Sunday, May 10, 2009

"With hurricanes it's not the wind or the noise or the water.... it's the mangoes, avocados, green plantains and bananas..."




A campesino looked at the air
And told me:
With hurricanes it's not the wind
or the noise or the water.
I'll tell you he said:
it's the mangoes, avocados
Green plantains and bananas
flying into town like projectiles.

How would your family
feel if they had to tell
The generations that you
got killed by a flying
Banana.

Death by drowning has honor
If the wind picked you up
and slammed you
Against a mountain boulder
This would not carry shame
But
to suffer a mango smashing
Your skull
or a plantain hitting your
Temple at 70 miles per hour
is the ultimate disgrace. . . .

from Problems with Hurricanes by Victor Hernández Cruz

No comments:

Post a Comment