me and mama
with my assortment of titas
and kuyas and ates
and the small cousins
they call me ate
on summer days
we'd buy barbeque on stick
wait for the boys
who sell lumpia from house to house
they live far down in farmland
the man who sold taho
he'd walk with two buckets on a pole
carrying it on his shoulders
his burden like jesus
walking with his cross
on summer days
in the palengke
i'd often go with my mother
it was a world within worlds
of bargains and food stands
meats and exotic fruits
a child's eye candy
the smell overwhelming
on summer days
i'd wait for my daddy
to come down from airplane rides
to come get us for good
so i can live my life
on summer days
i was 10 when weathers changed
summer turned 3 months instead of 1 year
i got my first pair of mittens with matching boots
a coat with cheap fur lining
a custom made accent
for brightly colored people
with shocking eyes and hairs
it ended
the summer days