death is yellow
birth – white
marriage – green
divorce – blue
 
the first hour i wait
beneath an orange
crayon sign: A/C Out
as a line of Latina mothers
snake around the tables
to the white forms
inscripcion escolar
nacimiento no defuncion

next with bellies over belts
a boisterous crew of mates
shoving to get passports
for the bahamas

then bureaucratic lunch break,
when a warring couple shout
about nombre de soltera de la madre
a guard puts his hand
on his holster, sudden silence screams:
sweat waits soberly with us

now in front of me at the counter
a baby wiggles in a woman’s arms,
a grandmother’s custody case
but nobdy knows nombre del padre;
finally a black woman with patient eyes
and white tee with Change of Heart
looks my way

my name is called