I Walk in the Philippines

—-POEM INFO: A Barangay in the Philippines is what every little division within a city is called; sometimes a Barangay is just a simple village — all alone. But in “calling” a destination within the Philippines without the precursor of “BARANGAY” one commits a faux-pas.

I WALK IN THE PHILIPPINES

In Barangay Pit-os briskly I walk
And turn into the village center
Smelling the market stands
Full of splintered fish and hairy fruits,
Sitting with vegetables so exotic
A combinant taste properly satisfies
As my movement slows at first
Then slower still as scarcely I move.
The people in Barangay Pit-os
Seem to never frown when I
Move from stand to stand
From suspicious fish to shaggy fruits
But only smile with curiosity
As to whom I might really be.
I stop to talk but never to reveal
Who I am, because they know
Who the tall stranger is to them.
Content they are that I am here to
Buy their goods and give them all
Unsolicited smiles of gratitude
That makes the people here just
A little happier that today again
I took this walk with them.