Alan Bern
Pagbag
For starters, in Paradise
Heights (formerly known as
“Smokey Mountain”) at 5am, Maria heads
to a garbage site
where she can find discarded takeaways and leftovers,
which she brings back to her store to prepare.
She mixes the Pagbag with vegetables, herbs and spices
to bring out the flavour of the old meat.
Some customers prefer the taste of Pagbag
to the fresh food from which it’s made.
Maria prefers this work to her former job as a maid,
as she gets to work beside her husband and children,
and earns more money
this way. The leftover chicken is fried
until the dirt and smell is removed.
Served with rice it’s delicious.
To make Kalderetang Pagbag as a main course,
first the chicken must be washed,
marinated, cooked.
The heating process kills any worms and bacteria inside.
Pagbag tastes normal. Tastes like chicken,
is delicious for those who cannot afford to eat
in the malls, to eat expensive takeaways.
And for dessert
we can walk the streets
and breathe the air
even as our brothers
& sisters starve
Simon Alderwick is originally from England but has spent most of the last eight years in the Philippines. His poetry has recently appeared in Acropolis, Magma, Dust, Ink Sweat & Tears, Acid Bath, Cape, The Telegraph, Impractical Things and InkDrinkers,among others. TWITTER: @SimonAlderwick.
Retired children’s librarian Alan Bern is the author of three books of poetry. He has awards for his poems and stories and is an exhibited/published photographer. Alan performs with dancer Lucinda Weaver as PACES: dance & poetry fit to the space and with musicians from Composing Together. Lines & Faces, his press with artist/printer Robert Woods, linesandfaces.com.