the border    slippery ochre wall
torrents of discarded concrete
is the border real?

in El Paso
raw umber thrashers
in Cd. Juárez
raw umber thrashers
in El Paso
the deer that wears the moon
in Cd. Juárez
a hand that wears the moon
in El Paso
storytelling trees
in Cd. Juárez
trees that tell stories
in El Paso
wet melon
in Cd. Juárez
melón mojado
in El Paso
red chile tepin
in Cd. Juárez
red chiltepín
in El Paso
German tourists sad on balconies
in Cd. Juárez
German tourists sad on balconies
in El Paso
my Aunt Grace
in Cd. Juárez
my Great-Aunt Lupe

Venus slowly burning out
over a stepped pavilion

sweat-damp heads
hands shaping stone
canela      clove
raw umber thrashers

falseness of a fence
the oneness of our striving face

Charles Haddox lives in El Paso, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border, and has family roots in both countries. His work has appeared in over seventy journals including Chicago Quarterly Review, Commonweal, San Pedro River Review, and Stonecoast Review.