On Sundays and belonging,
And when I used to mess around with Lolo’s typewriter:
Clicking and clacking the worn-out buttons, it is legacy
Sounding against my stubby child fingers.

You would often tell me stories about Mindoro:
Of your father and the town hall—how he would walk a mile
To use the office typewriter,
And how the disappointment of expectation may
Just open up another world to take part in.

On Sundays, as I perch on the kitchen counter,
Legs swinging to and fro—often as my thoughts do—
The comfort of our silence is better than the La-Z-Boy.
You ask me to knead the achy flesh of your tired knees
And I wonder how far they have taken you
Before I even entered your history.

You rarely spoke of yours, letting the miles of
Days past that built you bring back another life.
In that way, we are the same, only ever built upon others
Belongings: would that be from dusty rosary beads that
Leave stains between each finger like an
Afterthought, or in an archive
Of never-ending papers.

On Sundays, now the tides have passed,
We are left only to sort it out.
Boxes stack up the way I swore to not let happen;
I take them in as you have to build upon some shrine,
Secretly hoping for stigmata to remind me of miracles.
And on Sundays, I remember, it is legacy why I am here
Belonging to you, your Murano beads, and the coleslaw
That has been sitting patiently in the fridge.

__________________________

Laureez Vittoria C. Macatangay, referred to as Zenith, is an 18-year-old Humanities student from the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS). A sometimes writer with a penchant for Filipino comics and horror, she is often found opening and closing her draft documents. Zenith is currently serving as a Literature Editor for Filipino for Ang Aninag, UPIS’s school publication.

Laureez Vittoria C. Macatangay

Laureez Vittoria C. Macatangay, referred to as Zenith, is an 18-year-old Humanities student from the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS). A sometimes writer with a penchant for Filipino comics and horror, she is often found opening and closing her draft documents. Zenith is currently serving as a Literature Editor for Filipino for Ang Aninag, UPIS’s school publication.