Duyan duyan-> Published in Celebrations: Places and Spaces, edited by Dr. Christine Godinez-Ortega

Photo: At Bohol Beach Club

Duyan duyan

ni Jhonil C. Bajado

Igduduyan ko ikaw

Pero hinay-hinay la.

Sige pa, husga pa

Sige pa, husga la

Bangin ka hilipsong

Hinga’t ka hit may sirong.

Sige la, sagdi la

Sige la, sagdi la

Bangin ak ni im tatay Eloy

Igsumat hit ak iroy.

Sige la, sagdi la

Sige la, sagdi la

Bangin ak nim uyab Waway

Lapatungon katiupay.

Sige pa, husga la

Sige pa, husga la

Akudos inin tawo gud man,

Maruruyagon ha pagdinuyan-duyan.

_____

(Translation by the author)

Swing the hammock

I will swing your hammock

But I’ll do it gently.

Go on, make it fast

Go on, make it swift

You could fall

To the ground.

Go on, I won’t mind

Go on, don’t worry

Your father Eloy

Might tell my mother what I’ve done.

Go on, it doesn’t matter

Go on, it’s nothing

Your lover Waway might learn about this,

And punch me ‘til I’m blue.

Go on do it fast

Go on, don’t worry

How people love

Rocking in the hammock.

Note: This poem was performed by Thomas Fitzgerald in a Poetry Reading at Camilaroma, Leyte Park Hotel, Tacloban City, Leyte. (Gracias Tom)