Grandma Lena

You showed me how to make sticky rice from scratch.

You believed in me when I said I saw
Bloody Mary in her long purple coat
in the bathroom at St. Andrews Priory Summer School.

You see the pain that I keep hidden in me, behind
my dark Filipino eyes; you’re the only one
who knows how to help me.

You gave me an emerald jacket that I always wear
when it’s too cold in my homeroom class.

You forgive me when I don’t eat Filipino foods
such as pork adobo because I don’t like pork.

You teach me about the hard life you lived in the Philippines
and the candy shop you ran out of your garage.

You always say, “Stay close to your family
because it’s an important part of your Filipino culture.”

And even though sometimes I make trouble
to my cousins Mikela and Makana,
you always remind me to love them no matter what.

You listened when I said, “Ay-aytenka, I love you” in Ilokano.
But most of all, you taught me my Filipino culture.

by Gabrielle Beniga
4th grade, Na‘au