the clean room
in order to come in,
you must first put on:
1.
hairnet
2.
shoe covers
3.
gloves
4.
mask
5.
hood
6.
cover-all
7.
boot covers
8.
goggles
9.
gloves
when you exit,
you must discard:
1.
gloves
2.
goggles
3.
hood
4.
mask
5.
boot covers
“no, you cannot bring
anything inside the room.
no cell phones,
no watch, no nothing.”
“you have to go
to the changing room
before you go in to work”
“i always wear my head band.”
“they don’t like you
to wear sneakers.
they like you wear
the shoes they give you.
my feet is hurt”
“it’s hard to breathe,
sometimes. oh my god”
“you can only
call me on
my break, okay?
8:30 or 12:30”
“i can only wear t-shirts.
the loose kind for work.
it’s better because
you sweat a lot”
“i can’t, balasang. i can’t”
“you have to wear
a suit. goggles.
everything
is covered.
everything.”
“you can’t touch anything.
you have gloves. they will
get mad on you”
the praise
0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 my mother builds the backbone of the silicon valley you can say she’s single-handedly responsible for the microchip revolution my mother is a step ladder is a spine is a skeleton is a muscle is a labor force is vertebrae is a staircase is the key to a multi-millionaire’s business is a person. 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 all hail the silicon valley may you all endlessly power up, aggregate the future, sip the coffee made by your interns, and allow me to ask sincerely, 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 “why 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 are 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 you 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 killing 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 us 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 this 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 way? 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010 0111011101101000011110010000110100001010
the cry
the cry
ma,
tell them we go to church on sundays
tell them spending christmas together
is a tradition we need to start soon
tell them about the blisters behind your ankles
or the calluses that outline your step
tell them about your queendom
that you can’t preside over your people if you’re not home
tell them buildings are a poor substitute for sunlight
tell them about living paycheck-to-paycheck
tell them about your arthritis
tell them that i ripped your beltloops when i was six
clawing onto you because i didn’t want you to go to work that day
tell them about how starting your shift is a sentence and
punching out your timesheet is freedom
tell them you’re sick today
that you’re sick of them every day
that work is not a place without a place to sit
that free snacks and more hours don’t fool you
tell them that microchips don’t have feelings
tell them about your garden
and how soil reacts to water
how you chip off thorns with uneven fingernails
or how your orchids finally bloom yellow, pink and purple
tell them they can’t automate your spirit
tell them they can’t outsource your humanity
tell them dignity is priceless
tell them you miss the mid-day radio
tell them you miss the price is right
tell them that it’s confidential
tell them some things are better left unsaid
tell them machines performing over 1,000 chemical reactions are dangerous
tell them they’re hazardous
tell them what the doctors said
how your knees creak
how dad massages your feet every night
tell them we don’t care about who they are
since they do not know us
tell them in ilokano
tell them in tagalog
or vietnamese
or spanish
or khmer
tell all of your co-workers, my aunties
tell them to say no
tell them you say no
tell them no
you don’t want to
you’re not going to work today
you’re not going to work
tell them that today
the silicon valley resigns
tell them you run the town
tell them that they work for you.
tell them 01101110 01101111
NO
the valley of toxic fright
Janice Lobo Sapigao is a Pinay poet, writer, and educator born and raised in San José, CA. Her first book microchips for millions is forthcoming from PAWA, Inc in Fall 2016. She is also the author of the forthcoming chapbook toxic city (tinder tender press, 2015). She earned her M.F.A. in Critical Studies/Writing at CalArts. She co-founded an open mic in Los Angeles called Sunday Jump. She lives in the Bay Area and teaches at Skyline College and San José City College. Please visit her website: janicewrites.com
