In North Carolina the hush puppies are deep fried
as is the fish and the okra comes from deep in the
earth with a texture that brushes softly into memory
And it is October
Filipino American History month
Not too many Filipinos
in this area
Just me and a handful of others
And in a black church we celebrate
We have lumpia wrappers
lumpia filling
and spoons to capture feelings,
moon’s memory over deep waters,
rivers
and this is a black church,
a temple
I see the black hands of
the brothers and sisters, sons and
daughters of NC, of Africa
Hands that plucked pain from
the darkest rivers like stars and
gave us the blues, jazz
black hands that navigated
water, sky and mountain
and gave us
pyramids
These black hands roll
and shape lumpia
black hands becoming
Filipino hands, fingers
entwined
on a day in
October
celebrating Filipino American
History Month
I watch,
beholding the
hands
that built pyramids
