Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle

Author:Margarita Engle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

LA SIESTA/THE NAP

After a big lunch of yellow rice

and black beans, all the grown-ups

fall asleep in rocking chairs.

Children are expected to rest

at siesta hour, but Mad and I know

that this is our best chance

to explore.

The central patio has fruit trees

and flowers to study, and the walls

display intriguing old black-and-white

photos of ancestors, wide-eyed pictures

that make me feel

just as drowsy

as a grown-up,

all filled up

with years.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

One day, we walk along the cobblestones

to visit a sick relative who is so old

that I’m surprised by her strength

as she pinches my arm and sighs,

¡Ay, que gordita! How chubby.

I know that I’m a tiny bit pudgy,

but being called fatty by a grown-up

makes me cry so long and so hard

that all Mami’s efforts to explain

are useless.

I don’t care if plump is a compliment

in Cuba. I can’t stand the sight of this old

skinny, sick woman, who envies anyone

healthy enough to gain weight.

Why can’t an insult contain only

one meaning, so that I can hate her,

even if she might be dying?

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