I grew up without you
Although I never got to know you, you were still able to take care of us all, even after you were gone.
Mom constantly talked of you. Spoke to you.
I know you loved mom and us. And your mom and sisters. Tita Mer and Tita Lourdes spoke of you as their handsome, big brother who, walked with them down the street, sent letters to them while you travelled the world.
I know that when you worked as a stevedore, on the piers of Iloilo, you were only 13-years-old and that you tied rope around the cuffs of your…
