Perfect day to kick the dark clouds
to snuff the melancholia that
forever bound me .. of the pelting
drops of gray rain so heavy it's like
the entirety of Hoover Dam ...
The will to write so willfully
and embrace the emerging rosy
dawn of relative lightness ... it just
can not rain all the time in the
orb of my being ...
I open the door ...
and take a peek outside
raising my banner on this
red-letter day
of transformation.
12/04/2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
letter to CEGP Congress (from the US based alumni)
A fiery and militant greetings to the officers, delegates and friends of the 69th CEGP National Convention.
It is with profound joy and pride for us to literally witness the evolution of the Guild where student writers can meet, be informed, discuss and generate resolutions about the present state of the nation. Just like what we did a decade or two ago.
Student writers have a very important role in effecting change in the society. You can not just remain a silent witness to the worsening economic crisis, human rights violations, US intervention to the Philippine affairs, and other harsh realities that the Filipino people endure. Much as student writers nurture and dedicate time in their love of writing, more so must their resolve be in seeking the flame of truth, and the zeal of commitment of serving the people.
A lot of us CEGP alumni left the country, be it by choice, by necessity or systemic victims of the government sponsored Labor Export Policy or LEP. Some of us are in the continental United States. Together with the majority of other OFWs, we are in the situation where we see our native country from afar. In our present locality, we were able to generate objective generalizations on the historical context of our present national problems.
And it always go back to the 3 social evils that for a long time plagued the Filipino people – Imperialism, Feudalism and Bureaucrat-Capitalism.
You are in this Congress to learn and be moved to do something positive about the experience. To absorb the experience is not enough. To write about the clouds and the wind is not the reason why you are part of your campus paper. You are a student writer with a purpose of helping advance the struggle of student rights for a nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented education and by far, you help advance the militant struggle of the oppressed Filipino people.
A bright tomorrow awaits us all. Commit yourself to the fight of the College Editors Guild. Struggle and advance the Activist Campus Press!!!
Signed:
Rey Arnel Agudana , CEGP 1993 – La Salle Spectrum
Gardini Labao, CEGP 1992 - Bulacan
Yancy Mark -Gandionco , CEGP 2002 - Cebu
It is with profound joy and pride for us to literally witness the evolution of the Guild where student writers can meet, be informed, discuss and generate resolutions about the present state of the nation. Just like what we did a decade or two ago.
Student writers have a very important role in effecting change in the society. You can not just remain a silent witness to the worsening economic crisis, human rights violations, US intervention to the Philippine affairs, and other harsh realities that the Filipino people endure. Much as student writers nurture and dedicate time in their love of writing, more so must their resolve be in seeking the flame of truth, and the zeal of commitment of serving the people.
A lot of us CEGP alumni left the country, be it by choice, by necessity or systemic victims of the government sponsored Labor Export Policy or LEP. Some of us are in the continental United States. Together with the majority of other OFWs, we are in the situation where we see our native country from afar. In our present locality, we were able to generate objective generalizations on the historical context of our present national problems.
And it always go back to the 3 social evils that for a long time plagued the Filipino people – Imperialism, Feudalism and Bureaucrat-Capitalism.
You are in this Congress to learn and be moved to do something positive about the experience. To absorb the experience is not enough. To write about the clouds and the wind is not the reason why you are part of your campus paper. You are a student writer with a purpose of helping advance the struggle of student rights for a nationalist, scientific and mass-oriented education and by far, you help advance the militant struggle of the oppressed Filipino people.
A bright tomorrow awaits us all. Commit yourself to the fight of the College Editors Guild. Struggle and advance the Activist Campus Press!!!
Signed:
Rey Arnel Agudana , CEGP 1993 – La Salle Spectrum
Gardini Labao, CEGP 1992 - Bulacan
Yancy Mark -Gandionco , CEGP 2002 - Cebu
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
BUTCHER (for Jovito Palparan)
In the service of "who"?
the dying statistics of
mangled tortured bodies
and cracked skulls ...
our cries pierce the sky
as hollow projectiles
stab you and silence
the tongue that is so
used in wagging death
the dying statistics of
mangled tortured bodies
and cracked skulls ...
our cries pierce the sky
as hollow projectiles
stab you and silence
the tongue that is so
used in wagging death
TEARS
weep beside my casket
but don't let your tears
linger on the glass ...
let it drench the earth
already littered with bones
fertilizing the rising crop of
steadfast fists and militant hearts...
but don't let your tears
linger on the glass ...
let it drench the earth
already littered with bones
fertilizing the rising crop of
steadfast fists and militant hearts...
BULLET
Stars fall from
sky above as
another kasama
accept and embed
the lead slugs
in his thin flesh
as hatred-full laughter
echo from the dark.
sky above as
another kasama
accept and embed
the lead slugs
in his thin flesh
as hatred-full laughter
echo from the dark.
