In the online telethon Mamatay Kang Hayup Na Covid Ka, actor John Lloyd Cruz shared a poem he wrote while on quarantine during a discussion on free verse poetry with writers Joselito Delos Reyes, Erwin Romulo and Jerome Gomez.
The 36-year-old actor shared that he tried his hand at writing four years ago, when he embarked on an indefinite showbiz hiatus. He admitted that writing is not as freeing as he thought it would be.
“Pa-minsan minsan nagsusulat ako. Pero hindi kalayaan ang nararamdaman ko pag nagsusulat ako. Mas na-bibilanggo ako. Lalong hindi ako makawala,” he said.
Cruz said that it is in these quarantine times that he is forced to sit down with a pen and paper to write on.
“Ganitong panahon na limited nagagawa mo diba? Wala tayong ma-i-shoot, wala tayong magawang normal nating ginagawa kaya parang may pagkakataon na papel ang kaharap mo, ganun lang,” he shared.
A product of his lockdown experience is a poem titled Holdap.
“Ang mahuli tatanghaliin
Simula mo sa dulo, ibibilad ka kasama ng mga magagarang auto
Tatlong hilerang silya puti’t gawa sa plastik
Tayo, upo
Tayo, upo
Itsura niyo’y isang laro sa arawang ng musmos
Unahang matutukan ng guwardyang di-baril barilan
Tayo, upo
Tayo, upo
Higit tatlumpo o higit pa sa amoy ng singit ng sigang banyagang nangigitata
Guwardiyang dating dinadaan daanan lang ngayo’y siya’y awtoridad at ikaw ang kawatan
Walang imik lahat habang nakapila parang nakikinig ng sermon sa misa pag tinawag numero mo
Ihanda ang nalalabing pera, holdap ‘to”
The “makatas” in the telethon praised the actor for his “relatable” piece.
Delos Reyes said that for him, he interpreted the piece as the new norm of toughing out long queues in pharmacies and grocery stores to spend tons of money on essential goods.
The online fundraiser is launched by a collective of the creative industry’s advocates for the Philippine Genome Center, Philippine Lung Center and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
