INSPECTOR BLANCHARD
HE SAID HE WAS THE SUPERVISOR

Carta Blanca
Is a Mexican beer
That goes best
With cigarettes

I am sorry
If I flicked
My ashes on you
I didn’t mean
To do it

It’s not that
I wasn’t thinking
It’s just that
I hardly ever
Have Carta Blancas

You were standing there
Under the HOT sun
Looking at all
That traffic
But that’s how
The border is

Maybe you should
Have a cold one

Come on man
Take it as compliment
Good writers
Add ashes
To their beverages
For courage

I will think of you
Real hard
I promise
Next time I
Have a cold drink

FROZEN BUG

A customer
Told me
There was
A dead bug
Inside the
Ice—cream case
But it was
Not dead
Only frozen
I informed
The person in charge
And hoped
And prayed
That he would
Get some light
Into what it is
And how to
Dispose of it
But it would take
A miracle
And it
Never came
Because there
Is no good faith

DARING

A girl
From next door
(The blue store)
Came to our case
And bought a lot
Of huevos
From our store
The next day
I saw an
Albertson’s car
In full use
Inside Henry’s

EXCHANGE OF WORDS

The lady
In black
Walked slowly
Through my aisle
Hello how are you?
I greeted her
She answered
I am pretty decent
And it looks
Like you are too

EMPLOYER & EMPLOYEE

Come on!
Look man
I am not
An exterminator
You pay me
To clean the dust
And the dirt
In your joint
And that is
What I do
Since I am
A courteous man
I had gotten
Rid of some bugs
For you
But this will stop
Because working outside
Is not
Working things out

¿QUESTION MARKS?

He asked me
What kind
Of bugs
I had found
I did not
Want to scare him
After all
He’s still
The owner
I did not want
To tell him
That those are
The 1’s
That reproduce
Themselves
That they
Can survive
A nuclear explosion
I did not have
The heart
To tell him
They were planted
That they arrived
Inside a can

THE ARC

The man on
The presidential ship
Has ordered
1 case of
Russian dressing
He knows
There’s nothing
More slippery
Than a jar
On resurrection day
This church
Floats on
The waters
Of salvation

CHERRIES

Cherries in
A bag
Each of them
Is holy
Tainted red
They all look
Like beautiful
Santo Domingo
Every one of them
Is a sunny day

SMALL TALK ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS

Grape—seed
Helps with
The inflammation
Of language
I am 50
She said
You look 30
I replied
Well thank you
I think
I’ll take
You home

THE WOMAN WITH THE FLOWER DRESS

Any of you
Speak English?
I looked up
And saw a lady
I wanted to
Get away from
My coworkers
So I said I do
She was wearing
A dress of summer
And she held
1 key with 2 fingers
She asked me
I would
Help her open
Her car
I stood up from the bench
And walked
Towards her
I can’t open the door
She said
I told her
I would be gad to help
She smiled and added
Maybe you have the magic touch
I took the key form her hand
And we both walked
Towards her automobile
Away form
The smoking area
Under the tree
Her car was
A midsize white sedan
I placed my cup of coffee
On the hot pavement
And inserted the key
Turned it both ways
As I pulled
On the door handle
And the door opened
Thank you
She said with a
Maternal smile
How did you do it?
You just need
To play with it
But be gentle
She said God bless you
And then she drove away

THE CLOCK

To Salvador Dalí

Señor Dalí
If only
You could see this
I have found
One of
Your clocks
It hangs above
The exit door
Inside that
Organic store
In Chula Vista
It looks like
A spiritual perspective
It follows
Hispanic time
It makes this market
Even more surreal
I wish you could
Contemplate this place
It looks like
One of your paintings
You see
I was given
A hot bowl
Of soup
It had spice
And I didn’t
Know it
So I added
More spices
And ate
From it
And the aftermath
Created traffic
Under a bright
Hot sun
And it was
Slow
Slow
So very
Slow
You always
Believed your work
Should be
For royalty
And I know
You can see
What I am
Talking about
From that place
Where you stand

THE DOCTOR

When I was a child
I remember visiting
My friend’s house
I would find their dad
A physician
Watching cartoons
With his children
They liked
Popeye the sailor man
They would have
So much fun
Adults would mock the doctor
For enjoying caricatures
I saw him & his wife
At the store
The other day
He walked a little bit slower
He seemed a little bit tired
I wanted to thank him
For helping me
Wit my accident
I wanted to tell him
That I also watch cartoons
With my children
But I just said hello
I decided to use only
Good manners

BELLY BUTTON

Along time ago
A young
Blond woman
Showed me
Her pierced navel
Outside the store
Today a middle-aged
Blond woman
With lost of cleavage
Lifted her blouse
To show me her
Pierced umbilicus
Inside the store

ESO—ES

The whole store
Dances under
The electric lights

THE CALL

They came
To the bench
Under the tree
The place of
Tobacco mist
1, you have a call
It’s an emergency
I walked fast
Towards the telephone
I found 2 mermaids
One was
Clapping her hands
The other said
It was Miss America
And she wants a date

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The firemen
Are inside
The store
They’re shopping
And talking

With mobile phones
While the place
Is burning

THE COOK

She asked me
To help her look
For pasta with a heart
We both searched
A galaxy of branded names
They were inside
Plastic bags
I want to help her
Find that organ
It will make
A good supper

CHINESE PROVERB

A bird does not sing
Because it has an answer
It sings because it has a song

IT CUTS THE TAIL OFF THE WEEKEND

I saw an
All American home
Taken away
Driven away
With expensive oil
The bottle
Of wine exploded
Spilling red
Up on the floor
Shattered pieces
Of sand
Sailed on
The wet linoleum
It’s just
A brown mix
A fat free product
The instructions
Say to add water

RON,

Importance is
At the end
Of the week
The negotiations
With your managers
And your HR lady
Have been fruitless
So I write to you
And ask you
To consider
The situation
After all
You are a family man
Like I am
You are a working man
The same as I
Let us work it out
Sincerely
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