Is Surviving Living

By Gabriel Lee

I am surviving each day

That is how I am living

To be afloat and alive

Striving even if struggling

Some days may be negative

Some fumbling and some stumbling

Sometimes it’s a joyful plus

A day I’d say I’m thriving

That is how it is

A day full of coping

Sufficient in adjustments

A spirit daily hoping

Shake your head and say

Living is not surviving

It is not sufficient

To just be dialing striving

But that is my daily joy

Small victories I am floating

Thankful to have done some deeds

Joyful for this life sharing

So though I may just be here

And not on ports arriving

I smile with dawn’s warm sunrise

New day to go on caring

Don’t be sad for me today

Body still quite functioning

This view your eyes to see

I hope your heart accepting

I am surviving each day

That is a life worth living

Alive, thankful, and joyful

Living even if struggling

Gabriel Lee is the pseudonym of Neil Lee Ambasing, MD, FPCP, FPNA). Gabriel is his deceased’s father’s first name; Lee is his mother’s maiden name. He is an internist and neurologist practicing in Region I and Cordillera Regions. He writes, “I just write when I feel like it, a sudden inspiration, a sudden flow or cadence or rhythm, a sudden word or words that come to mind. Writing is therapy.” This poem was written on May 1, 2022 and was inspired by a cancer patient who continues to live life during this pandemic and by Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

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Ngayong Pwede Na

By Dr. Buenaventura C. Ramos, Jr., MD, FPCP, FPSMO

Ngayong ako’y nakakalabas na

Ngayong ako’y nakakagala na

Ngayong ako’y nakakabalik na

Sa mga gawaing dati’y

Di nagagawa

Bakit may lungkot

Kapag naaalala ka

Sana kasama ka

Sana nandito ka

Sana…

Nandito ka pa.

Buenaventura C Ramos, Jr., MD, FPCP, FPSMO is a past president of the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology.

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