Lullaby Poem by rosalinda flores martinez

I must never rest,
I have to clean the house
Serve my masters
Feed the chickens
And cook the food.

Then at bedtime, I also fix the mess
Cannot sleep, cannot rest
Cannot even close my eyes…

In delirium, I electrocute the chickens
In the cage,
Let the masters drink from a cup of venom,
Dump them in bed
Sing them a lullaby,

“Rock a bye baby
on the tree top,
when the wind blows
the cradle will rock,
when the bough breaks
the cradle will fall
and down will come baby
cradle and all…”

And then, I burn the leaves.