*Note this poem is in Ilocano

Maysa a kuko manipud kenni Tara, agay-ay-ayam idiay paraangan,
Dua a kuko manipud kenni Kevin, napukaw iti kasipngetan,
Tallo a kuko manipud kenni Leo, nabati idiay pagtaengan,
Uppat a kuko manipud kenni Audrey, nasinga iti pagtawagan,
Lima a kuko manipud kenni Habi, rimuar a mapan mangan,
Innem a kuko manipud kenni Mike, tumartaray idiay dalan,
Pito a kuko manipud kenni Denise, agsapsapul iti aso,
Walo a kuko manipud kenni Migz, matmaturog a kasla troso,
Siam a kuko manipud kenni Camille, nakasubsob ti rupana iti libro,
Sangapulo a kuko manipud kenni Erik, saan a makaperreng iti adayo,
Adu pay a kuko para iti Kumao, dagiti met koma ubbing ket agridam
Ta masapul a padaraendaka no ramananda ti kinaawan namnamam.

=————————=

English Version

One fingernail from Tara, playing in the park

Two fingernails from Kevin, caught after dark

Three fingernails from Leo, left home alone

Four fingernails from Audrey, distracted by her phone

Five fingernails from Habi, going out to eat

Six fingernails from Mike, running down the street

Seven fingernails from Denise, looking for her dog

Eight fingernails from Migs, sleeping like a log

Nine fingernails from Camille, her face buried in a book

Ten fingernails from Erik, who didn’t think to look

More fingernails for the Kumao, and children beware

It takes them to bleed you and taste your despair

————————–————————–————————–—–

*Ilocano is the third most-spoken local language of the Philippines.An Austronesian language, it is related to such languages as Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian), Tetum, Chamorro, Fijian, Maori, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Paiwan and Malagasy. It is closely related to some of the other Austronesian languages of Northern Luzon, and has slight mutual intelligibility with the Balangao language and the eastern dialects of the Bontoc language.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Ilocano translation by Deo M. Ramos
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Deo M. Ramos

Inspired by Kumao entry in Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Ramos. 1971.

Kumao Illustration by Leandro Geniston
FB: That Guy With A Pen

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

*Note this poem is in Ilocano

Malagip ko tay kimat

Ti ayamuom ti nakset a kudil

Ti naraniag a panaggilap

Ket naimatangak

Tay buwaya

Nga nangtakaw tay bagik

Innala ti para iti bagbaggi na

Nga namagsisina ti lasag ko

Tay imuco

Nga innala da kanyak

Sada ingkabil iti likudak

A pinangputed da toy kararuak

Tay tanem ko nga agserbi a baro a balay ko

Dagiti ramot nga nangsarabo Kanyak

Ti taraon da ket toy kararruak

Ket nagbalinnak met a mesa

A kas sanga ken bulbullong

Haan nak a matagikua

Kadagiti natadem a paslep mo

Toy balay ko ket permanente

Haan met a pisyen ida

Saan nga ta kaykayyat u laeng

Ibaga yu ti kararag u

Kantaen ‘yu dagita kanya u

Nalasatak ti kimat

Nalasatak ti buwaya

Nalasatak ti imuco

Isalakan ka.

=-============

I remember the lightning
The smell of burning skin
The bright flash
Made me see

The caiman
It stole my body away
And took it for its own
Separated me from my flesh

The knife
They took it from me
And put it in my back
Cutting my soul apart

My grave marked my new home
The roots welcomed me
They nourished my spirit
And I became one
With the branches and the leaves

You will never own me
With your blades and steel
My home will remain

We will not be cut down
Not by the likes of you
Say your prayers
Sing your songs

I survived the Lightning
I survived the Caiman
I survived the knife

I will survive you

————————–————————–————————––

*Ilocano is the third most-spoken local language of the Philippines.An Austronesian language, it is related to such languages as Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian), Tetum, Chamorro, Fijian, Maori, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Paiwan and Malagasy. It is closely related to some of the other Austronesian languages of Northern Luzon, and has slight mutual intelligibility with the Balangao language and the eastern dialects of the Bontoc language.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Ilocano translation by JC Flores
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © JC Flores

