QUICK BREAKFAST


An efficient
Mexican breakfast
1 that is fast
And nutritious
Is roasted chicken

It doesn’t matter
If it is cold
Refrigerators are
Meant for those purposes

What is important
Is how the tortilla
Is heated

Don’t use a comal
Place the tortillas
Directly on the burner

Propane is better
Than electricity

Let the blue flame
Caress them

Till the aroma
Of the smoke
Hits your nostrils

Then turned them over
You need calluses
On your hands
Otherwise you
Will burn yourself
And become
Part of the meal

Don’t forget
The spices

Before I fail to remember
There’s nothing better
In the morning
Than the aftertaste
Of black coffee
And hot peppers

SCHOOL


I am inside my son’s classroom
Sitting next to a bizarre woman
Who is feeding a baby

It was a meeting
For parents
And we signed our
Children’s report cards
And I remember my years
In this same classroom
How we used
To play games
And how dangerous
They really were

Because when the kids
Started bringing their
Parents live rounds
I managed to get
My hands on
Some 22’s

And we would throw
Stones at the cartridges
And they would sound
Like firecrackers
And the bullets would
Fly away amongst
The children
In the playground

And then Felipe
Covered his
His right temple
With his hand
And there was
A little blood

The bullet
Grazed him
But in a matter
Of minutes
He was playing again

The kid that
Threw the stone
At the bullet
Got expelled

Years later
Other friends
Were hit
They were not playing
They were working
They were not
As lucky

GOD
THE BORDER PATROL
AND I



Sun & wind
A dried
International border

The inspector asked me
If God covers
My serial number
I answered
I don’t know

But I considered
His question
A nice thought

He said that maybe
I placed Him there
As to block the view
To the number

I said no
I told him:
I put Him there
So you can see Him

The agent
Looked to his left
And said thank you

VENTANA EN EL CIELO


Destruye tus
Tarjetas de crédito
Usa los restos
Para hacer púas y
Tocar la guitarra

Desconecta tu teléfono
Para comunicarte
Escribe notas
O cartas
O poemas
O besos
O has el amor

Conoce a tus vecinos
Es mejor
Para ti
Y para ellos también
En una emergencia
Podrás usar sus teléfonos

Tu automóvil
Sólo para urgencias
Acostúmbrate a
La bicicleta
Existirás longevo
Una fuente de salud

Evita la televisión
Los comerciales
Y tendrás menos espejismos
Menos dolor y confusión

No te creas
De los fatalistas
Los narcisistas
Los hedonistas
Los racionalistas

No les hagas caso
Déjalos pasar
Como aviones
De guerra con otro destino

For those of you that read Spanish..... An incentive to support the arts south of the border.