slip through the narrow spaces between the
bangus stand overflowing with gravels of ice
and the bushels of tumbling green bananas
and the meat hanging in flanks, swaying slightly?
I see
that the vendors eye us curiously,
feeling our fidgety ways as they hawk their goods,
my height uncanny despite
hunched-over shoulders—
unflattering blouse to hide my curves.
And the recognition of us Americans like spies
causes a shift in tongue:
They quickly switch
from Pangasinense or Ilocano
into Tagalog,
Taglish, and finally, English
Bili na kayo! Yessss Ma'am, Sir . . .
II.
My mother's watch:
emblem of 1969
20 borrowed bucks secret wedding
two twenty-somethings gawk out the window as they descend
into the mouth of the Big Apple.
The newlyweds
learned to cook gizzards, necks and smelt,
occasionally adobo as a treat.
First TV: a gift carried on his lap from port of entry to Niagara Falls.