THE MEXICAN
RED WHEELBARROW



The sun burns bright
And the wind
Keeps it cool

Even the cops
Don’t come around
Anymore

I drove slowly
On the dirt road
And found
Some of my
Lost/Stolen
Tools

I stopped and
Opened my
Blue trunk
And placed
The red wheelbarrow
In it

It will
Be useful
To dig holes
To recycle lives
In the country
Where the horses
Stand with
Their backs
Towards the ocean

THE LINE ON THE SAND


Some kind
Of cleansing
Ritual
On the sand

Imagery of
Good intentions

But the littleMexican shaman
Was more convincing

She had
The power
To turn
The sea red

And disorient
Marine life

Even Aztec doctors
Showed up
At the border
Carrying grey magic

They would point
Their cameras
And microphones
To a border patrol guy
Relaxing in the park

REFLECTORS


Bacteria only lasts
For little while
Nature restores herself

Her antibiotics
Are killers

Amazing are
The preservation properties
Of salt

Redness lasts
But for a little while
Health always returns

The ocean waters
Become mirrors

They reflect
The blue skies

Dolphins are
Once again
Surfing the waves

If they can
Dance in the shit
It means
They are healthy

THE FISHERMAN & THE WITCH


The witch threw her curse
On the ocean
Inside a black
Plastic bag
She made sure
To toss it over
The other side
Of the fence
It landed
In California waters

The fisherman
And I
Watched from
Latin-American sands
The angler told me
That she was up
To no good
Adding witchcraft
To salt water

He told me of
A time when he
Fished an aluminum ball
And as he was
Getting ready to toss
His catch
It ripped open
He found wax figurines
And a pair
Of golden rings
He kept the gold
And threw
Everything else away
He said he does believe
In the malevolent
Effects of witchcraft
But he also believes
In Gold

The next day
I found a seal on the sand
Everybody thought
It was tired
Just resting
On the shore

But I knew
The seal was not well
I also knew
It was American
The fisherman agreed

The waves were red
And the sands
Were Caspian Blue

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE


He approached me
With a cell phone on
His hand

Just like the words of
The Tigres del Norte song

He said someone told him
I spoke Spanish

I said
Sí

Then he asked me
If I knew
Who Hank Ron is
I told him I never heard of
That person

He looked at me intensely
And then I said
Perhaps I have heard the name
Every now and then

Then he told me he was
His body guard

(There was a smile
Of Accomplishment
On his face)

That he was sent to buy
Some supplements for him

At that time
I was selling
Organic products at
Henry’s Marketplace
Chula Vista

He takes a lot stuff
He added

All of the sudden
I was confused with
Ron Cohn
The owner of the store
And Hank Ron
The owner of
The body guard

Then he handed me his
Cellular phone and said
Speak to the lady
She will give you instructions

I was hesitant
To put my head
Near the radiation
Dispensing device

There is a reason why I
Don’t own a mobile phone

For this type
Of communications
I prefer the use of
A repeater on a
Very High Frequency

The lady on the line
Had a pleasant voice

She told the
The products
They were looking for

And I helped
The Tijuana customer

He seemed very thankful
And made emphasis
In saying
I will always remember you
Even if you cut
Your beard off
I will remember you

I eventually had
To get rid off
The beard
The estranged wife
Didn’t like it

NIGHT VISIT


When I got there
His wife was
Praying the Rosary
It was more screaming
Then praying

The security guard
Opened the gate
He let me enter
He looked nervous

I knocked on
The door
And yelled
From the patio

But his wife
Would intensify
The volume
Of her chants

As if she
Was trying
To drown
My voice
With her supplications

I left
The following morning
I got the news

I didn’t know
The cops
Were killing
One another

CLASS


The lady sitting next to me
Was from Homeland Security
But she actually
Was kind of pretty
I liked the profile
Of her face

Her tone of voice
Seemed very familiar
She even had
The name of one
Of my cousins
I would have liked
To talk to her more
But she seemed
Kind of nervous

