HOW TO BEFRIEND COCKROACHES 
by Rosie Angelica Alonso

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​Tear down any borders in your house
                             Paint over the tile floor lines 
Mop any puddle that resembles El Río Grande
         Lift a group of roaches over your fence
         And place them into your backyard 
                 Award a green card to each one that crosses
 
Make a discreet space between the walls and couch
So when someone sprays Raid and they scatter to your room
        You can guide them in shouting,
                                   Orale! Aquí, cabrones!
​
Read them their rights:
You have the right to invade the cabinets and break into my favorite cereal
You have the right to procreate inside my underwear drawer
You have the right to land in my dad’s Nescafé as he takes a sip.
You have the right to skim across our feet and scare
The shit out of my mom while she watches her favorite telenovela
 
Show them around your hood.
Recruit them into your gang.
            Assign nicknames to each one:
Cesar Roachavez
Oscar De La Roacha,
Saint Roachingberg.
           
Defend them with your life.
Kick your mom’s foot away
When she’s seconds from crushing a row of antennas with her huarache.
Slap your dad’s hand down as he holds a folded newspaper,
Ready to swing at a cucaracha’s head.
 
Don’t be cheap either.
Serenade a roach couple when they make love below your bedroom window.
         Hire a mariachi when a baby roach is born.
 
Grant the cucarachas official citizenship.
            Print a legal document welcoming them into your home:
I hereby declare thee, cucarachas, of the United States of Familia
 
        Sign it with pura sangre.
Mark it por vida.