He is no Sleipnir, gifted with speed
And his master, no Odin either.
Mortal man and an even more mortal beast
Plying the concrete though narrow Badelles Street
Stopping by every now and then
To pick up pasaheros
Who climb up the tartanilya to sit behind his master
On the box seat, back hunched from the burdens of life,
On one hand a whip that is hardly used.
An old woman struggles to climb up carrying her basket
Filled with vegetables and who knows what;
A young girl, in a graduation regalia, wearing high heels
Nearly missing the step-plate; her mother behind her,
Sweaty clothes sticking to her skin, make-up melting on her face.
He is no Sleipnir, and his master no Odin either.
They are not traveling by sea or sky nor to the underworld,
Just through the concrete though narrow Badelles Street,
Bearing the burden of the burdened.
Therese Padilla Abonales is a native of Iligan City in Northern Mindanao. Her stories have appeared in Mindanao Harvest, the now-defunct Panorama of Manila Bulletin, and NCCA’s Mantala Literary Journal. She was a fellow of the 28th UP National Writers Workshop in Davao, the 4th Iligan National Writers Workshop, and a senior writing fellow in the 29th Iligan National Writers Workshop.