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Menstruating in The Month of June

The poem "Menstruating in the Month of June" by Dr. Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo describes the pain of menstruation and abortion. It discusses how women experience physical pain during their period each month, which men can never truly understand. It also addresses the issue of abortion when pregnancy is unwanted, and how women attempt to avoid responsibilities of parenthood by terminating pregnancies. The poem conveys that every child deserves a chance at life, regardless of the difficulties of raising a child or society's views.

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Jacqueline Amor
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686 views6 pages

Menstruating in The Month of June

The poem "Menstruating in the Month of June" by Dr. Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo describes the pain of menstruation and abortion. It discusses how women experience physical pain during their period each month, which men can never truly understand. It also addresses the issue of abortion when pregnancy is unwanted, and how women attempt to avoid responsibilities of parenthood by terminating pregnancies. The poem conveys that every child deserves a chance at life, regardless of the difficulties of raising a child or society's views.

Uploaded by

Jacqueline Amor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Menstruating in the Month of June

By Dr. Elynia Ruth S. Mabanglo

Translated by Bienvenido Lumbera

Give way to this force -

Power clambering out of the womb

Heat bubbling up at boiling point, flowing, springing out

Freeing itself and enjoying its leisure

Against suppression,

It surges forth, leaving its mark

Even with anxiety standing in the way.

Give way to this force -

This is

The sum of my entire being,

The sum of what makes me myself and makes me

Like other people,

The sum of past memories saved up,

And the present being spent,

The sum of the future I have hocked

To the calendar

Give way to this force -

Let it bleed into the list

Of what I owe and what I have loaned out

Let it leave the imprint of my obligations

And my responsibilities:
To myself, to my clan and to society:

Let it voice out

The plaints and needs

Flow

When many women are poisoning

Ovum and sperm

And others let rot

In rubber sacs

The fruit of loving and love-making.

Ay, what is this movement, this march and litany

To kill off the infant

Without compunction?

In what covert clinics, garbage dump and toilets

Will lust and sin be stored?

Even the orphanage as storehouse

Of responsibilities denied

Carries nature's accusing blame

That cannot be turned aside,

Give way to this force -

Meet with a smirk pain snaking out,

Suffer the whiplash

While acknowledging, acknowledging

The meaning

That sears as it soaks


This is the month of June pouring a toast

Into my glass -

Lover

Spouse

Mistress,

Or paid dispenser of carnal pleasure:

This is testimonial, contract and curse:

This is the base,

The meaning and the hollowness

Of living and surviving.

Give way

To this,

The current of all progress -

There is a breath of hope

Teetering on the levees of this force.


The Author’s Background

Dr. Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo, a poet,


playwright, journalist, educator, and
most recently, advocate of
the Filipino language, was born on
March 30, 1949 in Manila,
Philippines. She obtained her
bachelor’s degree from the University
of the East (1969). She followed it up
with a master’s degree from the
Philippine Normal University (1980)
and then a doctorate (with honors)
from the Manuel L. Quezon University
(1985).

She has been publishing poetry for over 30 years and has received
numerous literary awards and honors, most recently the Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame Award, the 1992
Commission on Filipino Language “Makata ng Taon” (Poet of the Year) for
the poem “Gahasa” (Rape), and the Manila Critics Circle 1990 National
Book Award for Poetry for “Mga Liham ni Pinay” (The Letters of Pinay).
Mabanglo has also published many academic works and currently is a
professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where she teaches
Filipino Language and Literature in the Department of Hawaiian and
Indo-Pacific Languages and Literature.
Dr. Mabanglo’s most recent incarnation is advocate of the Filipino
language and culture. Despite being based in Hawai’i since 1990, she is
up-to-date with Filipino language developments in her motherland. Since
1996, she has been coordinating and supervising language immersion
programs in the Philippines for students in American universities looking
to learn Filipino. Currently, she is also building an international network
of competent Filipino teachers. Her organization, the Global Consortium
for the Advancement of Filipino Language and Culture, arranges the
biennial Conference on Filipino as a Global Language at the University of
Hawaii – Manoa. There, Filipino experts worldwide discuss challenges
facing the Filipino language, as well as possible solutions.
Dr. Mabanglo has certainly caught the eye of the President. In
2012, President Aquino awarded her the Presidential Award for Filipino
Individuals and Organizations Overseas, in the “Pamana ng Pilipino”
category. This award is bestowed upon Filipinos who have brought pride
to the country through achievements in their work. A fantastic poet,
passionate educator and strong advocate for the Filipino language and
culture, Dr. Mabanglo has definitely earned her accolades.

ANALYSIS
In the poem, “Menstruating in the Month of June” by Dr. Ruth
Elynia S. Mabanglo, the pain that every women feel every month is
described and it is also stated there that no man can ever feel the pain of
having menstruation . But it is not just about the cycle, but it is also
about abortion which is done when the pregnancy is unwanted. The
speaker in the poem is pregnant and is to give birth after several months.
She thought that having the baby will break and ruin her entire life.
Also, she seems that the baby is a huge responsibility, not just to her but
also to the society she’s living in. So even though the speaker hates
menstruation, she wanted to have it because it would indicate that the
life inside her womb is gone. But women having unwanted pregnancy try
to run from their responsibilities and duties as parents so they abort the
fruit of love they have shared with their partners. The poem tries to
explain that being pregnant even wanted or unwanted is a curse, a
testament or a contract that cannot be neglected or erased. The poem
conveys a message that every child in the womb should be given a
chance to live and have freedom to grow because they all deserve it no
matter how hard it is to raise a child and no matter what people in the
society will say.
References
Anna Victoria M. Villarica. (n.d.). Ruth Mabanglo: Filipino Love From Six
Thousand Miles Away. Retrieved from
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/ruth-mabanglo-
filipino-love-from-six-thousand-miles-away/

Guevara, N. C., Yapan, A. B., & Teodoro, J. I. (2014, June


23). Mabanglo, Ruth Elynia | panitikan.ph. Retrieved from
https://panitikan.ph/2014/06/23/ruth-elynia-mabanglo/

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