Desidido’s sweater smelled like
bay leaves buried in its wrinkles
Receipts tucked into soft pockets
crinkling like fresh rice paper
Desidido’s apron smelled like
canola oil caressing its corners
Brown grease staining its white ocean
clustered like continents adrift
At her restaurant, while the winter wind howled
customers hung their coats on hooks that glistened like polished trophies
On weeknights, Desidido sat behind the bar,
shrouded in a cavern of licorice-coloured bottles
The ends of her lips like a beckoning finger
curled into a smile
On weekends, Desidido sat behind the mixer,
watching bands come and go like passing clouds
Their melodies like a blossoming lily
unfurled into a song
At her restaurant, while the winter wind howled,
Ate and Kuya held hands across a counter that shimmered like a mirror
On weeknights, Desidido stood beside the tables,
healing break-up pains with halo-halo
The heartache like a bruised knee
soothed into a sob
On weekends, Desidido stood beside the fryer,
lumpia laughing in a golden bubble bath,
Her Tagalog playing tag-a-long until it burst and
belted into a joke
At her restaurant, while the winter wind howled,
she kindled a dream in the hearth that flickered like a star
Desidido’s apron smelled like
A salty spray an ocean away
mixed with muggy daydreams
in a warmer country
Desidido’s sweater smelled like
camia kisses and fresh pine,
fixed with a steaming Milo,
on a windy day