Lima :: Limón by Natalie Scenters-Zapico

Set in Scenters-Zapico’s border-town home, the poems in Lima :: Limón frankly look at what it means to be a woman in a male-centric society. The title comes from a song sung to children warning women to not wait too long before getting married, or they will end up in the horrible fate of alone. The women in the poems face physical and emotional abuse, while expected to be grateful for having the basic necessities of life such as food and shelter. The poems don’t have to preach to make their point—they just show us a reality we all know is unacceptable. Scenters-Zapico is skilled in her witness. Buy here.

From Mi Libro Gore

You are not your death.

How long has she been dead?

Dónde están sus dientes?

Do you recognize her shoes?

Tienes la misma camisa?

Missing, for how long?

Tiene hijos?

. . . 

From Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, Mexico

Part of the simulation is not knowing

your coyote’s real name. Part of the simulation

is knowing your group could leave you

behind. Part of the simulation is knowing

that if you are left behind, a pickup truck

will take you back to your hotel.