LatinosUSA

«Gentrification» by Alexis Araneta

They leer at your ivy-covered stucco walls
The fire of your russet clay roofs
And click their viper tongues
Declare it all must be knocked down
Shutter you for reconstruction

The hallways of you resounded with memory
Painted in high-gloss marigold reflections
As you tattooed yourself with murals of boldness
Of a spirit more impenetrable than concrete
You built a playground in your innermost courtyard
Where giggles swung beyond a sunroof
And possibilities bounced on rainbow-hued foam
Under a cerulean sky with nary a cloud

But the architecture of your soul
Strayed from a carefully plotted blueprint
So, in came the verbal bulldozers
The sledgehammers of admonition
Subsuming you in the rubble

They encased your perimeter in tempered glass
Panels of faux diamonds under the morning rays
Your heart screamed through the vitrine barrier
Until all that came out is a resigned sigh, a voice lost
They lined your inner wings with gold-fronted shops
Slapped steep price tags paid in quotidian drowning
Only stiletto clacks reverberating in hollow corridors
Limousines and practised smiles parked in your garage

They demand us to look at all they’ve erected
Ask us to applaud at your new face lift
But only you feel your beams quiver
As your columns support but a façade
As a now-mute self sinks to the basement

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Author’s Bio

Alexis Araneta is an aspiring short story writer and poet from Tagaytay City. Enchanted by the taste and feel of words since she could speak, she began writing at the age of nine. Her flash fiction has been featured in anthologies such as Tagay by San Anselmo Press and Marbles by Blue Marble Storytellers. Encouraged by a friend to experiment with verse, she has also been exploring the world of poetry.When she’s not crafting advertising copy, tormenting protagonists with unrequited love, or deftly inserting the word “deftly” into every stanza, Alexis enjoys reading classic literature, listening to jazz and soul music, and studying European languages.Follow her (and prepare for a generous dose of selfies) on Instagram and Threads: @cestmoiallie