Friday, November 25, 2011

Pusong Wagas

Paul Morales, friend and Artistic Director of Ballet Philippines, asked me to write a libretto based on the legend of the founding of Mandaluyong.

In my story, there's a princess in a dysfunctional relationship with her father, the King. One night, her friend, the Anino ng Buwan, invites her to galivant outside the palace--a thing she has been expressly forbidden to do. But the promise to swim in sparkling rivers and to run barefoot on a carpet of smooth grass is too much for the princess. Riding an "uwak's feather", the two friends venture into the green and throbbing forest.

There they meet an ascetic man who tends to the big trees. The princess senses his loneliness as he whistles a song about the forest. Cloaked in invisibility, she watches him. And he senses her. When at last, the Anino ng Buwan reveals the princess, the are drawn to a kiss. And, despite the initial resistance, they fall in love.

But a Journeyman from afar arrives in their shores bearing shiny gifts in exchange for the people's gold. When the young couple avoid dealing with the stranger, a war is declared. The Journeyman sends three warriors to raze the forest and kill the couple. The princess and the man fight the warriors with all their might. They're last stronghold is by the river. Not wanting to surrender, and promising eternal love, they vow never to part as they drown in the waters.

The King discovers them gone. And his kingdom is reduced to men and women wearing sunglasses, blind from shiny but useless things they bought from the Journeyman.

By the river, a huge tree starts to grow. And at night, a large moon keeps it company. Right away, the King recognizes the tree as the man. And the princess has come back as the moon. As he sheds tears of repentance for having believed the journeyman, the Anino ng Buwan sings of the three hearts that each of us have--for our love, for our family and for our country.

Here are the lyrics to the three songs in the ballet. Music will be composed by Cynthia Alexander.

1. Anino ng Buwan

Kasintada ko
Ang hardin at puno,
Kalaro ko minsan
Ang buwaya sa ilog.
Kaibigan ko ang malamlam na puso
Ako ang Anino ng Buwan.

Aanhin mo ang buhay na tahimik
Sa luklukan dinadakila
Walang taong iniibig
Isang bato’ng
Walang awit o imik.
Magsayaw ka. Pagbigyan ang hilig.

Ihakbang mo at naroon ka na.
Maalat ang dagat, madawag ang gubat.
Maningning ang ilog. Humahalakhak.
May sipol ang dilim
Nanunukso ang pahamak.

Magsasaya tayo. (Echo: Magsasaya tayo!)
Magsisisi tayo. (Boses ni Prinsesa Manda: Patay tayo diyan.)
Kaibigan ko ang malamlam na puso.
Ako ang Anino ng Buwan.

Buksan mo ang bintana
Nandito na ako… (Encho: Engkanto…Engkanto…)
May pasalubong. (Boses ni Prinsesa Manda: Pakpak ng uwak?)
Maglalayag tayo (Boses ni Prinsesa Manda: Maglalayag tayo?)
Hanggang sa dulo ng mundo.

Ihakbang mo at naroon ka na.
Maalat ang dagat, madawag ang gubat.
Maningning ang ilog. Humahalakhak.
May sipol ang dilim
Nanunukso ang pahamak.


2. Init ng Halik

Araw-araw, sa lilim ng sanga
Kay lawak ng gubat sa aking mga mata.
Paggising sa umaga, paligid humihinga
Tumitibok, lumilingkis, namumunga.

Ang buhay na payak, aking ninanais.
Umiiwas sa lahat, di naghahanap ng labis.
Pero sa gabi, gumagapang ang lumbay
Sa buong gubat ako lang ang sablay.

Paroo’t parito ang mga paru-paro
Nanghahalina ang mga bulaklak
Sumisitsit ang mga kuliglig
Ang lupang darang, nangangailangan ng dilig.

Alagang punong-kahoy, sa kamay tumatamis
Makatas ang bunga, walang kahati
Buhay na payak, aking ninanais
Mabasag man lang minsan, sa pagdalaw ng kapangis.

