by MARIA ALTHEA V. JAVIER
Among the fumes of midday
Beneath golden kingdoms
And above the wretched metropolis
She spies with her eyes around
With skylines that separate
Her pockets jingle
From what is left of thirty’s stipend
Or was it fifteen’s?
At the kiosk she makes a judgment
As an old lady battling oil splatters
Then faces hers
The sidelines of Manila’s busy streets
Connotes an impending doom
As the old lady takes the pennies,
Her chipped ice cream tub bares the weight
Not of the nickel
But of the familiar hollow sound
Of the daily nothingness
The old lady wonders away
Alone in her familiar troubles
Staring at her new silver dimes
Wondering how far these would go
Even gold ones would not suffice at all
As she walks away from the kiosk
Thoughts mirror that of her little vendor
To her children she comes home
Amidst skylines that separate
A matriarch also wonders
How long they would survive
Above the wretched metropolis
And beneath the golden kingdoms F
