Everyone Has a House

What I like about your country

she tells me is the toilets

I wouldn’t mind bringing one home

but it wouldn’t do much good

she says she likes the bathtubs

and the refrigerators

but she is not so crazy

about the tortillas

which are not made properly

or the cilantro which tastes like soap

Also the freeways ruin the landscape

and the children watch television

when they could be playing soccer

and the teenagers stare at their parents

with bare faces that say

give it to me

and the abuelitos are like dogs

to the children

the children walk by with no respect

mangoes here are not so good

not enough rain

and the women here have so many clothes

I think your country has the most wonderful bathrooms

and everyone has a house

although tents would be nicer

I think or boats

or even just sleeping in a tree

My family has a tree

we live under

but the tree has no toilet

I grant you that.

Copyright Credit: Kate Gale, “Everyone Has a House” from Fishers of Men. Copyright © 2000 by Kate Gale. Reprinted by permission of Red Hen Press.

Source: Fishers of Men (Red Hen Press, 2000)