In the laundromat you read books and listen to Chopin. On both tv’s the same show is playing at slightly different times, which is why you try not to forget your headphones. The machines are half dead and the dryers only run on high or low. It’s nighttime, so the air is sticky, and the kids are home sleeping instead of playing around the gum ball machine. When your clothes are done and it’s time to leave, a friendly cucaracha offers to carry your laundry home, crossing the street alongside you after you’ve declined. And one day soon you’ll have a dream about that cucaracha, wondering if it was once a child, once a man, and under what circumstances could you ever end up like that?
Limpia la Ropa
Virginia Valenzuela 