The wok was his canvas.
He cooked up a masterpiece,
just one in many that he did so well.
Slow and steady fire, never overbearing
Patience was his virtue.
Peppercorns aplenty
garlic cloves and bay leaf.
Coconut cream
simmered in subtle rage
and soon gave way
to porkloin juice.
The stirring and turning
magically transformed
a sea of fluid white to thick
fragrant oil
which flowed through our veins
and won over our hearts.
(No surprise,
my father died of a heart attack!)
With Bicolano flair, he added labuyo chili,
a strong finish to an otherwise simple dish.
Potent kick that woke up the senses.
Something more to remember him by.
Life’s lessons passed on in code
in the form of recipes.
The scent of my father’s adobo
still lingers through the house.
His spirit lives.
Copyright ©2006 Ronnie C. Cabañes
About Me
- .
- ROCKY CABAÑES has been dabbling into poetry from the time he was in grade school at San Beda where he was first introduced to the works of the literary greats. A few of his own works made it to the pages of the annual literary magazine "Ani". In college, despite his initial ambition to become a lawyer, he instead pursued an engineering degree and graduated from the Mapua Institute of Technology where he became a staffwriter for The New Builder and ultimately, its Editor-In-Chief in 1984. After graduation, his focus on developing a successful career in the telecoms industry---which ran the gamut from sales to business development, corporate planning and international relations--both in the Philippines and abroad, temporarily halted his literary writing. However, it enabled him to broaden his life experiences and perspectives through frequent travel and overseas assignments. Throughout this time,his passion for poetry never waned.
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