albuquerque (poem)

(inspired by my trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico– March 2015)

albuquerque

I.

the coyote kisses the moon,
howling hot-spells on sonora deserts
still-breeze on stuccos and tiles

i shake hands with the cactus,
his needle teeth glistening in the sun
smoldering tequila from the patron,
giving us another on the rocks

II.

i listen to his stories while sleeping
on turtles, paddling mosaics
turquoise to the touch

wishing longevity, dreaming
lost enchantments on borderlands
crossed,

III.

i see her pueblo hands moving
the blistered earth toward back-waters
of the rio grande, she sings of flames
licking the patrol down by the laguna,
red bandana sweltering love for charted lands

once unknown, found, then forgotten:
no reservations at the margins

© Rebecca Goes Rendezvous, 2018