Assimilation
People who speak Spanish all have outside jobs, my daughter announces
as the Mow ‘n Blow crew descend from a truck to ravish our lawn. I read her a book about dark children dancing, playing drums with wrinkled elders, eating fried plantains. Bored, she grabs Dr. Seuss.
I’m not Latin, Mommy,
I’m light pink like you.
If your family would call, I tell my husband, or if you made rice and beans.
…..Well if you stopped putting so much sunblock on her.
Maybe if we got somebody white to cut the grass.
She uses the brown crayon to shade him flanked by purple
flowers underneath a turquoise stripe of sky, hesitates before her own face
and then leaves it blank.
Steve Jobs
People who fit in
won’t break out
An orchard grows
in my mind……….the cool fruit
…………radiant
God’s laughter
…….I capture
……………..in a microchip……..the future
cries out like a woman
……………Have me now
No limit but the body
…………faulty programming
…………cells’ dumb..relentless division
Failure is a cliff
If you fall off it
……………………….fly