Rock Steady Dress Shop

Forced upon, a flimsy door
Hits a singer sewing machine.
Its lid shot, a cord sagging
On the rib of its wheel;
On the pedal an old pair of slippers.
New white uniforms weigh down
A wire hung from roof trusses.

The root now demolished,
Sunlight breaks in,
Striking walks of iron sheets
On a side walk of Timawa Avenue

For years the row of shops
Had skirted the rear wall of UP IloIlo--
Rock Steady Dress Shop,
Vida’s Beauty Parlor,
Jesus Battery Charger—
Someone has just climbed the ladder
To pull down another store
Sign: “Luna’s KTV
Open 24 Hours.”

A videoke is playing “my way” full blast,
Cutting through shabby curtains
As a woman by the pavement wails with her baby.
A shirtless man jumps off a sudden pedicab,
Thrusts a “bolo”and curse in the air
His ribs carved by sunlight.

Car horns hoot as traffic aids
Let through a motorcade,
A couple of young stars from manila
A top silvery pickup
Waving all the way to a mall tour.

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