AN EARNEST PARABLE

• Merlinda Bobis: 'An Earnest Parable'
• Latik


  A dish of sticky rice in coconut milk served with a large, ripe mango
• He sang two serenades about love and volcanoes in the Philippines
• The butcher laid the soft, pink flesh moist with the previous owner's steak and peppercorns, inside his mouth
• The butcher and his family marveled at how the tongue rolled its tip to the roof of the mouth in an intimate curl
• The family passed the tongue around, taking turns to relish old, native sounds
• The residents of Bessel Street were kin in tongue
• One tongue for five homes
• When the tongue was accommodated elsewhere, one could not eat with the usual joys of the palate
• The pleasure of the ear was enough compensation
• The moment of speech was too dear to be wasted on loose, heartless talk
• The tongue had an excellent memory
• The tongue was the gift of the landscape
• After this home truth was dramatized on TV's latest culinary show, the heart of one viewing nation swelled and swelled with pride
• Merlinda Bobis


  Filipina writer now based in Australia, born in Legazpi City, Albay, earned bachelor of arts degree from Aquinas University and postgraduate degrees from the University of Santo Tomas and the University of Wollongong, writes bilingually and across literary genres
• Most of her works deal with the immigrant experience, most notably from a woman's perspective
• Food and taste are her devices of choice in many of these stories
• "An Earnest Parable" is an account of immigrant life, this time with a hint of optimism