Rogelio G. Mangahas

Seven haiku from Spider on a Stalk

1
Pulang tutubi’y
kayakap ng talahib:
sayaw ng hangin.

Red dragonfly
hugging the talahib blades:
Wind-dance.

2
Sa lupang bitak
na hinilom ng hamog,
damo’y sumungaw.

From the cracked earth
healed by dew,
grass blades sprout.

3
Kormoran, isdang
huli mo’y di malulon:
leeg, may singsing!

Cormorant, the fish
you caught’s stuck in your throat:
there’s a ring ‘round your neck.

4
Akasyang dati’y
maalitaptap, ngayo’y
lingkis ng neon.

Acacia, once
sparkling with fireflies,
now choked by neon.

5
Angkas na liryo’y
sumabit. Agos nama’y
umuli-uli.

Lily hitching a ride
in the current
gets sangged: eddies.

6
Habol ng kalaw—
punong may pugad niya’y
tangay ng baha.

Chased by hornbill,
the tree that bore her nest
sailed swiftly in the flood.

7
Sabog sa lupa’ng
sariwang kalatsutsi…
Saka na’ng walis.

Yard strewn
with fresh frangipani…
the sweeping can wait.

(translation by Marne L. Kilates; Gagamba sa Uhay/Spider on a Stalk, C&E Publishing, 2007)

ILLUSTRATION: Frangipani shower, multiplied images from Susanavery.Com.Au