Oh and the teacher!
The teacher had long legs
Like the girls from
A ZZ Top Video
She told me
She was going
To tattoo my name
On her self
So she didn’t forge it

2 TIJUANA POLICEMEN
NEAR THE WATER


Agent Alejandro Arrollo
Was near the ocean
An extension of his name
Was close enough
To the salt in the Pacific

He thought my sunglasses
Were suspicious
I though his were unsightly
Scaring away the fish
In the sea

It would be a futile attempt
To try to explain to him
The effect of
Ultra Violet Rays

Since Arrollo
Signifies Creek
I thought perhaps
We would understand
Aquatic language

But that only
Got him obsessed
With my little
Blue car

He searched
My automobile
So I asked
To see the Judge
My request
Activated him
He frisked me

I know he was looking
For a gun
But I only had
The one I was born with
The one God gave me

Usually the wives
Have first pick
And in case
Of emergencies
A concubine

Lord knows I try

To forget about
These themes
Of cats with
Badges and guns

I would like to write
Nice little poems
About pretty girls
And fluttering butterflies
Inside many stomachs

TAINTED DOLLAR


When I went in
To claim my property
(My car)
To be specific
The Tijuana cop
Drew his gun
And inserted
A fresh magazine

His eyes were
Focused on me
Motionless in concentration
But my pupils
Followed his
Every movement

And even tough
It was hot outside
It got very cold
Inside the room

He placed
The Italian pistol
Lock and loaded
On the counter
And slid it
Till it was
In front of me

It was
An ugly
Piece of work

It wasn’t pretty
Like a 1911
Or beautifully dependable
Like a Glock
It didn’t have
The capriciously amphibious
Caliber of 45

So I let it go
Then another faceless
Policeman grabbed it
And left

DISCUSSION BETWEEN 2 POETS


A cantina owner
Could pay with tequila
For a proper written poem

But anybody that follows
The instructions of a textbook
Can write such a thing

The incentive for the patron
Shouldn’t be an academic attempt
But the voice and
Personal contact of
The poet himself

The ability to create
A completely unique
Field of energy
That flies out
From the mouth
Of the poet
Packaged inside words
Floating on air
That travel
To the human heart
The minds
Of listeners
And the circuitry
Of unknown
Radio stations

Not something
For the history books
Not something about the past
But for the present
For the future

Also
It doesn’t have to be
Good liquor
With nice girls
It can be
A tender kiss
Or a sensual manifestation
It can be a trip
To the movies
With port coming out
Of purses and pockets
Or playful tickles
On the darkness
Of the cinema
Or some coffee
Coffee is always good
Or chocolate
Chocolate is the best
For a better mood

MODEST MOUSE


You guys
Are now famous

I like your song
About a radio

I like it
Because at times
It sounds like
“Mexico”

I want to
Get another transceiver
One that has
Multi-bands
And is as
Portable as possible

One that is
Eco—friendly
One that gets you
Very High
On Frequencies

Perhaps
Since you
Are probably rich
You can help me
With this

THE FISHERMAN


I asked him
If he dared
Eat his catch
Since the waters
Are contaminated

He said that
Didn’t bother him
Because the fish
Do not live here

(The northwestern corner
Of Latin-American)

They swim down
From the north

They live
Up in La Jolla California

DAYAN TASSINARI RODRIGUEZ
CALIFORNIA DRIVERS LICENSE:
D41997118
CALIFORNIA LICENSE PLATE NUMBER:
7W08065


You looked like such
A good Italian boy
So I was nice to you
I even let you go
To Mexicali
Only God knows
What mayhem
You caused there

I didn’t call
The guys
With guns and radios
On you

And this is
How you thank me?
This is how you pay me?
Such dishonesty

Mediterranean lies
With olive oil
If I have to eat them
I might as well
Make them taste better

You looked
Like such a nice
Catholic boy
But your response
Is asking for love
Protestant style

PELIGRO
FIERROS
BATO
DEL AGUA


With such a sign on the fence
We could only stare at the
2 homeland security agents
Both of them were kneeling
Each next to a tire
And it looked like the sand
Was swallowing them
Along with their truck

