English version

the ebb and flow of rolling waves caress the far distant shore
where balmy breeze and tropic rains nourish the verdant plains
peopled by God-fearing simple folks, a place I call my home

Tagalog version

ang halik ng bumaba't tumaas na alon sa malayong pampang
mainit na hangin at ulan sa lungtiang lupa'y nagbibigay buhay
mga tao'y maka-Dios at pangkaraniwan--iyan ang aking bayan

*Sijo is a Korean poem consisting of 44 to 46 syllables in three lines with 14 to 16 syllables each line. Predating haiku, it appeared in the late 10th to early 11th century although it took another 600 years for the sijo to flower. Unlike haiku, it uses metaphors, puns and allusions as well as other poetic devices.

Delicate and compact, sijo covers a wide range of subjects such as politics, love, life, music, nature, loneliness, and even personal mundane matters like drinking and aging. It embodies the complex and unique concept of sadness and hope called Han, the very core of Korean life.

My collection of sijo can be found at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~vgendrano/sijo.html

© Victor P. Gendrano

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