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ONE DAY BEFORE FATHER’S DAY

I stopped by the park today
Pondering
One day before father’s day.

In the deep corner of my mind
My father’s memory opens up.
Year 1905 he was born
In a third world country
Where the farms, the mountains, the rivers, the live stocks
Were the main source of livelihood.

His voice resonating in my mind today
Early dawn during rainy season,  a shout here and a shout there  
Kick everyone in the butt
To the farm
Planting rice is never fun!

My memory brings me back to the mountains, where 
He brings me and my siblings during dry season.
There, there’s a free-flowing stream in between the valleys
We clasp our hands to serve as a cup to quench our thirst.
There,  we gather guava and duhat  fruits, self supporting trees,
Sacks and sacks of fruits we bring home at the end of the day.

Eels, catfish, mudfish, clams, snails  from the rivers
Weird, interesting foods he brings them home, I dared not to eat!
Goats,  cows, chickens, pigs from the backyard
Organically raised, no steroid to pump them up
Naturally preserved under the sun
Painstakingly stored and prepared by him to a family of thirteen!

Most of all
His compassion and love
Were etched in my mind
A shelter to a homeless couple, a land donated to a church.
His vision and hopes for a better life
Lives on.



Terms:
Duhat:   purple-like berries.  They are oblong and elongated in  shape.  Their size is 
about the size of an olive. The fruits have seeds inside that cannot be eaten.  (spit 
it out when you eat the flesh)  Most of the trees grow naturally in the mountains or 
simply in the backyards in the Philippines.  

Guava:  a tropical fruit with seeds inside that can be eaten with its flesh.  It can be 
greenish or yellowish in color.  Some varieties are purplish in color.  Guava drinks 
have been  popular in the US market.
They naturally grow in the mountains in the Philippines but they have been 
cultivated in Hawaii  or in other countries for commercial purposes.

Dry season and rainy season-  In the Philippines there are only two seasons: the 
dry and the wet season.  
The dry season is sunny(summer equivalent in US) while the rainy season is wet as 
the name implies.
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