Maria Luisa Arroyo [*] Mami c...

Maria Luisa Arroyo [*]
Mami called us away from the roach trap line
where novice factory workers, blooming
from the island, and I, recent from junior year,
pok golden chunks of roach bait
back into traps with Q-tips
we dunk in alcohol.
Another safety meeting. My first.
El jefe de la factoria faced us
and heard nothing if it be not that the silence
of women hablando y bochinchando
in Tidy-Bowl pallid uniforms. "Safety shoes should...
Factory roll the eyess are...Hairnets must..."
All the Spanish he knew could have fit