Reporter: Violeta, Ruby Ann M.

Confession
of a
Green Card Bearer
Author: Fatima Lim Wilson
 Fatima Lim Wilson
A Filipino American poet, essayist, and fiction writer
 Education
College: Ateneo de Manila
University with Bachelor’s
degree in English, 1982.
Masters: State University of
New York in Baffalo with
Master Degree in English.
Doctorate: University of
Denver with Doctorate
degree in English.
Awards and Recognition
• Pushcart Prize
• The Philippine National Book
Award
• The Colorado Book Author’s
Award
• Confidential Assistant to the
Spokesperson of former
President Corazon Aquino
 Confession of a
Green Card Bearer
On days like this, 1
It is easy to be happy. 2
Apples are a dollar 3
A dozen. 4
There is a two-for-one sale 5
On Sparkling wine. 6
 The change comes in cents, 7
A penny rolls under the counter 8
If I kept in mind all day 9
The letters from home 10
Speaking of mothers 11
Boiling bones 12
And of a father in Tondo 13
Who, mad in his hunger, 14
Carved his only son, 15
I would go on my knees 16
Searching for that coin. 17
A single cent 18
Multiplies into fish 19
And loaves. 20
At the back of the store 21
Are baskets of scraps 22
Half a day old 23
 Which a whole village 24
Would steal, even kill for 25
But on days like this, 26
My mind is on my worries. 27
How long will apples keep 28
In a cool, dark place? 29
 Where should I hide 30
Loose change? 31
And when I finally 32
Find the friends and the time, 33
What can we celebrate 34
With the wine? 35
What is a Green Card?
Officially, a green card is called : United States
Permanent Resident Card (USCIS Form I-551)

The green card serves as proof that is holder, a

lawful permanent resident (LPR), has been
officially granted immigration benefits, which
include permission to reside and take
employment in the United States.
 STRUCTURAL
ELEMENTS
1. Enjambment – the continuation of a
sentence or a thought over a line
break. The meaning runs-over from
one poetic line to the next, without
terminal punctuation.
2. No rhyme scheme.
 Symbolisms
1. Apple – represent New York City (“The Big
Apple”), the capital of America
2. Sparkling Wine - illustrates the luxurious life
in America.
3. “Boiling bones” & “ a father of Tondo Who,
mad in his hunger carved his only son”
- images of less opportunity & poverty in
the Philippines.
 Comprehension
Questions:
1. What do the apples represents
in this poem? Explain why
apples are chosen to compare
situation in the Philippines and
the U.S.A?
2. How does the author
contrast the ease of life
a green card bearers like
the persona in the
poem?
3. What does America
symbolize for green card
bearers like the persona in the
poem?
4. If the Philippines is in the
heart, but the mind is in
America (“My mind is in on my
worries…,”) how does the
singular poetic experience
represent the dislocation or
loneliness felt by migrant
Filipinos anywhere in the
world?
5. The persona’s comfort and feeling of
gratitude are seemingly incomplete in the
face of remembrances of poverty in the
Philippines. Each coin spent is like
happiness horded or taken away – with
memory of souls who have less in the
country. Why is migratory happiness
incomplete and how is this exemplified in
the last line: “And when I finally find the
friends and the time, what can we
celebrate with the wine?”