Family (continued)

Uncle Frank

Hunched in thought,


futility of resistance sensed,


he relaxes into the inevitable.


His opponent, a circumspect young 
black man,

watches my uncle's torment.


Both mathematicians, they silently honor


the equations of combat

the painful joy of engagement.


Checkmate!

* Franciso Flor first came to the United States in the early '50s to study mathematics at the University of Washington.  After a teaching career at Adamson University, Manila, he returned in 1968 with his family and taught at Seattle Vocational Institute.  A lover of chess, he asked if I knew anyone who he could play.  A dear friend, Hanigen Pitri, also a math teacher, agreed to a few games.   The following year, my uncle passed away.  I always recall his joy at playing, though he lost all three matches.

A Mother's Sign

Daphne, mother's favorite, 

blossoms in cool, early Spring.

Its pink-white flowers offer brief fragrance,

then pass until another season.

Catalina and I prepare for nuptuals

this warm July.  Our florist, Mitch

gathers purple iris for St. Ignatius Chapel.

For bride and bridesmaids, he

bouquets calla lilies to symbolize

her Latino heritage.

I wear a barong Tagalog

featuring stephanotis.

The boutonnieres arrrive

mixed with daphne.

"They bloomed yesterday.

Mom blessed your wedding."

Mitch says.

* Catalina and I married in July 2009 two years following  my mother, Louise Flor, died.  In the heat of mid-summer, daphne actually bloomed in Mitch Acevedo's yard the day before the wedding.  It was mom's favorite flower.