El Paso,
the pass
unforgiving
sand and sun
but
at peace with itself, strangely
across a thin ribbon of river
from
red blood
******
on Juarez streets
I roamed
in my strutting youth
now we are all sixty
plus or minus one or two
and afraid to cross the border
whether it leads to
a flashing frenzy
of staccato notes
that finish our song
or a slow dance on the killing floor
Oct 7, 2012
Oct 7, 2012 at 3:45 PM UTC
El Paso,
the pass
unforgiving
sand and sun
but
at peace with itself, strangely
across a thin ribbon of river
from
red blood
******
on Juarez streets
I roamed
in my strutting youth
now we are all sixty
plus or minus one or two
and afraid to cross the border
whether it leads to
a flashing frenzy
of staccato notes
that finish our song
or a slow dance on the killing floor
written June 2011, inspired by my recent trip to El Paso, Texas, USA, a city separated only by a narrow river from the treacherous Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's death capital, which sadly boasts a ****** rate that rivaled Baghdad during the height of the Iraqi war--oddly enough El Paso had a ****** rate about half the USA national average and about 1-2% of Juarez, its sister city
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