“Kudot”

ni Jocelyn Alarcon Bisuña

Kan ako aki pa, nagigiromdoman ko an kudot kan
Sakong lolang makulog
Pagpaparigos sa sulong, pagpuli, may kudot,
Pag nabanggihan sa pagpuli, sa may
Bintana naghahalat, ta matao nin kudot,
Pag nagpangadyi kan rosaryo asin makaturog, may kudot
Pag nagdulok nin huri sa pagkakan, may kudot
Pag dai nagsimba ki Domingo, may kudot
An kudot kan gurang kaidto
Nag-iirarom sa kublit
Ta mala ngani, guiguiromdoman mo
Si saindang mga tugon
Ta kun dai, tibaad pakol na,
Bakô ng kudot sa masunod.
Pag agi kan panahon
Dikit na an gurang na nangungudot
Pero dai nagdikit si nagkukudot
Mas na-orog, pagtios, an kinudot.
Sarong kudot nin asin
Panira sa dikit na maluto
Pagkaaga, sarong pidasong tuyo
Sasabawan nin kape
Pangkudot sa naghahaldat na tulak
Sa udto, gulay na binangutan nin
Kadakul na sili
Tanganing dakul an makakan na maluto
Pagkabanggi, sarong kudot nin sira
Marhay ng pambutong sa tamong
Iyo na ini an tanda kan panahon.
Hangang nuarin daw kita makudot nin pait?
An tawo lugod nagin maisog
Ta habo man nindang magkudot nin asin padagos
Mala ngani, ta si huring bareta
Nagdadakul an nagpupula an kublit sa anggot.
“Pinch”
(Translated version of Kudot)
by Jocelyn Alarcon Bisuña
When I was a child, I remember the pinching
my grandmother gave me, how it hurt
After swimming in the creek, at home, a pinch,
After coming home late, by the window
she waited, to give me a pinch,
When I fell asleep during the rosary, a pinch
Arriving late for meals, a pinch,
When I didn’t go to mass on Sunday, a pinch.
The pinching old people dealt
Pierced one to the core
That’s why, one kept in mind
Their rules and their teaching
Because if not, a beating,
Could follow, not just a pinching.
With the passage of time
Only a few of our elders now continue to pinch
Still, the pinching does not abate
And the suffering grows for those who feel them.
A pinch of salt
To flavor a bit of rice
Mornings, a sliver of dried fish with coffee to wash it down
to pinch the smarting stomach
Noon, vegetables drowned in a lot of chili
to make one eat more rice
Night, a pinch of fish
Enough for strength to pull a blanket on
These are the signs of the times.
Until when shall we pinch this bitterness?
This is why people have turned fierce
They refuse to pinch salt endlessly
So from the latest news one hears
More skins now turn red in fury.