He saw them
Sitting there against the wall
Of the labor camp housing in Delphos
Green-stained wretches,
With muddy hands and green-stained clothes
From laboring in the thick tomato plants
And wet dirt
And they saw him, too
Clean, and neatly combed
Clutching his books and notepads
Walking back from school
And some were mad
A primal answer to the unfairness
Of it all
Their parents needed them in the field
Una manao menos
They couldn't afford to lose
In far off Ohio
Logralos ahorita, compadre
They can go to school when we get back home
Others weren't mad
There was a hint of longing
To be clean, too
To read books, too
To go to school
To learn,
A yawning yearning to learn
To learn oneself away
From the stooped labor of a muddy field
And right then Juan knew
That his entire future life
He'd live with a need,
An obligation, then
To work for them
To study for them
To achieve for them
The green-stained wretches
Who were his brothers