by Margarita Engle
HOW TO EAT A BOOK
a redondilla
Edible paper can be spiced
with cinnamon, curry, or beets,
kiwi, tea, wasabi, or sweets.
Write, then serve on a platter, iced.
CARS IN CUBA
a quintilla
Due to the shortage of fuel
one car might be pulled by a mule.
Another car is cut in two,
seats painted bright red, green, or blue,
pulled by a horse, to work or school.
CARIBBEAN INVENTIONS
a quintilla
The Cuban Indians designed
the hammock and the barbeque.
They also dreamed up the canoe,
and use of suckerfish to find
sea turtle prey of every kind.
EDIBLE TREE BARK
an octavilla
Use bark to flavor a spice cake.
Steep bark in a kettle of tea.
Sprinkle bark in your coffee.
Put bark in cookies when you bake.
Add bark to the puddings you make.
Just make sure the bark that you eat
is always a cinnamon treat,
such as the tree-flavored milkshake.
HOW TO EAT A MANGO
a decima
The peel must be touched with great care.
Remember that the mango tree
is in the same plant family
as poison oak, so please beware.
A showoff might brag, and then dare
to drag the rind across his face,
but the allergy is not rare,
so a rash might redden that place.
It is much better--just in case--
to peel the fruit and eat the pulp bare.
A LA BRAVA
an espinela
Racing was a sport on the street
in Havana years ago.
Cars and taxis put on a show.
Even buses had to compete.
Without rules, no one was a cheat.
Each driver was given a chance.
At each corner there was a glance
to see who would run the red light.
Pedestrians stopped for the sight
of a wild avenue's expanse.
POETRY MATH
a decima
Redondillas are four lines long.
Add one more for a quintilla.
A verse of two redondillas
is called an octavilla song.
A decima is ten lines long,
the basis for a rumba dance.
You start with one four-line stanza,
then a bridge of two lines, a chance
to improvise, and to enhance
the rumba extravaganza.
Traditional Cuban poetic forms
Home