Life In A Bag

By Justine C. Tajonera

Mom needed an extra bag

for her trip back the States,

so we found an old one,

emptied the contents

on the sala floor

and found

Lola's treasures.

Spools of rainbow

and gold ribbons for hemming,

a hundred different buttons:

imitation seed pearls, mother-of-

pearl, little ones,

large ones,

a golden hairpin

with a turtle on the side,

a porcelain plate

from a wedding,

a couple of

postcards from

Tokyo,

cans and cans

of old coins.

All the grandchildren

gather the coins,

the little shiny things.

The grown-ups gather

the ribbons, the letters,

the photographs.

Everything else

is swept

into a

trash bag.

(October. 4, 2009)

Lola - Filipino for grandmother

Sala - Filipino for living room