Men don’t sit near orchards anymore

With their knees up and head in between their legs. Men don’t write poems to women anymore, circling the plaza with an entourage of little children laughing and falling in love with love. Men don’t fight bulls anymore, they eat horse meat on fancy china with blood wine. Men don’t serenade lovers anymore, they grow beards and hide their kisses deep in their chins. Men don’t raise children anymore, they’re too busy rolling stones or laying flat on rooftops counting stars long dead. Men don’t sit near orchards anymore, they have become roots with muddy feet and senseless songs.

Edward Vidaurre is the 2018-2019 McAllen, Texas, Poet Laureate and author of five collections of poetry. Ramona & Rumi: Love in the Time of Oligarchy & Unedited Necessary Poems (Hercules Publishing, 2018) is his latest. He Lives in McAllen, TX, with his wife Liliana and daughter Luisa Isabella.