The Disappeared Series
Coffee, tea and you
A long, long time ago
A time and place buried in the trunk with your baby socks
You asked for milk. An uncomplicated thing, really.
You smiled at me with milk mustache.
Then you switched to chocolate drinks, then discovered soda.
When you moved on to the occasional beer,
You discovered my favorite coffee
To chase the hangovers away
You started drinking tea
In your new found calling
And brought some home from places I have never heard of
even if it was in my own country
A world that I only see on the news
With problems too complicated for me to fathom
You once compared it to my weaving where each
Complication runs over then under the other
Making a bigger patchwork to form a blanket that can cover us all
I almost understood it then
But you had to rush off to a meeting
Or a rally
I caught a whiff of gin in your breath
I was too amazed at your passion to try to question what you do
Until I heard that you are not coming home
For now…
Maybe forever
I learned to drink your tea
That the doctor said was good for me
Once half full, I always look at the bottom of the cup
The leaves meshed forming a mission to go
One on top of the other,
Like the way you told me.
I see your face for a while until it dissolves
Wrinkles, into mine.
---------
In the silence that will eventually touch me,
It will still not be quiet.
The sparrows will cheer despite the heavy air.
The jasmines will flourish despite the drought.
The bees will make sure that life will go on.
---------
*written for james balao when he was disappeared more than a year ago. 2008. this is for all the disappeared persons who have in their activism, moved away from their homes, parents, loved ones and again grabbed from us physically. again, only posted now.
A long, long time ago
A time and place buried in the trunk with your baby socks
You asked for milk. An uncomplicated thing, really.
You smiled at me with milk mustache.
Then you switched to chocolate drinks, then discovered soda.
When you moved on to the occasional beer,
You discovered my favorite coffee
To chase the hangovers away
You started drinking tea
In your new found calling
And brought some home from places I have never heard of
even if it was in my own country
A world that I only see on the news
With problems too complicated for me to fathom
You once compared it to my weaving where each
Complication runs over then under the other
Making a bigger patchwork to form a blanket that can cover us all
I almost understood it then
But you had to rush off to a meeting
Or a rally
I caught a whiff of gin in your breath
I was too amazed at your passion to try to question what you do
Until I heard that you are not coming home
For now…
Maybe forever
I learned to drink your tea
That the doctor said was good for me
Once half full, I always look at the bottom of the cup
The leaves meshed forming a mission to go
One on top of the other,
Like the way you told me.
I see your face for a while until it dissolves
Wrinkles, into mine.
---------
In the silence that will eventually touch me,
It will still not be quiet.
The sparrows will cheer despite the heavy air.
The jasmines will flourish despite the drought.
The bees will make sure that life will go on.
---------
*written for james balao when he was disappeared more than a year ago. 2008. this is for all the disappeared persons who have in their activism, moved away from their homes, parents, loved ones and again grabbed from us physically. again, only posted now.
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