In Love With Space

A new mercado opened in Tepoztlan,

a four story building in the heart of town.

Surprisingly well constructed, with unmatched

vistas of the mountains and the valley.

It replaces the market that’s been there forever,

with it’s ramshackle stalls, crowded together,

plastic sheets protecting from the rain not well.

It’s the first big change to the town since I’ve

been here, twenty years. Open, airy and breezy,

feeling out of doors, earthquake reinforced, the

right answer to a chronic question.

No bad vibes of McMansions, strip malls,

condos on top of one another. It’s happy

industrial magic, if that is even a thing,

compatible with the magic that abides here.

As an ex plumber, I admire the quality of

workmanship with a bit of astonishment.

There are capable people in Mexico, but

sometimes they’re hard to find.

A gringo saying about Mexico is:

“Mexico: the country that almost works.”

In this case, it does.

Sometimes poems are about ordinary things.

Poets always go where the magic is.