The first thing you need to know about Mexico is not a thing or a place
He’s a man more than a noun
and the man’s name is Memo
Two more things you need to know:
Memo’s 1983 Full Size Van
and how the man lives on butterflies

The fourth thing is that the most graceful way to cross the border is
not to jump the border
para cruzar la línea con gracia,
hay que volar
The most gracey-iest way of all
is to just flutter fly over on golden wings

Number five:
Every year tens of thousands of Monarch butterflies migrate from Canada
to Mexico
2,500 miles by golden flutter fly fall mariposa monarca thousands
the sky is blue the wind is golden
Also part of number five is where these flutterflies arrive:
The mountains of Michoacan
which is where Memo lives
Memo lives on butterflies
no, Memo does not eat butterflies, you crazies
he’s much too clever for that

Number six is the road
where everyday Memo drives his van full of tourists
into the mountains of mud and afternoon sun
where tourists shuttersnap and camcord butterflies thick like honey
in color & consistency

7: In order to buy his Van Memo left his wife in Michoacan and lived
the story we should already know
In three days:
bus from central Mexico
pickup truck to
Number 8: his entrance to this state
at night hot secret with strangers, desconocido
In Tucson Memo got a job resurfacing freeways

Number 9 months Memo resurfaced the 300 miles of I-10 between Tucson & El
Paso
and while butterflies in their paso mostly flutter fly over the US and
its deserts,
Memo was bound to the ground
Working in a monarch-colored bright orange vest and discovering what
exactly the american dream feels like under endless Mexican sweat
as the butterflies migrated effortlessly above him
The months passed this way & Memo returned home to his wife
He bought his van to take the tourists to the top of the butterfly
mountain & earn money for his family

This is Memo’s story
but the tenth thing you don’t know about Mexico is you & I
are also in this story
the top three moneymakers in the Mexican economy are
Oil, money sent back by immigrants like Memo and tourism

So number 11 is you
who gave Memo the money to buy the van
and you & you & me who went to see butterflies
golden flutter fly fall Mariposa Monarca thousands

The twelth thing?
I don’t know, maybe you should go
and find out

But the one thing you already do know about Mexico is that people live
there
people trying to live
like you
like me
like Memo

and if you don’t think we’re all connected, you got another thing coming
Golden flutter fly fall Mariposa Monarca thousands the sky is azul
you are golden
flutter fly fall Mariposa Monarca thousands the sky is azul
Memo is golden
flutter fly fall Mariposa Monarca thousands the sky is azul
and on both sides we are golden

• • •

poetry