A dry stone in the empty fountain
rattles below cement laurel wreaths
six-year-old Carlos sings Sí Señor
wiggles his little white boot
surrounded by plastic luminarias
and bright paper flowers
as recruiters roam the crowd
twin church spires frame the plaza
American flags flank the obelisk
in front of the church with the
obligatory names of the fallen
and hucksters work hard
to seduce the young:
be a star in your own video
el Día de la Independcía
el Día de los Muertos
turkey legs bratwurst hamburgers nachos
let’s give him a big round of applause
me voy, me voy
(Originally published as “La Mesilla Fiesta” in Harwood Anthology: Looking Back to Place, Old School Books 2008.)
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Karin Bradberry enjoys creating poetry shrines, sculptures which embody her poems. She has co-edited/published the Albuquerque monthly poetry broadside, the Rag since 2008. Her work has appeared in Central Avenue, Writer’s Digest, Sage Trail, the Rag, Harwood, Adobe Walls, Pudding Magazine, Along the Rio Grande, and Fixed and Free.
200 New Mexico Poems 