Chiming church bells in Colonia Americana
rouse me from tequila dreams
of white swans soaring over Lake Chapala
I dress, eat my oatmeal and banana
and begin another day
in Guadalajara with its baroque basilicas
bustling plazas and plaster saints

Where sensuous senoritas wearing stiletos
bursting blouses and designer jeans stroll
on cracked sidewalks and cobblestone streets
Their dark eyes sparkling
on calle La Paz and Boulevard Chapultepec

where young men in dred locks and Indian women
display bracelets, trinkets and charms
as corpulent kids munch on chicharrones
and sup sodas while I wander
on my way to la Feria Internacional del Libro*
where we gather together to worship
at the altar of the written word made flesh

*International Book Fair
paz y bien tomas 2011