Flavorless

by Lyat Melese

Aunty’s green card was approved 

lucky she says

right before they tightened

immigration

and the world became a paper map

with a hand clamping the oceans

paper crumpling and

colorful blobs of land

choked apart

Aunty works at a chicken processing plant

now

no english, they say, plus free transportation

two hour rides

with other elderly ladies

who fill time with murmurs

of broken english and native tongue

they will enter the place

machine loud yet silent

to skin chicken and pull innards

returning to

free transportation

with swollen feet

Is anything free?

My mother fries chicken for dinner

says she hasn’t seen real chicken in America

real chicken needs

just salt to dance on tongues

This chicken, here,

flavorless

she dumps the remaining soy sauce in the pan.