Sunday, May 27, 2007
# 49: ONCE UPON A TIME
Let’s take a breather from my hilarious and bitchy posts for a while, shall we? It’s a time, I believe, of utmost concentration and reflection. Nah just joking. But really, it’s a grim day. We've received news that my father would go back overseas soon. I dunno if it's a good thing or not though. Good news is, he'll gonna have his job back so he wouldn't be the cranky, naggy person that he is right now, I think a by-product of lack of physical work. And thank God I won’t be forced to watch Wowowee and Jumong anymore! I can say I’ve been traumatized with that horrible experience. The downside, though, is that the family will be incomplete once more. Aw. And he'll go on my birthday. Nice present dad. Haha.
To suit the drama of the situation I reflected upon a Nigerian poem that I had ran upon on one of my readings (naks!). Now my dad, as with other grown-ups, always voices out his concern about the “kabataan ngayon”, as what he calls us of this generation, of our wrongdoings, of being gullible and unconcerned, of arriving late at home and not being respectful enough, and other things like that, whenever he gets the chance. Now this poem is also about a father talking to his son about youth and age, but what struck me the most is that it was compared in a completely different angle. As of the poem being written in a foreign tongue I made the effort of translating it (as if) in my native language... English. I hope it would touch you as it did me.
Once upon a time, Son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes;
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.
There was a time indeed
they used to shake hands with their hearts;
but that's gone, Son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.
So I have learned many things, Son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses: homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface, cocktailface,
with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.
And I have learned too
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say "Goodbye"
when I mean "Good riddance";
to say "Glad to meet you"
without being glad; and to say
"It's been nice talking to you" after
being bored.
But believe me, Son,
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you.
I want to unlearn these muted things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake's
bare fangs!
Show me, Son,
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.
it got me home
2:51 AM