Friday, July 24, 2009
there's a word "me" in PROBLEM
the problem with today
is yesterday and yesterday's
problem is looking forward
towards tomorrow and so
the problem goes on
and on like the spokes of a wheel
that is needed to keep this
vehicle going ... this vehicle
we call life going .. even
towards uncertainty and nothingness.
tomorrow looks very bright, indeed
especially if it is a gray cloud cast
against the dark night ...
frog croaking at the invisible moon
is yesterday and yesterday's
problem is looking forward
towards tomorrow and so
the problem goes on
and on like the spokes of a wheel
that is needed to keep this
vehicle going ... this vehicle
we call life going .. even
towards uncertainty and nothingness.
tomorrow looks very bright, indeed
especially if it is a gray cloud cast
against the dark night ...
frog croaking at the invisible moon
farmers marching towards Manila (straight from my brain,unedited)
farmers ... tillers of my land
far away on
the move, marching,
chanting their voice hoarse
trying to crack the glass
heavens for the genuine change
and peace that is so
elusive in the present dictatorial
regime of the puppet
president
glued to the boob tube
wishing I am home
the great multitude of my
people raising their angry fists
defying the State that's never
for them ... for their chidren
and my own .. for all brown skinned
indios, proletariats, peasants
and the working class ... wherever
we may be ...
the doll with the throbbing black mole
must be brought down
far away on
the move, marching,
chanting their voice hoarse
trying to crack the glass
heavens for the genuine change
and peace that is so
elusive in the present dictatorial
regime of the puppet
president
glued to the boob tube
wishing I am home
the great multitude of my
people raising their angry fists
defying the State that's never
for them ... for their chidren
and my own .. for all brown skinned
indios, proletariats, peasants
and the working class ... wherever
we may be ...
the doll with the throbbing black mole
must be brought down
Thursday, July 23, 2009
sky opening a hazy hue
the sixty tics that
round the face of the clock
made a complete revolve
as words were pumped to
combat the foe in my
legal gobbledygook
(did I even spell it right?)
onward and forward
as I look up the bright sky
devoid of clouds as I
clutch my growling gut
after my struggle with
the 'tikbalang' in Dandy suit
(you expect me to explain this mythical beast?)
temporarily relieved
as I trudge the streets of Gotham
for the remainder of the day
will again be spent in front
of the conveyor belt of
prepping agony and despair
(drifting off and away from the topic)
round the face of the clock
made a complete revolve
as words were pumped to
combat the foe in my
legal gobbledygook
(did I even spell it right?)
onward and forward
as I look up the bright sky
devoid of clouds as I
clutch my growling gut
after my struggle with
the 'tikbalang' in Dandy suit
(you expect me to explain this mythical beast?)
temporarily relieved
as I trudge the streets of Gotham
for the remainder of the day
will again be spent in front
of the conveyor belt of
prepping agony and despair
(drifting off and away from the topic)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
one afternoon in the library of Cornell (unedited)
welcoming the breather
as my mind squeeze the
already parched tabula
every drip of a letter seems
like also brushing my blood
dry as it splatter on blank
paper hoping they do
make sense
it is hard when heaven
haven't wept for so long
there must be an end
this dismal routine of working
the conveyor belt of medical
care sounding like a bloated frog
awhile wishing that the old self
of maybe 2 decades ago is still
there, buried but nevertheless
there while I demand for signs
it is hard when heaven
haven't wept for so long ...
as my mind squeeze the
already parched tabula
every drip of a letter seems
like also brushing my blood
dry as it splatter on blank
paper hoping they do
make sense
it is hard when heaven
haven't wept for so long
there must be an end
this dismal routine of working
the conveyor belt of medical
care sounding like a bloated frog
awhile wishing that the old self
of maybe 2 decades ago is still
there, buried but nevertheless
there while I demand for signs
it is hard when heaven
haven't wept for so long ...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
SUSPENDED (poetry)
hurt ... bleeding ... wallowing
self encased
pity
shuddering ... shaking like
leaf at sight of
perpetual fall
all's bleak, black and serene
no hushed movement nor
trampling in the undergrowth
stripped of all glory
awaiting the sight
of falling leaves.
-- 09/08/1998
self encased
pity
shuddering ... shaking like
leaf at sight of
perpetual fall
all's bleak, black and serene
no hushed movement nor
trampling in the undergrowth
stripped of all glory
awaiting the sight
of falling leaves.
-- 09/08/1998
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Do I still have it?
There's always a rush . Yearning... planning .. re planning ... bangayan ng idea. Like wanting to do it .. and maybe just wishing to do it .. versus ... really serious in doing it ...
One of my co-workers asked me today while I illegally check out "schools of Journalism" on the web -- "Are you good in writing ?" ... I replied -- "I used to ..."
The fire died. The ember is still there but it's not enough.
The fire is dead. It needs a spark.
The spark needs to emanate from within.
Is it still there?
Do I still have it?
One of my co-workers asked me today while I illegally check out "schools of Journalism" on the web -- "Are you good in writing ?" ... I replied -- "I used to ..."
The fire died. The ember is still there but it's not enough.
The fire is dead. It needs a spark.
The spark needs to emanate from within.
Is it still there?
Do I still have it?
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