Allow me a bit of outpouring of fatherly pride this time. I know I have two wonderful kids but it is quite a different thing if you hear it from another person- esp. in a form of flowing verses. That other person was no other than Karl Gaspar (cebuano novelist, poet, redemptorist, and anthropologist). He visited us briefly last spring after spending his sabbathical in South Africa and the US. Before leaving, Karl wrote this wonderful poem in Cebuano for Anna and Martin. Here it goes:
Si Anna ug Martin
Si Anna
batang buotan
bulak nga potot
nagdalag kaanyag
sa tanaman sa
akong gihanduraw
Si Martin
batang matinahuron
langgam sa sanga sa kahoy
nagdalag huni
sa luna sa
akong gidamgo
Si Anna ug Martin
batang makalingaw
bunga sa paghigugma
nagdalag kahayag
sa panaw padulong sa
akong gipangandoy
(neustadt an der weinstraße, 22 march 2007)
45 Kommentare:
congratulations jack! you have every right to be proud! =)
ha...ha...ha... inggit ka lang ano? Btw, do you really understand Cebuano?
of course i do!
inggit ako you have a daughter! and a very pretty one at that!
i don't know who karl gaspar is though. =)
good looking kids you have..
well, he's more known in mindanao, in davao, in particular.
well, you and manuel are still very young. just "work it out".
oh ok. there you go. =)
baka may pinagmanahan :-)
I'm wondering that! I used to tell her, anna here you look so "exotic" but in the philippines you are just another face he...he..he..
but he had already published quite a lot of books back home, and I'm sure you can find many of them in National Book Stores.
ah, yes, I remember now you said you had your wedding in Cebu and had lived there, too! I wonder if you studied in St. Theresa's?
ah, karl gaspar... he is really a great poet. and wow, jack you are so lucky to have kids like them. and they are lucky to have a dad like you who is really there physically and emotionally to support them.
in UP jack...
wrong, jack. anna is pretty/beautiful in both germany and here in the philippines. im not pulling your leg.
yeah, ruth... hahahah! just kidding. actually your kids are very good mixture from pinoy and german blood. perfect!
I see.
salamat. then I should raise her "dowry"? he...he...
whatever you had in mind, you should double it jack! =) really, she has a very classically beautiful face. i find eurasians to be exceptionally attractive, most of the time.
i know, i know. anna really looks like her mother, except of her nose. it's funny, i thought anna's features came from my side, until ruth brought out an old picture of her's and, gee, no more discussion. anna is her carbon copy. again except of the nose and the skin, of course.
ha...ha... there you are again, Pat! when we were in the phils. anna was so upset that one of her cousins kept on telling her how nice her white skin is. she answered her in germany, women spend fortune to keep their skin dark!
he is, dave, and he encouraged me to go on translating rilke. He did some translations of Brecht, too, but you know it's already from english to cebuano and not really from the original german.
amen, to that. But you know I also realized that I can't stay at home forever. I do have freelance work from time to time but it is not enough for me. I'm giving myself until next year when Anna is going to the Gymnasium.
that's a great decision, jack.
and it reminds me of ovid. i got a fellowship abroad when ovid was four. but i didnt take it knowing he needed my presence. now im thinking of getting back to the academe again. a phd program maybe. crossing my fingers. lol!
he...he.. who would have thought that we'd turn out to be responsible and loving fathers. Now, scratch my back, dave!
hahah! [scratch! scratch!] well, im trying to be responsible. im not perfect actually; just ask tinette. lol!
well, i went to her multiply after I saw her passing by in mine and sent her a PM, but she didn't reply.
ah jack, she doesnt believe in multiply thing. she had that account just to access ovid or my site. hahah! its her link to ovid. but she is a very private person. she wouldnt even want to mention her or her pic posted in my blog. but no worries.
see, we even married the same type of women. ruth doesn't like to be photographed nur crazy about my blog. (waste of time, for her)
but she lurked in your site to see martin and anna. i told her about your cute kids; she was intrigued so she visited your site. lol!
and don't i know that! =) when my dad (who is a mestizo, but is well-tanned from playing tennis) went to bern for a business trip, an elderly couple approached him and asked to touch his skin. then they said, "you must be very rich to have skin like this! " hahahaha!
i was commenting on anna's features jack, not her color. =) i don't define beauty by the color of a person's skin.
how true, how true. nowadays, it is a status symbol to have dark-looking skin. There's a solarium in almost every corner here. The funny thing is, it wasn't too long ago that germans associate dark skin with their poor peasantry toiling under the summer sun while the superrich stay at home or working in the office away from the sun.
ah, okey. i mixed it up then. But still a lot of people here are also struck by her complexion. "exotic" ang dating kung baga.
Lovely. And great kids, indeed!
I could feel the warmth of your pride.
gee, I'm blushing now, danny! he...he...he...
Hugs to both wonder-kids! They look happy and lively and intelligent - they have good parents.
Unfortunately, I don't understand one word of the poem.
today I'm tired. But someday I'll gonna translate into German for Martin's and Anna's sake. They don't speak (a pity, a pity) my Cebuano language, you see. When it is translated, I'll pass it on to you. Promise.
Finally I'm here. All children are beautiful. I'm glad you give precious time for your children. You can always earn money and revive a career, but you can't bring back lost time for the family.
(salamat nakabasa kog bisaya jack, mas komportable ko sa lingwahe). KARL GASPAR is KARL GASPAR pagkanindot sa balak.
Jack wala jud ko kabalo asa mo send sa imo og message. Disoriented ko sa format. Naa nakoy multiply account
unsaon pag IM diri jack
It's actually easy, Day! In time you'll be able to master it. I sent you an invite just now...
salamat....ayaw lang jud pag-ginerman...KUMUSTA diay...as soon as familiar nako sa mechanics diri....bisitahon nako imo blog pirmi...mao na ako gikalingawan lately.
maayo man, giubo ug gamay! Ikaw?
ok lang walay lingaw nag net.......ka cute sa imong mga anak!
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