Alay para ke Pidot
Salamat!
Yakap na me init at lamig na pinadama
Luhang maraming hinuhugatan
Papuri sa mga obrang tama o mali
Mga sandaling waring nag-iisa’t walang kakampi
Tuksuhan, tawanan, basagan ng trip
Ituloy, kahit ako ay wala na
Salamat!
Ngayong bahagi na lang ng statistica ng COVIDA
Sana’y di masayang
Mabunyag kanyang ugat at pakay
Bitbit ang habag sa mga biktimang nakibaka, walang ayuda
Waring usok napawi, hinawi ng hangin kinalimtan
Bitbit ang galit sa nagpakana ng salot at hinagpis
Hiling pa rin, magbuklod, at lumikha ng awit na bawat titik
Magdambana ng pagmamahal at malasakit
Sa kapwa, sa bayan!
Salamat
(Malou Tiangco could not bring herself to read this poem she wrote for Pidot during the ‘‘Pagpupugay,’ an online tribute to Pidot on June 9, so she asked a friend to read this on her behalf. Malou is a human rights and peace advocate and a clinical social worker. She has been in development work in the past four decades, in government, NGO, church and the academe).