Cooler and more overcast today; but in the parking lot at work,
a Blue Bunny ice cream truck circles, playing “La Cucaracha“—
Which makes me think of my friend Pinky, whose favorite way of saying
someone’s acting nutty is: Ay! she has a case of the cucarachas.
We know of course about cockroaches: in other places they go by
palmetto bug, croton bug, waterbug— all the same, a cucaracha.
An ant might walk with exquisite slowness; but have you ever
had to duck in fear of an armor-plated, dive-bomber cucaracha?
Fun facts: a cockroach can go without water for two weeks, without food
for a month. Squished, their slime might resemble green tea matcha.
And how about this: some female cockroaches only mate once and stay
pregnant for life! That would definitely make me crazy, you betcha.
When I read this: Immature American cockroaches look like wingless adults—
for a while it seemed we were no longer just referring to las cucarachas.
In my childhood home we kept potatoes and other dark-loving tubers beside
the rice bin under the sink, until a dark brown army swarmed over the kabocha.
It may have been the year I learned the Mexican Hat Dance for Field Day at school,
felt silly twirling a skirt with cellophane ruffles to the refrain of “La Cucaracha.”
In response to an entry from the Morning Porch.
AIEE, CARAMBA!
Aiee…chihuaha! A lot of cucaracha!
And pregnant for all its vida? Betcha
That will be an overpopulation cha-cha,
and would not even include a borracha,
who is too drunk to say: No! or Gotcha!
—Alberto Casuga y Buenaventura
04-18-12
Had fun reading this aloud, amiga!
Brava, brava, Luisa! Poeta unica!