Mag-alaga ng buhay, yan ang turo ni Bathala
Halaman, hayop, kapwa.
Ituro mo ang tanim na may samyo ng lambing
At didiligan ko nang walang mintis.

Alagang punong-kahoy, sa kamay tumatamis
Makatas ang bunga, walang kahati
Buhay na payak, aking ninanais
Mabasag man lang minsan, sa pagdalaw ng kapangis.

Ipakilala mo siya, aking Bathala
Ang kahati ng aking buhay
Ang buwan sa aking araw, ang dilig sa aking darang
Kaputol ng hininga. Tanging pagsinta.

At biglang buhay ko’y lalawak sa dalawa
Ang mga araw mamumunga ng wagas
Kamay sa kamay, labi mo sa labi ko
Init ng halik. Init ng halik.


3. Pusong Wagas

Huwag bibitiw
Aking sinisinta
Labi mo sa labi ko
Magpakailanman.

Tutumbasan ko
Ang sakmal, sapot o lason.
Ako ay puno at
Pag-ibig ko’y apoy.

Maglaan ng halik
Aking sinisinta
Tutubusin
Sa aking pagbalik.

Ihehele ko
Ang sakmal, sapot o lason
Ako ang Buwan
At pag-ibig ko’y apoy

Bawat isa
May pusong wagas
Tatlong pusong walang kamatayan
Pagsinta, Pamilya, Bayan.

Lulupigin ang bulkan
Tatawid sa talim ng bato
Susuko ang ilog
Sa paglunod sa iyo.

(Pero) Walang kamatayan
Ang pusong wagas
Pagsinta, Pamilya, Bayan.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

To every yin there is a yang:::To each good accompanies an evil.
The gods created this duality to use as a tool. This Situation represents the good, illustrating the optimal path for man with what time we have left.
Call me a prophet or perhaps a different title:::Second Coming. Granted there will be a battle between good and evil in The End just as the Christian Bible reads. This is the god's positioning, and following through with these promises will allow the gods to fulfill any remaining obligation to the people::::1000 years with Jesus on Planet Earth.
Quite consistant with this duality, moral roles will be reversed come the fulfillment of their choreography:::The Anti-Christ will preach reverting to the old ways while the Second Coming of Christ will preach the celebration of sin people wallow in.
Whereas the first is essentially in the books, I fear the gods have me slated for the role as Anti-Christ as well.
Reeling in defeat, I worry the gods will use the Anti-Christ as the seeds of disfavor on the next Planet Earth. In the god's positioning we see a preparation, alligning me against them, intensifying my hatred, specifically to manufacture this element of disfavor which they will use come the next Garden of Eden.
Recall in the Bible the gods promise eternal life to all who believe in Jesus. This is true, with a catch:::TRUE BELIEVERS who survive tactics and tests designed to filter out non-believers will begin anew a planet's (intelligent) life cycle, from agriculture to industrialization to technology. These tests and tactics will be why the number of survivors will be so low.
All the things experienced on Earth will be reexperienced again. In this sinless enviornment of purity (outside worship of a false god) there must be an element of disfavor which begins the planet's decline. Selected to help the gods absolve themselves of culpability arising from the 20th century destruction of Planet Earth, the gods in their "infinite wisdom" may have selected me for this role. Despite accomplishing their goals as per their strategy, their positioning states my efforts countered their wished, helping the far end of the trough and many who have been decreed "The Damned". As such I am that figure who initiates disfavor on the next Planet Earth.
Deceptive at best, immorally wicked at worst. But fuck, it's only me, so who gives a fuck?

The gods already killed a psychiatrists in my behalf.
The gods do these things in my behalf to illustrate who I am. In the execution of their strategy lies clues, for example Haiti's cholera outbreak as opposed to Chile's celebration during its miner rescue, eliminating any benefit which could have been derived from the suffering arising from each respective earthquakes.