Miss Ibyang Poem by RIC BASTASA

come
reunion time
ms. ibyang will not
be joining

she was first honors
during high school
but her mother died
her father lost his job
and she has other
five younger
siblings to tend

she helps the family
sells fish in the public market
she has a loud voice
for all the buyers to listen

she did not marry
she is 56 now
her hands are rough
she does not smell good
she has wrinkles on her
face
her arms and
thighs

and what good shall
that reunion do to her?

expectedly they will all
ask what happened to
her after all those years

and if she is honest enough
five hours will not be enough
for her to tell them
of society's injustice
how she could have taken
that scholarship
except the fact that some
other sons and daughters of
influence
just the same took it away
from her.