RDP SATURDAY: ROOTS

The Captain and the Teacher. He was a Captain of the Ship from a Spanish lineage. Tall, dark and handsome, he always had a pipe on his mouth. She was a short, native Filipina, with big brown eyes, flat nose, and long wavy hair. She was one of the first teachers graduated under the Americans. They met, fell in love and got married. They had many children, my mother being the second to the youngest. They called each other “dear” until the end of their lives. He loved reading; he wrote the meanings of some words at the side of the books he read. She was a good business woman, bought some cloth materials in Quezon and sold them in Marinduque. He died of Parkinson’s disease; she followed after 6 months, perhaps from a broken heart… My grandparents’ story.

Look at this black and white photo
Golden anniversary of our grandparents
We were all there, some not even born
Most of them were not with us anymore
And so with this in mind, my homage

Tatay was my idol, a great reader
Died of Parkinson’s disease, still reading
He put the meanings of the difficult words
Wrote them in pencils at the side of books

Nanay, still beautiful in her old age
Long wavy hair, deaf as a post
Her cooking, shall we say, creative
Mixing things we normally don’t mixed

Tia Carol and Tio Fred, both in heaven
Both doctors, humble as pies
Good storytellers, took life leisurely
Spoke the dialect I cannot understand

Tio Alex, bless his soul, only brother
Worked in Customs, good looking
Tia Ludy, still with us, still elegant
Brought the kids on her own

My Mom, my darling mother
Pregnant with our youngest brother
My Dad, I still miss him, now gone
Memories in our hearts and souls

All siblings and cousins
Now all with own families
We used to play together
Our own family portrait

For: https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2022/12/03/rdp-saturday-roots/