Melinda J. Irvine

fiesta Molo’s finished
the rides are stacked away
children’s laughter silent
dirt and mud are all remains.

did they make a little ‘kwarta’?
tomorrow, holds the promise of escape
and though they’ll wake up somewhere different
their lives are still the same.

**kwarta is the Hiligaynon word for money.

Watching the crew pack-up their gear after the Molo Fiesta inspired this bit of verse. The street stalls and carnival rides had been in place for weeks and we had visited on a couple of nights too.