DEVIL'S HIGHWAY
It was May 2001
The sun felt like a fire
A bus had brought me from Vera Cruz
My blood fell on the wire
I will keep on walking
Toward the Interstate
Maybe there I’ll find forgiveness
And realize my fate
Been three days since I’ve seen someone
Two days without food
My gallon jug is half way empty
Or maybe it is full?
I curse the un-named coyote
Who promised he’d return
We’d meet at milepost 21
I guess my lessons learned
Por favor!-Isadora!
I can’t take this anymore!
I’m begging you please, to hear my pleas
And send your prayers to me
I crawled under a creosote
The shade was next to none
My mind told me to sleep forever
In the mid-day sun
My mirage became my Mother
Staring back at me
Telling me just like a Mother,
“Son I hear your plea”….
My thoughts then turned to Isadora
The one I did this for
I saw her smiling face before me
Then I saw no more
Like Angel wings her arms went round me, I was calm and cool
Moments passed like long embraces
I woke up like a fool
I finally struggled to my feet
I flagged down a ride
A young Chicano picked me up
I broke down and cried
I woke up near Tucson Town in a foreign land
Was this another crazy nightmare?
Was I still lying in the sand?
My new friend fed me and gave me names of Latinos just like me
Then I phoned my Isadora, she said she’d heard my pleas
Now, here I am in San Fransisco, Isadora’s by my side
Sometimes I think of the Devil’s Highway
And thank God I’m alive
Inspired by the novel "Devil's Highway" by Luis Alberto Urrea

SILENCIO
We paid the man, he packed us into the van
He said “Silencio”
Crossin’ over the line is a crime
This time we’re gonna make it
I could feel Maria’s fear-followed by a tear
As she held my hand
If we’re going to the land of the free
This man’s gotta take us
Last time we tried, we barely survived in the Sonoran sun
We were lost like children, all we could do was just run
We turned around and found a ride back to Naco
And we agreed that crossin’ the line is still possible
It’s just me and Maria, I hope they don’t see us
We’re running like refugees
We’re crossin’ over the line, I know this time we’re gonna make it
Next day he let us out
And with his back to the South, he said “Silencio”
We never had a chance to say “adios” to Mexico
Our future’s straight ahead unless we wind up dead in the desert
We ran all night and by morning light…we saw America
We’ll have two kids and a yard
A condo and a car---and money to spend
Or we’ll workin’ the farms-without green cards
West of Gila Bend
This time I knew a new friend who told me he had work for us
He locked us in a two room house with 20 campesinos
Next day a knock on the door and the border patrol said “Silencio”
Crossin’ over the line is a crime, you didn’t make it”….
And I whispered to Maria, “next time we’re gonna make it”
Inspired by my Immigrant Students

ANGEL IN THE DESERT
Buzzards they beckon and I’m down below
Escaping my freedom from old Mexico
I’m tired and I’m thirsty
I’ve run out of jerky
I don’t know which way to go
Coyote went away
After one day
He never intended to stay
He left like a thief -gave no relief
Like a dog I was thrown out his door
There’s an Angel in the Desert
She’s there to protect us
Like the Virgin of Guadaloupe
So if you jump the border
You better look for Her
Or death is the price that you’ll pay…
If there’s a Savior above me
I hope that He shows me
The way back to my old San Luis
But it’s a 105… I’m barely alive
Like a beggar I’m down on my knees
The state line’s patrolled by the Border Patrol
In that desert good men are found dead
Then I heard someone say
“Senor ya OK”??
There’s a water station just up ahead
With God as my guide I finally realized
I had circled back to my old San Luis
My family was waiting..I heard them saying
“Please don’t ever leave”
Todos los Mexicanos who die in that desert
I wish you had all of my luck
Cuz’ there’s buzzards above us, El Diablo below
When you escape from old Mexico…..
Dedicado a Los Inmigrantes

NO MORE CROSSES
“Buenas noches” She said as we went to bed
A breeze blew through the window
She was crying about the death of her brother
On the border of old Mexico, near the border old Mexico
Next day we went North to Nogales
To speak with the federales
To find out what really happened
We wanted the killing to cease, yes we wanted the killing to cease
They said, they found him lying near a desert spring
Said he probably never felt a thing
“He didn’t die of thirst, somebody shot him first”
Crossing into old Mexico, near the border of old Mexico
No more crosses, no more pain
No more ranchers who stake their claim
It’s like slave trade, Where’s the foreign aid?
It’s open season, whose to blame?
There was no price on his back
Who made this attack?
Who would murder this minority?
He was on his way back to see his family
After living in the land of the free
We tied two sticks together from the plant of the Ocotillo
We stuck the cross in the ground, Where her brother was found
And turned around to Hermosillo, went back home to Hermosillo
Sometimes when we walk in the desert
And feel the Northern breeze blow
It’s a message of hope from her brother
Near the border of old Mexico, From the border of old Mexico
“Buenas Noches” she said as we went to bed
A breeze blew in from the North
Dedicated to my good friend Miles

DIRTY DIAPERS
My Grandpa was a Mexican born down in Durango
Immigrated North to America now he’s called a Chicano
He came North for his Family
During the racial riots of ‘53
After 53 years he still wonders if he’s free
My Father cut cotton east of San Diego
And he always had the mark of a man straight out of Mexico
He got shot in the barrio
By a policeman’s gun near the Shop N’ Go
He was reaching for his wallet not knowin’ what was to come
In 50 years will it be the same?
Your skin color decides your name
Kinda like a dirty diaper it’s time for a change
Mother since then, she hasn’t been the same
That’s the way the cards fall when there’s ain’t no one to blame
She never does up her hair no more
Talks to the Lord and says “Por Favor!”
I guess we all need something to believe
I can still hear my Grandpa say
“Next year it will be O.K.”
Like an anxious little kid, I’m still waiting for that day
My Father cut cotton east of San Diego
And he always had the mark of a man straight out of Mexico
In 50 years will it be the same?
Skin color decides your name
Kinda like a dirty diaper it’s time for a change
Inspired from my Hispanic ESL students in 2003-4

MANIFEST DESTINY
The Gringo flies south on vacation
Spendin’ all the money he’s makin’
Surfin’ their beaches singing their songs
I heard him say that the migrant worker
Will never ever get no further than
“Washin’ our windows and mowin’ our lawns"
Census says at the rate they’re going
Minorities will be growin’ to 40 percent
Hell, he’ll be paying them rent
President Polk bought the western states
He gave 10 million then he closed the gate
Manifest Destiny from sea to sea
Pretty soon the tide will turn
Like watchin’ the Alamo burn
And we’ll all be singin’ the same songs
They say on the border last May, 1000 Latinos a day, were
Crossing the line just for minimum wage
But they’re dying out there in the desert
For all the dreams and the pleasure of
Washing new S.U.V.’s and stuccoing walls
Now they’re learnin’ English when they’re young
Love’s the same in every tongue
The law says to educate, there’s no time to hate
They’ll be sayin’ the Pledge of Allegiance
Instead of picking those peaches
And we’ll all be singing the same songs