Trilingual Blue Bravura

I recently had the pleasure and the honor of one of my poems appearing in translation: Spanish and Romanian. In February 2017, Eileen R. Tabios — my "poet sister" and "verse kumadre" — published Your Father Is Bald, a history and collection of the hay(na)ku form, which Eileen invented in 2003. I happen to be the namer of the hay(na)ku . . . a portmanteau pun on "haiku" and the Philippine expression "hay naku" (kinda like "oy vey" or "oh my god"). Your Father Is Bald, put out by PIM Publishing House in Romania, is trilingual — in English, Spanish, and Romanian — and Eileen invited me to be a "guest poet" in the book. So my hay(na)ku poem "Blue Bravura" appears there, my first time being translated into other languages. If you're not familiar with the hay(na)ku, it's basically a tercet with one word in the first line, two words in the second line, and three words in the third line — a deceptively simple form that is amazingly flexible and expressive. This 1-2-3 patterning produces the book's title. "Your Father Is Bald" comes from the Philippine nursery rhyme "isa, dalawa, tatlo, and tatay mo'y kalbo"; in English this translates into "one, two, three, your father is bald." Much more fun in Filipino! Here is my poem next to the Spanish and the Romanian versions. Blue Bravura For the Griffin Lit sixth graders and their teacher Ms. Filas poems like gems in my pocket gleam and glisten in the dark glowing always with their blue light saying hey you pay close attention bluebirds blueberries sky blue blue blue blue egyptian jewels sapphire tanzanite turquoise blue lapis lazuli azurite aquamarine topaz blue jade dragon breathing carnelian flames blue steel blades crocodile kampilan swords blues blazing rock guitar bass timbales blue prophecies ballads in yours mine our blue pockets brilliant breathtaking words       Coraje azúl Para los niños del sexto grado de Griffin Lit y su maestra, Ms. Filas poemas como diamantes en mi bolsillo brillan y alumbran en la oscuridad brillando siempre con su luz azúl diciendo oye tú pon atención aquí azúlejo arándano cielo azúl, azúl, azúl azules joyas egipcias. zafiro, tansánito, turquesa azúl lapislázuli azúl celeste, aguamarina, topacio azúl dragón de jade llamas de cornalina azúles hojas de acero espadas kampilanes blues rock explosivo tímpanos de guitarra baladas profecías azúles reencuentro en ti nuestros bolsillos azúles brillantes palabras abrumantes       Curaj albastru Pentru copiii din clasa a şasea de la Griffin Lit şi profesoarei lor, Doamna Filas poeme ca nestemate în buzunarul meu strălucesc ş􀀙i luminează în acest întuneric strălucind întotdeauna cu lumina lor albastră spunând hei tu fii atent aici albastru cer albăstriu albastru, albastru, albastru albastre bijuterii egiptene safir, tanzanit, turcoaz albaş􀀁tri lapis lazuli azur, acvamarin, topaz albastru dragon jad flăcări vii cornalină albastre lame de otel săbii kampilan blues rock exploziv timbale chitară bas balade preziceri albastre regăsesc în tine buzunarele noastre albastre strălucitoare cuvinte copleş􀀁itoare —Vince Gotera, from Your Father Is Bald by Eileen R. Tabios (PIM Publishing House, 2017). This poem goes back to April 26, 2012, when I featured on the blog the Griffin Lit wiki where Danielle Filas and her sixth graders at Village Academy Schools in Powell, Ohio, were posting NaPoWriMo poems. That day was The Academy of American Poets' "national poem in your pocket day" and I wrote this poem in tribute to that inspiring class of young poets. Those kids are now juniors in high school. I hope some of them are still writing poems! By the way, the Spanish translation is by Diana Dragomirescu; the Romanian by Gabriela Apetrei, Elena Țăpean, Ioana Agafiței, and Irina Secărescu. I love their work except that both translations, strangely, leave out the word "crocodile" in line 27. Won’t you comment, please? I'd love to hear what you’re thinking. To comment, look for a red line below that starts Posted by, then click once on the word comments in that line. If you don’t find the word “comments” in that line, then look for a blue link below that says Post a comment and click it once. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