Several Canada geese families made the pandemic bearable for Claudia and some of her neighbors at Sherwood Lake in Salinas. | Photo by Claudia Meléndez Salinas
| POETRY
By Claudia Meléndez Salinas
The sun rises in the east
at the appointed hour
spilling its golden goodness
over the hills
on my lake,
on the ducks and the coots and the cats
and the ailing neighbors wrapped in their coats
like burritos
hunched, brave, determined to stay limber
fit, sane
in this time of madness.
The Canada geese find a place to nest
among the spindly grasses and decorative rocks
mamma goose incubates
or is it poppa?
While poppa defends the nest
Or is it momma?
The goslings arrive
at the appointed time
after six or seven weeks of warmth
Five goslings will survive out of five laid eggs
unlike the mallards, who have no chance
among the cats and the seagulls and the hawks
one little momma defending twelve balls of down
has no chance
Two parents do make a difference, after all
Enlarge
Before the sun rises in the east
a farmworker will peel off the blankets
that wrap her like a burrito
bleary eyed she kisses her kids
still warm in their beds.
At the appointed time
she’ll jump on the bus to the fields
where the lettuce or strawberry or broccoli awaits
Essential worker, she’s called
The type who’s needed, whose job can’t stop
cuz neither does the rent, or the car payment,
or the hunger pains
so off she goes
at the appointed hour
The bleary eyed heroine of the lettuce fields
Just as the sun is rising in the east
A paletero sets off on his daily quest
ring ring, ring ring
through the early morning light.
He begins pushing his magic white cart
at the appointed time
It’s sheltered with stickers
neapolitan, rainbow delight, chocolate covered bar,
It’s sheltering dreams
of a house for mom
of an iphone for Nayeli
of retirement in his old age
Are paleteros essential workers?
Could their work be done
remotely, behind a shield
could it be stopped?
And what about the rent? The electricity payments?
The hunger pains?
Can they wait for the pandemic to end?
The sun may be rising in the east
or setting in the west
or be at its highest point in the heavens
and a nurse is heading home
or heading to work
or to the store
at the appointed hour for sure
cuz theirs is a job that can’t be put off
or taken home
or delivered behind safety glass
It’s essential work to measure your heart beat
your temperature
to puncture your skin to administer fluids
and find a perfect spot for that shot.
Everyone needs healing
especially during a pandemic.
Enlarge
A hummingbird finds a suitable branch
in somebody’s tiny backyard
a wiry geranium near a fence
with three or four leaves to protect its nest
two eggs, 21 days
babies like frogs
resplendent in their minuteness
feathers like spindles eventually grow.
Soon they’re ready to fly on their own
And so they go,
at the appointed hour
to a branch next door
I come home for lunch
at the appointed hour
a daily date with my partner
with the cats and the geese,
and the hummingbirds when they’re here
with eggs and beans and burritos
and cream cheese
a date with a destiny we can’t escape
Which determines that we eat
That we breathe
Which demands we feel safe
Which pushes us to go on living
in spite of the dangers
melting polar caps
virus, famine, wars
life goes on
at the appointed hour
whether SARS-CoV-2
Lingers in the air or drops to the ground
Have something to say about this story? Send us a letter.
SUPPORT NONPROFIT JOURNALISM 
GET OUR FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
