SHINING DARKNESS
Shining darkness on five a.m. streets. Ssssssss mmmmmmmmmm zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzAP .
earliest traffic whispersCat on top storefront roof meow meow meow.red neon crosses
catedral
Man on corner. Dog watching.Car radio blasting @ 3rd and D cliche
bestride the bakery that never closes.Latin city awakens before dawn.
This is the corner full of action.Brown man sweeps corner while
white food cart trundles past.Cream & Yellow route taxis to the
beaches -- Playas de Tijuana -- await
their morning crowd of housekeepers
and gardeners hustling to work for
their middle class & rich houses.I linger and scribble in my notebook, then move
on, east toward Constitution and Revolution.Between those two main streets, still silent,
the wig store is brilliantly lit, but nearby in
darkened arcade entrance, seven bodies sleep
tucked under dwarvish grey-brown blankets.I glance across no empty traffic to
the herds of gold & white Otay taxis
waiting their morning customers to the
factories and maquiladoras tecnologicas.Soon, soon, soon, they will come.
Turn the corner onto Revolution. One
lone taco cart shines its welcome. Skies
hang still, dark overhead. Thursday pre-dawn
bars stand deathly silent. Ain't no weekend
morning-after crudo awakening, this is q u i e t .But then comes a noise on the REVO...
the whistling of high-priced taxis especiales
who see me walking alone, and manouver to
attract my eye, my hand, my fare.I laugh and shake my head, no. One or
two wave, good naturely, at my smile,
then move on to hunt the darkness.They know. I know. We share in
this secret. I write it down:Friendliness is sometimes worthThe streetlight flickers on and off.
more than the yankee dollar
(and always worth more
than the yonqui frown).Sanborn's half a block up from 3rd,
looks open. Yes. It is.Go
inforc o f f e e .
TJ Poemas
Mesopoemix
Gringo