Inspired by Mangmangkik description in El Folk-lore Filipino. Isabelo de los Reyes, trans. Dizon and Peralta-Imson. 1994. (Original Spanish Manuscript Printed 1889)

Mangmangkik Illustration by by emirajuju
IG: https://www.instagram.com/emirajuju/

Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
FB: Wildling Child
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wildlingchild/

*Note this poem is in Tagalog

KORO

KOROKOTO

Kutíng maingay

KORO

KOROKOTO

Nakahanap ng pilyong bata

KORO

KOROKOTO

Nagmistulang tao

KORO

KOROKOTO

May masamang plano

KORO

KOROKOTO

Nag antay sa mga puno

KORO

KOROKOTO

Hinablot siya sa tuhod

KORO

KOROKOTO

Hiniwa siya ng pirapiraso

KORO

KOROKOTO

Kinain ang kumakabog niyang puso

KORO

KOROKOTO

Kutíng maingay

KORO

KOROKOTO

Nakahanap ng pilyong bata

=————————————————=

English Version

KORO

KOROKOTO

Noisy little cat

KORO

KOROKOTO

Found a little brat

KORO

KOROKOTO

Turned into a man

KORO

KOROKOTO

Had an evil plan

KORO

KOROKOTO

Waited in the trees

KORO

KOROKOTO

Grabbed him by the knees

KORO

KOROKOTO

Cut him into parts

KORO

KOROKOTO

Ate his beating heart

KORO

KOROKOTO

Noisy little cat

KORO

KOROKOTO

Found a little brat

=—————————————————————=

*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.

*Korokoto is onomatopeic, it is the sound the creature makes as well as its name.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Translation by Raven
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Raven

Inspired by the Korokoto myths from Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao.

Korokoto Illustration by Rai Hamid
FB: Wombatrai

Every night when I was a child

I laid on my bed, oft beguiled

I could not drift into sleep

Because it would always creep

By the foot of my bed

Where it would poke out its head

And wait until the sandman came

So it could begin its game

Now, it was nothing sinister

It would just administer

Tickles until I laughed myself awake

And through the years this would take

My mind off what life depleted

All the arguments that were heated

The shouting and tears

The pushing and fears

That no child should ever face

In the home that was my space

Those nights in my bed

When I wished I was dead

It came without warning

And stayed ‘til the morning,

Tickling until I smiled,

Made me remember I was a child

Those were times long past

And I have searched and I have asked

Tracked and looked and scoured and penned

All to find my long-lost friend

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Pongkoe legends from Aklan

Pongkoe Illustration by Abe Joncel Guevarra
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The moon came into the cloudless night
In her garb of flowing silver.
The small boy stares at her
Through the still air
The moon waves her gentle arms
Dancing to a silent song
“O Moon, you must run away!
If the serpent comes,
It will find you
And swallow you whole!”
“Let me do my dance
And have me enjoy this quiet evening
Fear not, child,
For nothing could ever swallow me.”
“Mistress moon, please listen
I can feel the serpent’s presence
Already is it growing dark!”
“I will continue my dance
With the stars as my partners
Leave us be.”

