She spends her days
slicing jamón y queso and wrapping it in wax
paper
tied with string: plain ham and cheese
that would cost less at the A&P, but it would not
satisfy
the hunger of the fragile old man lost in the folds
of his winter coat, who brings her lists of items
that he reads to her like poetry, or the others,
whose needs she must divine, conjuring up
products
from places that now exist only in their hearts—
closed ports she must trade with.
–“The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica,”
Judith Ortiz Cofer
During which phrases would a performer most likely pause while reciting? Check all that apply.
A. “she spends her days / slicing jamón y queso”
B. “tied with string: plain ham and cheese”
C. “the hunger of the fragile old man lost in the folds”
D. “or the others, / whose needs she must divine”
E. “in their hearts— / closed ports she must trade with”