Love Song

It's always a cause for celebration when one of our Members publishes a book. Quintin Pastrana hosted a virtual book launch for his new poetry tome, AMBAHAN: A Love Story.

His poetry is based on the seven-syllable meter ambahan tradition of the Hanunuo Mangyan tribe of Mindoro. Joining him at the launch were author and academic Danton Remoto, who translated the poems into Tagalog; UP Professor of Anthropology Nestor Castro, an expert on indigenous languages and peoples; and Lolita Delgado-Fansler, founding trustee of the Mangyan Heritage Center.

Gin as Tonic by Quintin Pastrana

You're the last marriage after a coven of bad judgment You're alchemy that transports and poetry that transforms: provenance and rebellion wearing the seasons in each constellation of garnish Ang Gin Bilang Tonik Translated by Danton Remoto Ikaw ang huling kasal matapos ang isang pangkat ng maling desisyon Ikaw ang mahika na naghahatid at tula na nagbibigay ng bagong anyo: pinanggalingan at rebelyon suot ang mga panahon sa bawat konstelasyon ng palamuti A sky of ice, a prism marinating me inside. Strangers swoon over snooty peers as an artist's statement smothers lipstick on a pig: when all is discussed, distilled,

and drunk—You simply taste good Isang langit ng yelo, isang prismo na nagbababad sa akin sa aking loob. Mga estranghero’y natutuwa sa masusungit na mga kasamahan habang ang salita ng isang artista’y tila lipstick sa bibig ng baboy: kapag humupa na ang lahat, napag-usapan at nalasing na— ika’y tunay pa ring masarap