Perennial Measure: April 2021

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Tsika-LIT: Literary Conversations Episode 1: Poetry (Vicente Soria de Veyra's "Testigo")

A BREAK from Perennial Measure with this video from University of the Philippines at Tacloban featuring Prof. Jessa Amarille and Tsika-Lit host Mars Briones: https://bit.ly/3db68Cc. Thank you, guys.

Here's the text of that Waray poem of mine being discussed in this talk:

TESTIGO

Ha harayo nga pulong, bisan marampag

ha dughan

An pagmakasasala mo ha bagting

Han ak' simod, ako la gihapon an

Mapainubsanon, ako, ako an madarahug

Nga 'say naangay makigbisog ha lawod

Han kaarawdan, kay ikaw an naghalad,

Ikaw an kinmarawat han ak' kamaisog

Nga malunod an ngatanan nga paghusga,

o gugma.

Ha halipot nga pulong, bisan buong,

bisan.

WITNESS

In the long way of saying it, although

it's flowery on the chest

Your sinning upon the tolling of

My snout, I am yet the

Humble one, I, I am the oppressor

Who deserves to fight at the depths of

Shame, for you were the one who gave

offerings,

You were the one who received my valor

That all judgments drown, o love.

In the short way of saying it, though

broken, even so.

About "Perennial Measure," the first blogged poetry volume on this site:

On the seventh day in the writing of this collection, or perhaps already subconsciously during the making of that first poem, it became clear that this series, Perennial Measure (the volume), shall be about the practice of poetry and art. Having laid that assumption down, trying to follow that course, however, I saw that I was able to move later to the creation of pieces on various other themes, as if I was trying to present to my reader those various themes and issues that confront a poet in his life and everyday world, qua poet. But, so as not to veer too far away from my central theme, the series would interrupt that straying again to make me go back to pieces strictly on poetry or art. And that push and pull from the central theme went on to the end of the volume project (which targeted 56 pieces or 56 printed book pages worth). So, approach this collection thus, then, should it please you, and consider reading the last poem, "Perennial Failure," against the first one, "Perennial Measure." Otherwise, you can just approach the section or volume or book how you would rather, as maybe you should. Here is Perennial Measure, the blogged poetry book within this eponymously titled Perennial Measure blogged literary creations site.