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Sunday, May 09, 2010

CONFESSIONS OF A SELF-DISENFRANCHISED

Tomorrow, May 10, 2010, is Election Day; but here I am, feeling such a "loser."

Wanting to scale down my nonchalance over the country's political sphere, I had sunk my teeth into election brouhaha these past weeks (that I so much believed in).

For one, I made myself aware of considerable lowdowns on the nine presidential aspirants and the eight "vice-presidentiables." Thanks to the country's top broadcasting networks and several newspapers' efforts to provide each candidate's profiles for voters to get to know them better, well that is besides the candidates' efforts per se.

I liked the concepts of Channel 2's citizen journalism campaign "Boto Mo, i-Patrol Mo: Ako ang Simula" and its counterpart in GMA-7 "YouScoop" and the "May Magagawa Tayo." Both aimed to instill a social responsibility in Filipinos to push for clean elections. These campaigns, in particular, actually got me thinking that this year's Election Day is "quite" a big deal, let alone that it's going to be the first automated one in a large scale. Everyone has been apprehensive, and I think that's normal, considering that this event will be "a crossing over our Rubicon" (to borrow it from a columnist's wording). There are just some who have overimaginative preconceived notions, but we can't blame them either.

I did mull who the "best" candidates to vote for were and if a chance to personally endorse them to people I know was there, I had gladly grabbed it. I likewise followed at least some election-related stories in newspapers, the pre-election surveys in particular (well, I was actually "compelled" to, given that my job is to "read" news stories everyday).

Everything’s been set. I have this "small" problem though: I did not register to vote.

Fine, I am a loser. I accept the degrading label (which was actually the outright reaction of a friend when I told her I was not a registered voter). I am hurt, too, when I hear someone say that nonvoters don't have the right to complain about the corrupt government officials, ineffective public infrastructures, deficient health care services, and whatnot. I'd defend myself by insisting that I'm a taxpayer, which actually is effective in making me feel better about myself at times.

Despite of this particular shortcoming on my part, I pray for a peaceful Election Day tomorrow. I also salute every group and individual involved in this life-changing exercise. And I do pray that my bets would make it. Oops! Ok, I pray that the deserving ones slugging it out either for national or local positions would make it. Though I know I won't literally be a part of this big occasion tomorrow, I wish a lot of Filipinos would be.
Sunday, May 02, 2010

THE HUNT FOR A POEM (part 2)

(Due to unfavorable turnout of events — which I should have expected in the first place, but as to be "expected from me" I haven't — let's just suppose the following situation is the constant precursor to each copy-a-poem task I had done.)

Griping about the delay in the train's arrival, I stepped inside the LRT-2 train, changed my mood in a jiffy, and suppressed a smile. Lo and behold: a train with the poem display!

border train

TULAAN

(blogger's note: the following are just excerpts from select Tulaan sa Tren 2 poems. I came upon a site of one of the poems' writers and was able to download Off the Beaten Track's [the poems' compilation] e-book version from there. You see, with that file in hand, it is like having a copy of all the Tulaan 2 poems. Kudos galore to "Mr. Matangmanok.")

Pasintabi by
Tabi tabi po nuno sa punso
akin nang suno ang inyong puno.
Hintay na ako ng magtrotrosong
may libong piso kada putol ko
makakakain na rin
ang supling na masasakitin
kakakaingin
kahit may mina o plantasyon
pa di na uubra ang ibang obra.
maestra pala ang bagyong thelma
nagturo siya ng alaala.
Lalo nang kunin niya
ang aking anak na anim
sa bahang taksil.
Nabuhay akong nagkwekwento
ng natukyan ko sa inyong multo!
Tabi tabi po nuno sa punso
akin nang suno ang inyong puno.


