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Valediction sa Hillcrest by Rolando S. Tinio

frankgomendoza

6 years ago
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Pagkacollect ng Railway Express sa aking things

(Deretso na iyon sa barko while I take the plane.)
Inakyat kong muli ang N-311, at dahil dead of winter,
Nakatopcoat at galoshes akong
Nagright-turn sa N wing ng mahabang dilim
(Tunnel yatang aabot hanggang Tundo.)
Kinapa ko ang switch sa hall.
Sa isang pitik, nagshrink ang imaginary tunnel,
Nagparang ataol.

Or catacomb.
Strangely absolute ang impression
Ng hilera ng mga pintong nagpuprusisyon:
Individual identification, parang mummy cases,
De-nameplate, de-numero, de-hometown address.
Antiseptic ang atmosphere, streamlined yet.
Kung hindi catacomb, at least
E filing cabinet.
Filing, hindi naman deaths, ha.
Remembrances, oo. Yung medyo malapot
Dahil alam mo na, I’m quitting the place
After two and a half years.
After two and a half years,
Di man nagkatiyempong mag-ugat, ika nga,
Siyempre’y nagging attached, parang morning glory’ng
Mahirap mapaknit sa alambreng trellis.

At pagkabukas ko sa kuwarto,
Hubo’t hubad na ang mattresses,
Wala nang kutson sa easy chair,
Mga drawer ng bureau’y nakanganga,
Sabay-sabay nag-ooration,
Nagkahiyaan, nabara.

Of course, tuloy ang radiator sa paggaralgal:

Nasa New York na si Bob and the two Allans,
Yung mga quarterbacks across the hall
Pihadong panay ang display sa Des Moines.
Don ang Cosntance aren’t coming back at all.
Gusto ko nang magpaalam–
to whom?
The drapes? The washbowl? Sa double-decker
Na pinaikot-ikot naming ni Kandaswamy
To create space, hopeless, talagang impossible.
Of course, tuloy ang radiator sa paglagutok.
(And the stone silence,
nakakaiyak kung sumagot.)

Bueno, let’s get it over with.

It’s a long walk to the depot.
Tama na ang sophistication-sophistication.

Sa steep incline, pababa sa highway

Where all things level, sabi nga,
There’s a flurry, ang gentle-gentle.
Pagwhoosh-whoosh ng paa ko,
The snow melts right under:

Nagtutubig parang asukal,

Humuhulas,
nagsesentimental.

Valediction sa Hillcrest by Rolando S. Tinio was a poem about a person having a dilemma
to decide between two places, Tondo and New York and how it affects his whole being. The
poem is rather complex because it uses two languages which is Filipino and English. This
creates a unique form of writing in which as we further discuss this poem, learn how he
utilizes these languages in relation to the persona’s situation in life.

The poem starts out as the persona is about to leave his apartment which is situated in New
York. The Railway Express, the N-311, and the N wing are the object used to indicate that
he travels and longs to go back to his hometown of Tondo. The winter weather is the
metaphor of hardship of traveling from place to place.

In stanza 2, the persona further describes his apartment in Tondo which is a place of full of
memories since the metaphors used were catacomb and mummy cases. These objects are
well preserved over time which is an allusion to his unforgettable experiences and
memories which is preserved and confined forever in his home in Tondo. The “antiseptic
atmosphere” gives the picture of a hospital which is a place of protection for people which
is likened to his home place in which his memories are protected. The filing cabinet
represents a properly organized place of storage where memories are easy to be found or
remembered.

In stanza 3, the persona used the word “malapot” or viscous to describe his remembrances
to his home place. The persona also suggested that he will eventually leave the place in the
lines “Di man nagkatiyempong mag-ugat” and “Mahirap mapaknit sa alambreng trellis” in
the fear of getting attached to the place.

In stanza 4, the persona finally went back to his hometown in Tondo in hope to relieve his
nausea and come back to his loved ones. But as he opened the door, the place was a mess,
empty. Stanza 5 describes how the persona remembers the place back then and where his
loved ones have gone now. These 2 stanzas depicts that homes aren’t much of a home when
there is no one there to come back to. That home is temporary and would only serve as a
place of memory. The lines “Of course, tuloy ang radiator sa/Paggaralgal” and “Of couse,
tuloy ang radiator sa paglagutok” uses sound as a form of speech (sound of an airplane
engine) that indicates the persona’s desire to fly back to New York.

In the last stanzas, the persona shows that leaving his home does not matter. “Sa steep
incline, pababa sa highway/Where all things are level, sabi nga,” this line implies that no
matter where you settle, all things are level or your character still remains in you. In short, a
home does not define who you are or what you will be. It is merely just a place to live at
and a place where one nurtures his/her self through experiences acquired in that place.
When leaving a home, one will surely leave memories and confine it there but one’s
character would always remain intact inside one’s soul.
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Categories: Poems

Tags: Character, Filing cabinet, Home, Memory, New York, Persona, Poetry, Rolando
Tinio, Stanza, Tondo, Travel
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