State of the Nation
by Victor Sugbo
Noy Tatong cooks for a Panamanian crew
Of a Dutch cargo ship;
His letters tell of vast oceans and waves
Huge as town cathedrals:
The icy coldness he dreads each time
The ship tosses wildly in the Arctic dark;
Nang Loleng babysits for an Arab couple in Dharan;
She cries when she is left alone
Locked in her master’s house like some convict;
She writes young girls like her jump
Out of windows there;
Nanay collects their dollars always with a long deep sigh;
Noy Tatong, Nang Loleng, I keep your pictures
Between the folds of my notebook;
O how we must live apart
To stay together.
