Four Thousand Bags Of Rice

By Justine C. Tajonera

This was a drop in the bucket.
There were less than
a hundred of us,
an assembly line
of hands, feet,
and hearts.
What seemed like
endless heaps
of supplies
transformed into
tiny packages
of hope:
a can of sardines,
three packs of crackers,
two bottles of
mineral water,
and a kilo
of rice.

This will never
be enough,
this was all that
I could give:
an hour,
my sweat,
the care I
took
not to spill
the grains.


(October 4, 2009
Ateneo Covered Courts)