Pon
January 22nd, 2013
Pon the barber’s daughter
used my appearance
as a prompt to run
out of the shop and show
me some dance move or
a scary face with guavas held
over her eyes
maybe wearing a crown
of banana leaves
this good girl swept hair
using a tiny straw broom
every morning before my
fried patongos and coffee
I looked for her like sun
on a muggy Thai day
the morning she did not appear
followed the evening she’d become
the town’s first automobile
caused death.
Every store closed for a week.
All commerce came to a halt.
The year 1968 became remembered
as the year the town became modern.
