Wisdom of Youth

I was reading children’s poetry a while back and it amazed me somehow. Maybe it was the fresh perspective that they brought to the seemingly cliché or the innocence of their lines or the magic in, how I imagined, their delivery of these gentle lines of the romantic that got me so interested. I’m really not that sure. But there was something that caught my attention. The blatant disregard for the usual and the formulation of lines that rules out complication was astonishing. How can thirteen years old and below write with such magnetism that attracts attention. If a grown man wrote those same lines, they would be treated below mediocre and yet there they are. Lines published, verses written in a permanent mark within the information library.

It reminded me of an encounter with a child of five years and getting older as each second ticks away from the clock. And that moment, in its fleeting form remained a masterpiece in my head. The scene was no more appropriate – a dilapidated building in the background and the eerie sound of trucks, jeeps, tricycles, and private cars that roamed the “smallish” city. Smoke blowing from the mouths of everyone. Some of them legal.

Pipo: Tano ta sige kang gala?

Translation:(bat ka gala ng gala?)

Christian: Mayo man kong magibo sa harong…

(wala akong magawa sa bahay)

Pipo: Tabangan mo na lang kaya magurang mo… Banggi na puro pa mga adik kaibanan mo digdi… Mawawaran ka kayan padumanan…

(tulungan mo na lang kaya magulang mo… Gabi na lahat pa ng mga kasam mo dito mga adik… mawawalan ka niyan ng patutunguhan/kinabukasan…)

Christian: Haloy naman kong mayong padumanan…

(matagal na akong walang patutunguhan/kinabukasan)

The silence after was nothing special at the moment. But perhaps my dope soaked brain was processing each word during those silent minutes. And then I asked…

Pipo: Nagtutubod ka sa Diyos?

(naniniwala ka bas a Diyos?)

Christian: Iyo!... Pag-minsan…

(Oo!... Minsan…)

Pipo: Pag-minsan?...

(Minsan?...)

Christian: Pag-may kakanun syempre… Pero pag-mayo tano man ako matubod?...

(Pag merong pagkain syempre… Pero pag-wala, bat naman ako maniniwala?...)

Again the succeeding moments pass by blissfully. The roaring engines began to sound like musical cherubs and the nauseating smells of piss began to smells like baby cologne. I went to sleep without thought of anything and I was satisfied beyond belief. I had had my fill.

What amuses me is this: to this day I remember those words. Not because I share a sentiment of disbelief but because it had so much weight in it for a five year old to utter. Perhaps this is why I like children so much. They can be so simple and complicated at the same time. Their innocence goes deeper than some of us can ever hope to grasp. And it makes you feel as though something is missing from our heads or have we just forgotten our own innocence that we dismiss childish babble without regard for what it might mean? Oh dear life… How ironic… We grow up so fast to gain so little knowledge and we let go of the vast wisdom of our youth…