mi madle, mi amol en muelte. God knowshis mother was no stupid woman; shecould roll an R like a queen. Evena parrot can roll an R! In the bare roomthe bright feathers arch in a parodyof greenery, as the last pale crumbsdisappear under the blackened tongue. Someone In Spanish ‘mi madle, mi amol en muelte’ should be pronounced ‘mi madre, mi amor en murte,’ which means ‘my mother, my love in death.’ What is the author saying?

‘He sees his mother’s smile, the teeth gnawed to arrowheads.” What could it mean?

He buries his mom and her cane. Did she also have a cane, which earlier in the poem meant ‘sugarcane.’ The cane blossoms with four-star flowers. What do the four-star flowers symbolize?

What is “rain punches through?”

What does the contras between “cane” and “parrot in the palace” represent?

the general sees the fields of sugarcane, lashed by rain and streaming. He sees his mother’s smile, the teethgnawed to arrowheads. He hearsthe Haitians sing with R’sas they swing the great machetes:Katalina, they sing, Katalina, We encounter a lot of repetition (anaphora) again, why?

On Tuesday, May 30, 1961 Trujillo was shot and killed when his blue Chevrolet Bel Air was ambushed on a road outside the Dominican capital.

dusted with sugar on a bed of lace. The knot in his throat starts to twitch; he sees his boots the first day in battlesplashed with blood and urineas a soldier falls at his feet amazed—how stupid he looked!—at the soundof artillery. I never thought it would singthe soldier said, and died. Now What contrast can “dusted with sugar on a bed of lace” represent in the context?

Trujillo ruled with an iron hand persecuting anyone who opposed his regime.

What does “palace” represent?