The serpent coils
Closer and closer
The boy is standing on the edge
His eyes are closed
Through the night it comes
Faster than a shadow
Its eyes glistening
At its prize

How the nightbirds cry!
The moon is trapped in the sky
And the child weeps
His throat grows hoarse
But his shouts are not heard
The moon weeps silver tears
That fall into the sea

Shadows make their new home
Across the horizon
And a lone child cries
At the edge of the world

————————–————————–———————

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Poem inspired by the Bakunawa myths

Bakunawa Illustration by Patato Doodles

KORO

KOROKOTO

Noisy little cat

KORO

KOROKOTO

Found a little brat

KORO

KOROKOTO

Turned into a man

KORO

KOROKOTO

Had an evil plan

KORO

KOROKOTO

Waited in the trees

KORO

KOROKOTO

Grabbed him by the knees

KORO

KOROKOTO

Cut him into parts

KORO

KOROKOTO

Ate his beating heart

KORO

KOROKOTO

Noisy little cat

KORO

KOROKOTO

Found a little brat

*Korokoto is onomatopeic, it is the sound the creature makes as well as its name.

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Korokoto myths from Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao.

Korokoto Illustration by Rai Hamid
FB: Wombatrai

I wish to go where we shall meet,
Together, in a silent retreat
Alone is where my heart resides
To see you is my last desire
And in my heart burns a slow fire
All I want is to hold your hand
Or feel again that soft sand
From the beach where we first met
And watched the sun set
You are gone and I must believe
That in some strange, forgotten present
I would not have to live with this lament

The candle’s scent is your last breath

My mind is trapped with days gone by
Filled with frozen fireflies
Now my mind is torn with doubt
I sit here and contemplate
While silently cursing fate
I think back to better times
They come to me like ringing chimes
And all the feelings that I hold
Now just leave me cold
What once was flickers and passes

The candle’s scent is your last breath

There will be time to wonder
“What might have been?”
Time to look back and spin
Around the unsaid sins
I will say “I know I tried”
“But you still died”
“And had I lied..”
Nothing would have changed
So I sit and think about
The fireflies that we caught
And how I can live without

You were kind
You were patient

But the night is nearing its end
And I will take my heart to mend
I can feel you in the wind
So let your spirit stay free
You are no longer bound to me
We both let loose our chains
And free our imaginary pain
And it was worth it after all
To raise my head up tall
And sing about the life lived
That in some true, remembered past
I was with you, at long last

————————–————————–————————

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Poem inspired by the Karkarma myths from Ilocos

Karkarma Illustration by Marc Samuel Magpantay

They own the land of tooth and green
Forever there and yet unseen

Trampled underneath the feet
Of those that worship Wall Street

How the times where did they go?
When the world knew what they know

All the colors of the sky
Were in a child’s lullaby

But alas time falls apart
In the beating of their hearts

Their silent wishes go unheard
Carried by the chirping of the birds

Each tree when cut
Is a nail put

In the coffin of their kind
Out of sight and out of mind

For what is green does not glisten
To those who won’t listen

In the song of the riverside
In the things that will never hide

The beauty of the virgin lands
Sadly now in their hands

But hope is hope to those that hear
And in all that will not fear

To keep the forest in with its owners
Time is now the only donor

Keep the natural world alive
For in it we will all survive

————————–————————–————————

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by the Tamyaw entry in 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang. Samar. 2015.

Tamyaw Illustration by Julius Advincula
IG: https://www.instagram.com/subhelic

As I was walking home alone
I saw a woman who made no sound
My breath was heavy as stone
When I saw her feet not touch the ground

I raced towards somewhere safe
Away from the monster that I saw
My, how my shoes began to chafe
The skin from my feet had been rubbed raw

I ran faster and faster
But to no avail
I was still heading towards disaster
I prayed my feet wouldn’t fail

The old woman was too fast
In front she suddenly appeared
My mind raced back to my past
And all the things that I had feared

I could not see her
She was like a mist
It was all a blur
That I missed

In a blink she was gone
Like she was never there
It was almost dawn
And I said my prayers

I ran home and covered my ears
Because all my way back
All I could hear
Was the sound of Wak—Wak—Wak

————————–————————–——————-

Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza

Inspired by ‘Aswang as an Old Woman.’ in Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. Eugenio. 2002.

Wak-wak (Aklan) Illustration by Ysa Peñas
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