excerpts from the litapp 2009 : folds by bernadette canay

Folds

I traced my fingers over
the folds of your feet
while I rubbed them with oiled hands,
as you asked,
to “make them soft as
a baby’s skin.”
The soles were hard like dog’s pads and
I imagined you walking over
hot coals
like the ones on tv shows–
but they had their secrets, and though
you never learned their tricks
your feet weren’t black.

I felt your muscles loosen
but I cannot make them soft again.

***

Noong fourth year high school lamang nalaman ni Bernadette Canay na may isang “t” lang sa halip na dalawa ang legal niyang pangalan. Malaking bagay ito para sa kanya, kaya kahit mali ginagamit niya pa rin ito sa pagpapangalan ng mga nabiling libro. Nais niyang makaharap ang nag-type ng pangalan niya sa Birth Certificate balang araw.

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