The Life of Lam-ang (an Iloko epic) - Page 13 of 16

Even wrap up food to take home.
The meal over,
The townspeople doubled back to the dancefloor.

My friend Lam-ang.
May I see you walk again;
How you carry yourself.

Should you be less than perfect,
I have the mind
To give you back to your mother.

Let us repair
To the newly constructed outhouse
And there show me how you walk.

The woman Cannoyan,
When they had gone upstairs,
Again teased him.

Respected Lam-ang
May I see how you walk;
How you carry yourself.

If your manner of walking fails to impress me,
I shall certainly return you
To the care of your mother.

He took five steps
And Cannoyan then said:
Respected Lam-ang,

How ungainly you look
Your trousers threaten to fall
And your bowlegs

Make you sluggish.
Madam Ines Cannoyan, it is the deportment
Of rich men of Nalbuan you see—

One I am accustomed to affect
With its air of wealth.
And now Madam Ines Cannoyan,

Let me see how you walk;
The way you look
When you walk.

She took five steps, too.
Then this is what he said,
The man Lam-ang.

Madam, Doña Ines Cannoyan,
I also don’t like your deportment:
Your feet go every which way

And your bottom thrusts out too far in front.
Then came the two mothers-in-law.
Saying to each other.

I would like to know
If her habits are sensible,
Your child, my daughter-in-law.

Unnayan said:
Expect her when the moon is new
If she goes out at full moon.

When she fetches water from the river.
She mistakes every drifting leaf for crayfish
And turns every stone by the river.

Unnayan asked in turn:
May I also ask about your son,
The man Lam-ang, my son-in-law.