the old men and the bamboo house

 

I happened upon two old men

walking down a dirt road

while I was photographing

in the mountains in Costa Rica

 

I asked if they lived nearby

yes, they said

I asked them if I might see

their home they said they

would be honored

 

as we neared I could see

it was very humble

built of Bamboo poles

that had been split down the middle

 

they had a small porch

on the front of the cottage

a small colored photo of Jesus

was taped to the outside wall

under the porch eves

 

I could see a single light bulb

hanging from the ceiling inside

a large single room

 

they did not invite me in

 

I asked if I could take a photo

of the two of them

they seemed surprised that I

would want a picture of them

they seemed shy

 

they wanted to put

on their good clothes

they went inside and I

could hear them excitedly

speaking in low voices

words that I could not discern

 

they returned in their “Sunday best”

and each carrying a smile

 

they brought with them things

that they wanted in the photograph

 

one brought hand-carved toys

that he made and sold out on the

highway that passed near their house

 

the other had a photo of some land

somewhere nearby that he said belonged

to the president of Costa Rica

and who was part of his family

 

They brought me a glass of

cold water and we sat on the porch

and talked for a few minutes

 

I finished and shook their hands

thanked them and left

 

they waved as I flagged down a bus

to make my way back to the city

I found a seat and closed my eyes

 

I wondered

who were they

 

who were they before moving

together to the mountain

 

did they leave a family somewhere

or did a family leave them