El Fayuquero A Mexican picker heading south In his overloaded truck and trailer Mattresses and tricycles Microwaves and kitchen tables Check off the list a car battery Couches and jumper cables Un Fayuquero heading home Back to his shop Across the southwest he roams Picking at every stop Scavenging American junk piles Shopping at the thrift stores Combing the swap meet aisles Fighting the picker wars In all the little desert towns Blasting winds and dusty roads Enduring the ugly frowns As he secures his unsteady loads Con cuidado , doing 55 on the freeway Bikes teetering on top of chairs Packed pickups towing other pickups Packed to the gills with household wares Flower adorned crosses stand out In the trucks one flickering headlight But the man knows without a doubt… He’ll be in Nogales by midnight Unlike his amigo Miguel Antonio Pedregon-Baray A fellow fayuquero whose cross is nearby His wreck left goods scattered all over the roadway As he d
Shadow Rock United Church of Christ - Phoenix, Az I recently visited a local Phoenix church as part of a fieldwork exercise for my Anthropology class in which we were tasked with observing church rituals, practices, and symbols. I chose a church nearby and found it more interesting than I bargained for. This particular church, Shadow Rock United Church of Christ, is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants, providing a safe harbor for those in need. With lots of talk by Donald Trump about building a wall along the southern border, a major piece of his presidential bid, its worth noting the dilemma many undocumented immigrants face after being released from ICE custody. Occasionally they're cleared of any wrong doing and need a place to go, lest they be left to wander the streets. Some undocumented immigrants, many I imagine, are being accused of crimes they didn't commit and face extradition before their cases can be heard in a court of law. These immigrants are forc
Christmas Across the Border A Christmas trip to Arizona Laughing and joking our way Across the desert on a bus A happy and joyous affair Would soon turn into a nightmare Tucson lights at night Sinaloa so long ago It seems... But only the day before Our broken navidad dreams A lone toddler’s shoe Sits on the roadside A single sad sole That tells the tale Of a hurried escape Just ahead of the law With sirens screaming And searchlight beams That blind and shatter Our holiday dreams Broken down bus Southbound lanes La migra licking their chops The officer frowns The cruiser slows down And quickly comes to a stop Checking our papers He lets out a sigh His face is blurred Through my only good eye A scar runs down my cheek From hairline to chin The officer thinks I'm a freak I can tell from his ugly grin My wife carries our son Almost the age of three Born with only one arm A
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