40 days at 40 nights na sa ward

40 DAYS AT 40 NIGHTS NA SA WARD

umabot na kami ng apatnapung araw

at apatnapung gabi dito sa ospital

kaytagal namalagi, pagkain ay lugaw

paano'y naoperahan dito si mahal

sa isang munting sakit, maraming nakita

mula gall stone at gerd, mayroon palang blood clot

namuo ang dugo sa bituka, nagbara

at di makapasok ang oxygen sa ugat

siya'y naoperahan, hanggang naimpeksyon

ang dugo, dalawang linggong antibayotik

na anong lakas daw, ramdam ni misis iyon

at sa harap niya, ako'y di makahibik

rare case, anang mga doktor, may mayoma pa

ilang beses siyang sinalinan ng dugo

dahil anong baba ng hemoglobin niya

ah, kailan ba sakit niya'y maglalaho

nagsagawa pa nga ng bone marrow biopsy

na pangatlong eksamen kung sanhi ba'y ano

di pa batid sa pagsususuri ang nangyari

lalo't resulta ng biopsy: negatibo

mabuti't guarantee letter na'y nagsipasok

malaking tulong sa kaymahal na gamutan

kung saan kukuha ng pera'y di maarok

upang ipandagdag sa aming babayaran

- gregoriovbituinjr.

12.01.2024

The artistry and activism in me

THE ARTISTRY AND ACTIVISM IN ME

when painter Marcel Duchamp died

that was the day I was born

when massacre of students in

Tlatelolco, Mexico happened

that was the day I was born

a painter died, a future poet 

was conceived from her mother's womb

protesting students were massacred

a future student and activist

was conceived from her mother's womb

in my blood is the shaper of words in Filipino

who's father is a Batangueno

who's mother is a Karay-a from Antique

who inculcated in me words that is deep

even if I was raised as a Manilenyo

also in my blood were Spartan activists

who fight for equality, justice and truth

Duchamp and the Tlatelolco students

have died the day I was born

their memory and legacy will be

in my blood, brain, heart and bone

I will continue the artist in me

I will continue the activist in me

I don't usually believe

in what they call reincarnation

I just thought that the date of their 

death is the same as my birth

I was born probably to become artist of words,

as a poet, and as an Spartan activist

and that I will continue to be

to serve the people and the working class

to be one in changing the rotten system

to make a heart in a heartless world

- gregoriovbituinjr.

12.01.2024

* written while contemplating in a hospital with my wife who is still recuperating

Disyembre na naman

DISYEMBRE NA NAMAN

ramdam ang simoy ng hanging amihan

na tanda ba ng parating na ulan?

Disyembre na, marahil kaya ganyan

o climate change, klima'y nag-iba naman

unang araw ng Disyembre, World AIDS Day

a-syete, Political Prisoners Day

sa ikasiyam, Anti-Corruption Day

sa petsa sampu naman, Human Rights Day

may sanlinggo pang ang dukha'y hihibik

yaong Urban Poor Solidarity Week

na baka gawing Urban Poor Protest Week

pagkat sa hirap pa rin nakasiksik

tatlong linggo na lamang at Pasko na

paulit-ulit, wala bang pag-asa?

kayrami pang palaboy sa kalsada

kayrami pa ring hanap ay hustisya!

- gregoriovbituinjr.

12.01.2024