"Come my house and you eat the bagoong. That's the filipino style. Filipino bagoong, bagoong filipino. That's the filipino style."
—The Hana Jam. A song by the hawaiian group, "Pekelo."

Water in the pot reaching its
gurgling point-
How quick are her hands
in unscrewing the lid
of the crystal jar.

That smell, punishing to the nose,
seeps-in quickly into the
microscopic pores
of the gypsum board walls.

With the aid of the wind,
it sneaks into every open door
and window
of the immediate houses
in the neighborhood.

The bumble bees, licking the pistils
and stamens
of the pink hibiscus
are forced to stop on what

they are doing, unable to control
their sneezing much worse
than to the kid being attacked at no end
by a virulent strain
of colds virus.

© Elmer Omar Bascos Pizo

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