a recording for https://soundcloud.com/groups/record-a-poem (a National Poetry Month 2013 project of the Poetry Foundation) of the Filipino poem: “Pagkain ng special halo-halo: Isang palaisipan sa tag-init” by Jose F. Lacaba

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

How to eat halo-halo:
A summer dilemma

By Jose F. Lacaba

From Sa Panahon ng Ligalig: Tula, Awit, Halaw (In the Time of Unrest: Poem, Song, Selection) (Anvil Publishing, 1991)

I said,
“how do you eat
special halo-halo?
Do you first eat
the heap of ice-cream
on top of the shaved
ice?
OR
do you first mix the ice cream
into the rest of it?

He said,
“What seems to be the problem?”

I said,
“If you first eat
the ice cream, what you eat next
won’t seem to be any different from
a regular halu-halo.
But, if you mix the ice-cream first
into the rest of it,
you would not
savor the full flavor
of the ice cream.”

He said,
“You worry about too many
things.
It’ll all be mixed
in your stomach.
Be thankful that you are
privileged enough
to eat special halu-halo.”

The original Tagalog poem, pubished w/permission by the poet:

Pagkain ng special halo-halo:
Isang palaisipan sa tag-init

ni Jose F. Lacaba

Mula sa Sa Panahon ng Ligalig: Tula, Awit, Halaw (Anvil Publishing, 1991)

’Ika ko,
“Paano ba kinakain
ang special halo-halo?
Inuuna ba
ang tumpok ng sorbetes
sa ibabaw ng kinaskas
na yelo?
O
inihahalo muna ang sorbetes
at saka kinakain?”

’Ika niya,
“Ano ba ang problema?”

’Ika ko,
“Kung sorbetes
ang una mong uupakan,
ang isusunod mo’y
wala yatang pagkakaiba
sa regular halo-halo.
Kung ang sorbetes naman
ay ihahalo mo muna,
hindi mo
mananamnam nang husto
ang sorbetes.”

‘Ika niya,
“Kung ano-ano
ang pinoproblema mo.
Maghahalo din iyan
sa tiyan.
Pasalamat ka’t nakakakain ka
ng special halo-halo.”

Information about the author can be found here: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Pete_Lacaba