BRINGING THE DOLL (by Merlie Alunan)

The poem bringing the doll written by Merlie Alunan is about a mother's
realization that in one's moving on, one need not bring only those considered
important. The predominant image of the poem is the doll. It can initially be
found in the first 3 lines, which describr the doll as mangled.

Two dolls in rags and tatters,

one missing an arm and a leg,
the other blind in one eyeI grabbed them from her arms,
No, I said, they cannot come.
Each tight baggage
I had packed
only for the barest need:
no room for sentiment or memory
to clutter with loose ends
my stern resolve. I reasoned,
even a child must learn
she cannot take what must be left behind.
And so the boat turned seaward,
a smart wind blowing dry
the stealthy tears I could not wipe.
Then I sawrags, tatters and all
there among the neat trim packs,
the dolls I ruled to leave behind.
Her silence should have warned me
she knew her burdens
as I knew mine:
her clean white years unlived
and paid my price.
She battened on a truth
she knew I too must own:
when whats at stake
is loyalty or love,
hers are the true rights.
Her own faiths she must keep, not I.