The Northern Pass, The Southern Gate
The Rio Grande is a heart line through
This barren bleached bone valley
A great shared space
Gained ground
Claimed by man and his nations
A new place for crosses
Lines drawn
Guns drawn
We are breathing
The same air
The mosaic is whitewashed
Pastoral realism imposed
Exposed, desert-tested
No one is rested
White light sears delicate skins
Heat rolls into town like midnight trains
Visitors become resident contestants
Los lobos work as one
¿Dónde están tus pasaportes?
This is the northern pass
This is the southern gate
El Paso del Norte
An open door to trade with the Mexican Empire
Closed minds, a city in two parts
Falsely dived by a river that is not a wall
This water carries promises
This river moves mountains to the Gulf
Rocks are tumbled and turned
New muds are made
What resides behind these adobe facades?
Are the people in touch with the earth?
Are the people programmed on couches and screens?
Neighbors enemies
The same the other
Texicans rise!
Border bandits scare the programmed away
What is New York money and DC spin?
Frightful gangs with global reach
Border Patrol
New Texas Rangers
Hands on your heads
¿Dónde están tus pasaportes?
This is the northern pass
This is the southern gate
On this Imperial soil
I am free to testify
Free to break down and cry
No one owns a damn thing
In the desert
Clear sky new high
Ocotillo in bloom
There is so much room
This is antelope country
Rams on top
Rattlers in the squash patch
The Sun Bowl
No Country for Old Men
Fabricated westerns
The bloody sands are real
Barbed wire does rip your flesh
Guard dogs do bite the thigh
In this now, in this light
Be ready to make things right
There’s no place where you don’t mean a thing
You are an incredible being
¿Dónde están tus pasaportes?
This is the northern pass
This is the southern gate
