumitilaok.
May palong at wala, puti man o pula,
Masayang nagigising, nanggigising na masaya,
Nakatingala sa langit, pinapagpag ang gilid,
Nagpupugay sa sarili at sa paligid.”

“Ta-ta-tak-talaooooooooook!”

Si Onyok! Si Onyok!
Ang mahiyaing manok,
Iniunat ang likod,
Ikinuskos ang paa,
Itinaas ang leeg,
Inilatag ang pakpak,

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Joanne Jessa C. Tan, 2014 - 93094

The Shy Rooster

ni Rebecca Añonuevo-Cuñada

Mang Oca’s roosters don’t seem to grow tired. One day, his beak turns black.

The moment one of them crows, Onyok slips on the mud as a storm forms in the
sky.
The others will follow.
The more Onyok cannot look at his neighbors
They will crow and crow by the hour
Straight in the eye; oh, no, he won’t
From morning till noon,
Even join them – these roosters old and young
Till dusk, till midnight –
Who eat together like one, big gang.
All of them alert,

All of them awake.

Onyok hides in his little corner.

He’s always sleepy.

“Taktalaooooooooook!” He always sobs.

“Taktalaooooooooook!” He always sinks and sags.

“Taktalaooooooooook!”
His beak folds every time
“Taktalaooooooooook!”
“Taktalaooooooooook!” He tries to crow like others.

“Taktalaooooooooook!”

“Ugh, ugh.” Onyok can only cough

His lungs out and no more.

“ Ta-tak-tak-tok-tuk.”
So the others like to think,
Onyok-the youngest of the roosters,
To the question which comes first –
Is the only one who sulks.
The chicken or the egg – if Onyok
His beak turns red again
Is the egg, he has definitely chickened out.
But he still can’t crow like the others.

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Joanne Jessa C. Tan, 2014 - 93094
In Onyok’s mind,
The others are laughing at him.
The are crowing and crowing
And there is no end to their crowing
Because they’re all making fun of him!
“Onyok,” his friend Kokok says,
“Our fellow roosters are good-hearted.
They only want you to learn to crow,
So crow and crow, keep on,
Don’t give up.
What are you a rooster for
If you can’t crow with all your might?”
“My dear friend Kokok,
Why did I have to be born?
Why did I have to be a rooster
When all of the sound I could make is bawl?
What voice is this I have
When it can’t be useful?
Do you call it a voice after all
When it cuts worse than a rusty chopper?”
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Onyok’s mother is listening to her son.
She touches him gently, she sings to him,
She makes him smile.
“Onyok, my dear Onyok, no other voice
Can be more beautiful than yours that is music
When it trembles because it is pure.”
“Krrruukkk,” Onyok murmurs, as he blows his
nose!
He bends his head and tries to crow.
“Look at all the roosters, Onyok.
No one bends his head when he starts to crow.
Whether they are white or red,
They joyfully wake up, and wake up others with
joy,
They raise their heads to the sky, clap their
wings,
Give honor to the self and the world around.”
“Ta-ta-tak-talaooooook!”
Joanne Jessa C. Tan, 2014 - 93094

Onyok! Yes, it’s Onyok!

The shy, little rooster,

Stretches his back,

Stomps his legs,

Raises his neck,

Spreads his wings,

And crows

The high crows without end.

Now, Onyok the young rooster

Cannot be stopped from crowing.

One day, he tells his mother and friend KoKok,

“When I grow up, I will teach

The other shy, little roosters

How to crow the finest crow.”

“First: Stand straight…”

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