“The Fluttering of Small Wings” and Other Poems

By Jhio Jan Navarro. Translated by Eric Abalajon

Translator’s Note

Jhio Jan Navarro’s poetry, and the contradictions it explores, is largely rooted in his home province of Negros Occidental, in the Philippines, a place known for its sugar industry whose establishment could be traced back to the Spanish and American colonial regimes. Aside from documenting the hardships of peasants and the injustices against them, Navarro has also taken a more abstract approach in which the rhythms of animal life serve as a refraction of human experiences. In these three poems about insects, one can glimpse the aspiration for meaning and beauty amid precarity and violence.

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PAGASPAS NG MGA MUNTING PAKPAK

Lagi kong inaabangan

ang pandanggo ng mga alitaptap

sa pagi-pagitan ng mga dahon at sanga

ng aratiles at mangga.

Lalo na sa tuwinang

kumakapal ang dilim at hindi

naililihim kung bakit sa pagsapit

ng hatinggabi ay marami

ang nalalagutan ng hininga.

At bagama’t hindi maaninag,

may katiyakan ang pagaspas

ng munting mga pakpak

sa paglutang ng mumunting kudlit

ng kutitap sabay sa ihip-alon ng amihan.

Binubutas ang kapal ng dilim

sa bitbit na maninipis na silahis ng liwanag.

Hinuhubog, inuukit sa mga hugis

na walang pangil, walang tulis.

THE FLUTTERING OF SMALL WINGS

I often anticipate

the dance of fireflies

between the leaves and branches

of the aratiles and mango trees.

Especially when

the darkness thickens and it is

no longer a secret why at the

strike of midnight many

suddenly ran out of breath.

Even if they can’t be seen,

there is certainty to the

fluttering of small wings

in the appearance of small dots

of light along with the current of the wind.

Piercing through the thickness of darkness

with the thin blades of light that they carry.

Molding, sculpting shapes

without fangs, without sharp edges.

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 HINDI NAGPATIWAKAL ANG GAMUGAMO

Kung manulak ang dilim

tila tiyak ang pagkahulog mula

sa silyang pinatarik ng lubid.

Kung manghatak ang liwanag

tila langit ang pagitan

ng kisame’t sahig.

Walang pagpapatiwakal.

Sadyang naipit lamang ang gamugamo

sa gitna ng lagablab at anino.

THE MOTH DIDN’T KILL ITSELF

When the dark pushes it is

as if falling is certain from

the chair erected by rope.

When the light pulls it is

as if heaven is the space

between the ceiling and the floor.

There is no suicide.

It just so happens that the moth

is caught between the blaze and the shadow.

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 LANGIT NG SALAGUBANG

Matapos ipitin at itali ang pakpak upang

paglaruan hanggang di na makakilos, makalipad,

saan napupunta ang kaluluwa ng mga salagubang?

Matapos alugin at mahulog mula sa mga sanga’t dahon

ng mangga at igisa upang ulam sa pananghalian,

may langit ba silang madaratnan?

May isang napadpad malapit sa pinto

noong nakaraan. Inakalang ipis ng kapatid kong tatlong

taong gulang, tsinelas ang naging kapalaran.

Ang ipis? Hayaan na ang ipis sa mga sulok at siwang.

Ang tula ay tungkol sa langit ng mga salagubang.

HEAVEN OF THE BEETLE

After being trapped and tying its wings in order

to be played with until paralyzed, unable to fly,

where does the soul of the beetle go?

After shaken up and falling from the branches and leaves

of the mango tree, and stir fried to be a viand for lunch,

is there a heaven for them to arrive in?

There’s one that came near the door,

recently. My three-year-old sibling thought

it was a roach, a slipper became its fate.

The roach? Leave the roaches alone in the corners and cracks.

This poem is about the heaven of beetles.

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Jhio Jan Navarro hails from the island of Negros in the Philippines. Translations of his poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Modern Poetry in Translation, Asymptote, and Poetry Northwest. He is currently based in Panay, working as an instructor at the University of the Philippines Visayas.

Eric Abalajon’s translations have appeared in Circumference Magazine, The Polyglot, Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation, and Tripwire: a journal of poetics. His debut poetry collection Invitation To See The Leaves Outside is forthcoming from FlowerSong Press. He lives near Iloilo City, Philippines.

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