Gugma

Lunch time convo with non-Ilongga friend.

Friend: So, Bacolod gets its money from sugar. Gen San gets its money from tuna. Zamboanga gets theirs from sardines. Where does Iloilo get its money from?

Me: From GUGMA 😁

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To give non-Ilongga friend a better response, I googled "Iloilo City economy."

Me: Hey, it says here that "Industries in Iloilo City include management of port facilities, telecommunications infrastructure and utilities, banking and finance..."

Friend: So what goes through your port?

Me: The people who love us, of course 😁

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Coffee time convo with same friend.

*I was putting back excess sugar in the canister (I was going to throw it away).

Friend: Ibalik mo yan kasi pawis yan ng mga mga taga-Bacolod. Kayong mga taga-Iloilo, anong pinagpawisan niyo?

Me: Grabe ka, nakakapagod din kaya ang magmahal. 😁

#ILOveILOve

Facebook post from here.

Nagbulaganay Kami

The Hiligaynon expression "Nagbulaganay kami" could mean one of three things:

1. We parted ways
2. We broke up
3. We blinded each other

There's a poem or flash fic in there, somewhere. But first, coffee.

#PatudloHiligaynon

Facebook post from here.

There is no Hiligaynon word for goodbye.

There is no Hiligaynon word for goodbye.

An Ilonggo who leaves says, "Lakat na ko." One who sends another off says, "Halong!" or "Balik-balik lang."

"Lakát" means *walk*. 

"Hálong" means *take care*.

"Bálik-bálik lang" means *come back anytime*.

So I guess Ilonggos, sweet and full of gugma as we are, may have actually been built for walking away.

On the other hand, Ilonggos may have also been conditioned for being okay with getting left behind. Because even when people walk away from us, we would still wish them well. We Ilonggos would still welcome them back.

[I can almost hear all my good friends collectively saying, "Ikaw lang nà ya, Sol!!!" ]

#PatudloHiligaynon

Edit: Pwede kuno "paalam" for goodbye. So it really does take wisdom to move on.

#FacebookPost from here.

So I Left My Ilongga

I knew of many tongues, hers

Included, and it bothered her

When I got so confused with

Ahay Bitaw Naku Tao kimo.

For years, she’s failed to hide

The ugtas beneath the melody

That accompanied her voice.

My Ilongga was tone-deaf. So

I asked her what she wanted.

“Ang mahalin ka,” she sighed,

Knowing well that I knew her

Heart language – Hiligaynon.

So I left my palangga, I left

Her land of gugma, but not

Before leaving her my shell

Of a heart, all emptied, dahil

All this Tagalog’s kasingkasing

Ever wanted was mahalin siya.

13 May 2017

12:00 P.M.

Deca Homes, Pavia

Sugat

“Wala na ang sugat

na iniwan niya,” siling

ko sa akon nga sugat.

“Kasi nandito ka na.”

27 May 2017

8 A.M.

NAIA Terminal 2, Pasay City

Langka

Maalay magtangla sa bitoon

Ilabi na kay wala ini ikasarang

Manaog sa duta. Maayo pa

Maghandom sang langka,

Kay man wala ini sing mahimo

Sa maukod magtamod-hulat,

Kon indi ang mahulog.

10 May 2017

8:30 P.M.

Bo. Obrero, Iloilo City