Pineapple Vending

vending
pineapples
with urgency.

money.
exchange.
quickly. before
the street-guard surges.

Walking out of the money exchange kiosk, my path was blocked by a tricycle stretched full of pineapples. A young man was urgently slicing his wares into plastic shopping bags. My 50-peso order was interrupted by a huge jeepney driver who commanded two bags full from the driver’s seat of his open passenger vehicle — but he drove off empty-handed when a street guard surged out of the crowd. Somehow the young vendor slipped that plastic bag of sweet fruit into my hand and secured the 50 peso note and disappearing into the traffic before the guard could catch him.

~ Mandurriao, Philippines.