Steve's Poetry Challenge: Tigsik
For this prompt, I will introduce you all to a Bicolano poetry form (rawitdawit) locally called the Tigsik (prounounced teeg-sic).
In English, tigsik means "I commend" , "I salute", "I point out", or in modern internet speak, "shout-out." It is a short poetry form consisting of one stanza, similar to a haiku, but there are four lines with roughly eight syllables each, but this can be flexible (as long as it's not too long). Each line should rhyme, whether with an end rhyme, an assonance, or an internal rhyme. The tone of a tigsik is usually a roast, a salute, a commendation, or a (friendly) joke about a person. The goal is to be as humorous or lamentful as possible while (lightly) roasting the subject; a jest if you will.
For example:
English:
Salute to my dear father,
Whose emotions are way farther...
The only time he gets nearer
Is to ask for some bail offer.
Bicol:
(Tigsik ko ang ama ko
Ang pagkamoot abang rayo,
Naiisip niya man lang ako
Pangpyansa niya ta ako nagpaldo.)
Or:
English:
Shoutout to my dissociation.
It weakens my emotions—
The joy I find in medication,
Outlasts their attenuation.
Bicol:
(Tigsik ko an sakong pagkahuri,
Ta pirmi akong mayo sa sadiri—
Bulong nawawara an ogma sa sadiri
Pag sinda na naghahali.)
Or:
English:
I commend Mitsuo-san,
The best cook in Naga,
Even though he's quieter than a pan
And sourly than his fans.
Bicol:
(Tigsik ko si Mitsuo-san,
Pinakamaurag na paraluto sa Naga
Mas tuninong sa kawali, saka
Buwisit sa panatiko niya)
Since it's officially Sunday, I will now present the prompt and form for the #BastardPoetsOfDoom
Your prompt today is #grumpy. Your task is to write three of these in English of the same subject in one page. Have fun, and don't overthink it!
#poetrycommunity #tigsik #rawitdawit #Bicol
