Back from Brazil

Back from Brazil! A great visit to the fruit and vegetable market in Campinas!

Market

Tons and tonnes:

Dark men, small and large, wiry, intense,
out of the way, out of the way,
pull blue wooden wagons
loaded with boxes or bags,

I heard then saw
½ tonne of tomatoes tip over,
off a ramp.

I jumped out of the way
of um corregidor rushing
800,000 pounds of potatoes
to the waiting “box” drawn
on the floor in yellow paint,
the space of a seller.

Did not wait to see the wagon
reloaded as potatoes sold.
Nor the rush to buyers’
trucks and vans.

From the clinic data:

• 18 months from hire of porter to first back injury;
  
• thereafter, every six months.
  
• Still, S says that the Calcutta market is worse.