When Novels get High on Fire by Brett Stout. Image Courtesy the Artist.
Ilang araw pa’t lubha nilang ipinagtaka
ang lubusang pagguwang ng sa simula
bitak lang sa kongkretong sahig
Ipinasemento ang gumuwang
Ilang araw lang ay muli itong bumitak
at gumuwang nang mas malaki
Lalong hinamon ang kanilang pagtataka
Muling ipinasemento ang gumuwang
higit itong malaki sa dati kinabukasan
Dumagsa ang mga taong ibig sumilip
sa pagkakataong masabi ang inaakala
ngunit walang nakapagpahilom
sa guwang—kinakain bawat salita
~Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles
A few more days and they were quite baffled
by the widening hollow that was once
just a crack on a concrete floor
The hollow was sealed with cement
It broke open a few days later
the hollow more extensive than before
Their bewilderment has intensified
The hollow was once again sealed with cement
the next day it was much wider than before
People flocked, wanting to catch a glimpse
of the chance to say what has been imagined
but nothing can close up
the hollow—devouring every word
~ trans. Kristine Ong Muslim
Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles’ 12 books in Filipino include, among others: ‘Mga Tala at Panaginip’ (High Chair, 2012), ‘Guwang’ (High Chair, 2013), ‘Pilas ng Papel: Mga Sanaysay sa Tula’ (De La Salle University Publishing House, 2013), and ‘Pesoa’ (Balangay Books, 2014). His volume of selected poems, ‘Anima’, will come out late this year from the Ateneo de Naga University Press.
Kristine Ong Muslim has published several books, including ‘We Bury the Landscape’ (Queen’s Ferry Press, 2012), as well as the forthcoming short story collection ‘Age of Blight’ (Unnamed Press, 2016) and three poetry collections. Her short stories and poems have appeared in the Boston Review, Confrontation Magazine, Narrative Magazine, and Sou’wester.
‘Hollow’ first appeared in ‘Guwang’ (High Chair Books, 2013), and is republished here with kind permission from the poet and High Chair Books.
