Toucan Nest

Gallo Pinto

104 Gallo Pinto Fuel for the man with an earache, waiting, fuel for the schoolgirl, her period late, fuel for the too-tall farmacéutica— beanstalk gallo pinto. Breakfast, almuerzo, dinner, snack— cumin, cilantro, black beans, rice. Fuel for crazed drivers whipping blind around curves, gallo pinto. Fuel for cart drivers calming yoked oxen. Fuel for surveyors taking the long view, fuel in black-veiled acres of fronds. 105 Fuel for waiters’ aching arches, fuel for drummers, teachers, potters. For house painters speckled azul, limón, vivid gallo pinto. For blacksmiths twisting tico window iron, well-wrought gallo pinto. Fuel for unwinders of razor wire, homeowners imprisoned. For gun-toting thieves, chopped gallo pinto. For armed guards outside Rosti-Pollo, fuel. Fuel for drug runners speeding through. 106 Half rations for wrecked plywood Nicaraguans, ramshackle rusty gallo pinto. Fuel for the sorrowful mourners straggled behind that sealed casket. Loved one’s last meal, gallo pinto. Fuel for the woman sweating in labor, woman about to give birth to the world. Gallo pinto. ...