On an Easter Sunday
Many years ago
Ironically it was during
During the cold war
Back when there was
No line on the sand
No rusted fence
No signs warning
Of a cat
Under water
Back then
When la migra jeeps
Got stuck on the sand
We could easily walk over
And help them

The border patrol agents
Would always smile
And say thank you
And they would always
Wave to us goodbye

But

They didn’t like it
If you told them
You wanted to see

Their judge
They would start cussing
And they would
Take out their
Handcuffs
And their bosses
Would pronounce
Words like
Sit down you
Son of a bitch

So all we could do
This time
Was to watch them
On their fours
On the ground
Because now
It would be dangerous
To walk next to them
They might
Get spooked and
Open fire

AN EXPLANATION


To Commissioner O’Connor
Of the San Diego Superior Court


The instilment
Of patriotic efforts
Created a
Public servant mirage
I value law and order
Because nature is
Also ruled by
The domain
Of water
The fish
In the oceans
Are rule
By aquatic regulations
The 7 seas
Also have
Governing bodies
The cattle on the countryside
Are under the care
Of their ranchers
Even swine have
Conquered the hearts
Of pet owners
I appeal to your understanding
Of my circumstances
Which are forever
Under the elements
You see
I am a
Working class driver
A reality baptized
With farm colors
And affected by
Urban misunderstandings
And the indifference
They foster
With this explanation
I beg your
Your pardon

FASTER THAN ALL STATE


We got aboard the vessel
On the way to the waterfalls
There was an open bar
And the boat stopped
So people could
Jump in the sea

There were no sharks
But I saw little fishes
That looked like rainbows

Some were wet
With tequila

When we arrived
We got in an even smaller boat
That took us to the shore

It turned out
The host
Was a friend of a friend
And soon enough we
Were riding horses
In the Mexican jungle

He was faster
Than All State
On issuing payment

And we were not thirsty
Because we had drank enough
We rode the horses
We were smoking
The Europeans laughed

FOR SALE


My first sale
The very beginning
Of my career as
A trader
Was an omen
Definitely a sign
I sold a black pistol
To a Mariachi

Those efforts
Brought more food

The soundtrack
Is important
John Lee Hooker
Caused the most attention

Somewhere I read
That Cesar Vallejo
Used to collect bottles
To make ends meet

George Foreman says
That you need to watch
Every frog skin

Actually
It’s kind fun
Because when
The stereo played
Besame Mucho
The customers
Began to approach
The merchandise
With a smile
Splattered on
On their faces

Then the harp
And the flute
Reeled them in
It was like fishing
Without water

POETRY & RAIN


The story made sense
When the following happened:

The water came from the south
The night got wet
With efforts to
To make the earth
Produce papers
For poets to write on

The leaves
On the trees
Are full of messages
Poetry always
Grows in a tree

Therefore rain
Is necessary for a poem
And the poem
Is always attracted
To the cloud
And the cloud
Is always above
A poet’s head

And water becomes ink
As it lands on
The skins of the world
It transforms itself
Into meaning

Rain helps thirst
It’s never good
To write thirsty

Then poetry
And rain
Are the same thing

AT THE MOVIES


Older man
With a blue
Potbelly
At the cinema

You should have
Stayed down
But you came up
Anyway

And when the
Senior citizen
Got murdered
(In the flick)
And he screamed
Those awful reverberations
Just before being
Thrown in the water

You got up from
Your seat
And walked down
The stairs
At a fast pace

It would have been better
To keep a distance

I would have
Been able to fool—around
With my lady friend

Perhaps you got
The wrong idea
I consider myself
A nice guy

BELLADONNA WEST—WARD 140’


You make me feel alright
Because you’re beautiful
And petite

You wear the most
Wonderful colors

Green
Yellow
Red
White

Your love
Makes me drowsy

I am dizzy for you
You make me
See blue

You come
In a small package
I am happy
With that reality

You are what my
Doctor ordered