Source
r/OCPoetry•
asearchforyou

November 27th, 2020

The little ones are with Oma Austin,

so my wife reluctantly agrees to drive me,

without plan or gps, down backroads and bluelines,

in search of my favorite kind of random oasis:

authentic Mexican

in the pork tenderloin deserts

of corn maze Ohio.

​

We find what I think is a perfectly unassuming spot

for our mutually agreed upon date night

and settle in at the open air bar

on the second floor,

socially distanced,

me with a Corona, Connecticut with filtered water

in a reusable container

that she insisted on bringing straight out of her low-energy dishwasher at home.

​

Our bartender turns out to be the owner,

the waitress, his daughter,

crosses and cowboy hats and horses

decorate the restaurant

with Fox News

the only screen in the place

with the volume on.

​

I ask how long this palm tree has been in Salem.

"As soon as I had enough money," he answers,

"We came here to Greenfield with pockets full of nothing but our wildest ambition."

But why did you leave where you are from?

"Safety.. Opportunity.. I prayed, and it felt right."

​

My better half wasn't even paying attention.

She was too busy scowling at the television screen,

but I was fascinated by what this man had to say

and I was scratching my head

puzzled by something intriguing.

​

And then with one bite of the chili,

a surprising realization hit me

like Santa Anna chewing proto-wrigleys in Brooklyn.

My mother. has made. this. exact. same. recipe.

This Jose ain't Mexican. He's from Texas!

​

...

​

Then I sip my Corona,

inwardly swallowing the silent brilliance of my own transcendent thoughts,

only to find a new invention at my doorstep

arriving like an amazon delivered memory

of Davy Crockett dying at the Alamo.

​

^(Texans aren't Texan, Texas isn't Texas.)

We are renegade Mexicans!

​

Then I laugh out loud

ignoring eye rolls from the nalgene bottle six feet to my left

as I mutter something in my innermost thoughts.

​

Yes, that is where my family is from.

Moses Austin and company,

and we sure do miss our first wife..

right about..

now

​

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/m9zr1g/she_waits_for_us/grtja1o/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/mar2kt/stay_in_control/grtrarv/?context=3

Posted Mar 22, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC · edited

56
Casual_Gangster•

How very Ratatouille!

It’s a double realization prompted from taste which then tracks through space and then across culture. We move rapidly from Ohio to Texas and then to Mexico all through that bowel of chili. If someone where to sketch that it would be a knot.

More to come...

2
asearchforyouOP•

all through that bowel of chili

Thank you?

1
Casual_Gangster•

phonethumb wins a-gain

2
Low-Tie-9668•

I think this great, the food imagery in the beginning perfectly set up the poem. I think, to me, this is about hypocrisy. Specifically, you draw attention to the fact that Texas was once Mexican territory. Overall, I think it was spot on, and I also like your use of italics, and different fonts.

2
asearchforyouOP•

My better half wasn't even paying attention.

She was too busy scowling at the television screen,

but I was fascinated by what this man had to say

and I was scratching my head

puzzled by something intriguing.

I think this stanza is really important, but I'm not sure there is a single meaning or take away to the poem overall. Here "Connecticut" isn't listening to this man, but the narrator is starting to. The narrator is discovering a kinship that was hiding in plain sight.

1
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