Tayo ang mga anak na puno ng hinanakit,
na tinawid ang bukid at baha,
upang umabot sa isang pagsasaboy
lamang ng buhangin sa mata ng isa't isa.
Samantalang isa-isa tayong mapupuwing
o tuluyang nabubulag,
aamin tayong hindi naten naisiksik
ang pare-pares ng lahat-lahat.
— from Tayo by Ivy Rosales

Kung ako ay sapatos,
ihahatid kita kahit kailan
at saan ka man magpunta
hanggang tayo ay tumanda
na nangangarap na bata lagi
ang ating paa. — from Alamat by Vim Nadera

Kay sarap magbasa by Rene G. Villanueva
Kay sarap magbasa!
Kay sarap maglakbay sa kung saan-saan;
may kontinenteng malayo't malapit,
mga unibersong mahikal, marikit!
Kahit nakaupo o nakahiga lang,
alinmang lupalop aking napapasyalan;
anumang panahon ang nais kong puntahan,
nararating agad sa pagbabasa lamang!


BERSO SA METRO
Pericoloso by Gonzalo Rojas
Sa isang sulyap,
kay tulin ng lansangan
ang mga salamin
ng mga sasakya'y
pinararami ng araw
kayrumi ng hangin
at ito na ba ang mundo?

Confesion by Adelina Gurrea Monasterio
Panginoon, pagal na ang puso ko sa pangangarap
taglay itong mithiin sa aking paglalakad
malayo na ang narating
at ang alikabok nitong dinaanan
ay naging balakid sa landas na tinahak.


by San Juan de la Cruz
Nanatili ako at nagpaubaya,
isinandig ang mukha sa aking Minamahal
lahat ay tumigil at nagpaubaya ako
ibinaon sa limot lahat ng aking takot
sa gitna ng mga asusena.

Ciudad by Angel Gonzalez
At bigla kang nawala.
Paalam, pag-ibig, paalam.
Nakaalis ka na.
Walang iniwang bakas.
Umiikot ang siyudad.
Parang gilingan na dinudurog ang lahat.

by Pablo Neruda
Pagtawanan mo ang gabi, ang araw, ang buwan;
pagtawanan mo ang mga libu-libong landas na isla.
Pagtawanan mo ang torpeng lalaking ito na nagmamahal sa iyo,
nguni't kapag bubuksan ko at isasara ang aking mga mata,
kapag ako ay umalis,
kapag ako ay muling bumalik,
ipagkait mo na sa akin ang tinapay,
ang hangin, ang liwanag at ang tagsibol,
huwag lamang ang iyong ngiti
dahil ito'y aking ikasasawi.

by Luis de Gongora
Basta't ako'y maginhawa
magtawa sila nang magtawa.
Bahala na ang iba sa gobyerno ng mundo
at kanyang mga hari,
habang mayroon ako araw-araw
ng mantekilya't malambot na tinapay,
at sa umaga sa taglamig limonada at agwardyente.
Magtawa sila nang magtawa.


by Ernesto Cardenal
Nang mawala ka sa akin, ikaw at ako'y nawalan;
ako dahil ikaw ang minahal ko nang lubusan
at ikaw dahil ako ang sa iyo'y lubusasng nagmahal;
Nguni't sa dalawa ay ikaw ang higit na nawalan;
dahil pwede kong mahalin ang iba
tulad nang pagmamahal ko sa iyo
nguni't ika'y di mamahalin
nang tulad nang kung paano kita minahal.

Eternidad Segunda by Angel Crespo
Inilublob ko sa agos ng tubig,
aking mga palad
pagkat mga isla ang nais kong makatulad.
Sa mga daliri'y umanod ang dagat
tulad ng hanging tumagos sa mga bitak.
Sa mga katagang aking binitawan
ang mga sirena'y nagsipaghabulan.
At nang itong lupa'y nais kong balikan
ang dalampasiga'y di na masilayan.


by Antonio Machado
Lahat ay dadaan at lahat ay maiiwan,
pero tayo ay dadaan,
dadaang gumagawa ng mga daanan,
daanan sa ibabaw ng karagatan.

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