Mother, Chew

by Janette Tolentino 


when we were babies
our mommies chewed the hard parts for us
before we learned to chew them ourselves
and when we did, we chewed and chewed

when we were no longer babies
our mommies stopped chewing for us
we chewed and chewed on our own
and made ourselves full

when we had babies
we became our mommies
we chewed the hard parts for them
and made them chew and chew

when my neighbors had babies
they became their mommies
they did not chew the hard parts
they did not chew at all

instead they stewed people’s chewed food
they made the sauce their mothers taught them
they salvaged landfill meats their fathers showed them
garbage at night to meals in day

people chewed the food they dress each morning
piping hot in red, in yellow, and in brown
they chewed the hard parts and swallowed the soft
along with their vomits in large gulps

Janette Tolentino: From nursery to high school, I grew up with English and Chinese as mediums of instruction. My aunt, who took care of my education financially, thought I could have a better future—as a pure-blooded Filipino—if I made the right connections and graduated from a Chinese-administered school. I pursued my bachelor’s degree from a Catholic institution and studied in English all throughout. When I started working, the better you were at speaking and writing English, the more you could excel in your chosen profession. There was just no room for any other language. English defines my whole life. I simply cannot part with it.


Janette Tolentino works as a full-time writer and freelance magazine editor. She studied political science at the University of San Carlos, Philippines. “Mother, Chew” is her first published poem, inspired by stories from families living in landfill sites. She is one of the Typhoon Haiyan survivors and currently lives in her hometown, Cebu, with her dog, Yuwi. She has been taught English all her life, and it is only now that she is starting to learn, in-depth, and appreciate her own language, Cebuano. English is her hustle—helps her put food on the table and take care of her mother.

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