Live Broadcast
Eric Abalajon
Live Broadcast
The crew arrived at the wooden house
with groceries to compensate their intrusion.
She is thin, with greying hair
and lost for words
but generally glad, that her former alaga
made a film
about how she lost her job
and even picked an English title with the
same name of her home province
without explaining
this to his audiences in Cannes.
Her smile in noon time television
seeking stories of pride
a celebration of scraps
like a shadow hovering
from San Miguel to Singapore.
Maternal Instincts
Having it all is impossible,
she said after they unsettled other mothers in the circle
when they compared their breasts, how they fall.
She instructs her new nanny
to avoid the park today because of news of a missing bear,
who in turn responds by singing atin cu pung singsing.
She takes a business call
while pumping in the washroom, hears her baby’s first
word through a video sent between meetings.
A subsequent morning,
she confronted the said bear on her jog,
shivering as her baby is about to break out crying.
She quickly mimics
‘the Filipino song’, how it goes. Actually, in Kapampangan,
and for me the one that brought that melody with her
to Toronto is also a heroine.
Author’s Notes
Live Broadcast. Anthony Chen’s debut film Ilo Ilo (2013) is loosely based on his memories growing up with his Filipina nanny, Teresita Sajonia. For details of their reunion, see Burgos, N. (2013 Sept 8) Nanny beloved from Iloilo now nanny, the movie. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://entertainment.inquirer.net/111665/nanny-beloved-from-iloilo-now-nanny-the-movie#ixzz7L2hnXIfi
Maternal Instincts. This poem written after the pilot episode of the CBC sitcom Workin’ Moms.
Eric Abalajon is currently a lecturer at the University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo. Some of his works have appeared in Revolt Magazine, Loch Raven Review, Ani, Katitikan, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, The Tiger Moth Review, Marias at Sampaguitas, Tint Journal, and elsewhere. He lives near Iloilo City. You can find him on Twitter @JLaneria and on Instagram @jacob_laneria.