the old men in the bamboo house

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