the translator thinks she
is helping. she thinks her words
fall deeper than mine. I go on and on because
she says so
she says tell me everything, “Díme todo”
I tell her how my heart palpitations are irregular
how my heart feels less merengue
and more rumba. how it becomes slower and
slower until my heart seems asleep,
my head is an iron anchor
I drift deep into the seafloor, somehow
I still rise, my head floats high. I tell her this because
she said “Díme todo” because
she says she will listen she will break this barrier she will
never help me.
she tells the doctor so much and nothing at all
I’m making a big deal out of my heart beats, she says
that my heart rate is irregular probably
because of my weight, she says. it’s the greasy food, so fatty,
the cheese, the tortillas, the oil the meat
it’s their people’s problem
the doctor nods appreciatively, she must know more than me
she can translate, she can diagnose what’s wrong
I know I have arrhythmia, I understand
English. I just love to watch this freak show
I love to speak without being heard I love this
this is spanish medical interpretation