like a water buffalo in a carriage
face covered in mud and muck
from a long strenuous day at the azucarera
an old haciendero for a poor provinciana
que barbaridad!
may-december affair it is
but reality is crumbling like landslide
hits you with hunger pangs
and growing debts
farming gets you nowhere
crops have died as el niño hit
the Aquino's augmented the interest
thirty percent more
fourth grade in the barrio
won't get you a decent job
"if I cling to him, things will probably
get better."
high-end querida
ten thousand pesos a month
with seven mouths to feed
poverty stole your innocence
to trade your body
at an hourly rate
"if I do it more often,
maybe I'll get more.
then little Pedro can
go back to school
won't have to sell
sampaguita in the streets
no more."
~ beautifulbruises©2012, RochelleVillaflor©2012
