Assignment Close Reading: Borderbus
Answer each question using complete sentences. Use quotations when citing evidence directly from the poem. Each question is worth six points.
The poet writes first in Spanish and follows it with an English translation. This allows non-Spanish speakers to understand the lines in Spanish. What is another reason the poet uses both Spanish and English?

Cite textual evidence that supports the inference that the women crossed the border illegally.

Read the lines from the poem “Borderbus.”
Y esas gentes quiénes son
no quieren que siga el camión
No quieren que sigamos
Están bloqueando el bus
A dónde vamos ahora
Those people there who are they
they don't want the bus to keep going
they don't want us to keep going
now they are blocking the bus
so where do we go
Who are the people blocking the bus? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.

Describe in your own words what the journey from Honduras to the Unites States was like for the women.

State a theme of the poem “Borderbus.” Cite evidence from the poem to support that theme.