By Jeff Schiff

Not

By Jeff Schiff

Not my first third world barkathon sleep pierced by jumbled curs

Not my first courtyard fountain mask and lull bus and phlegmy snores be damned

Not my first sandaled morning shuffle through volcanic ash season of belch and spew

Not my first migratory warbler pink-headed wine-throated bar-winged feathers that could spawn a new faith

Not my first central market Guava Guayaba Jocote every stall a fruity similitude

Not my first for sure Juan will Jose will Rafael will unclog tomorrow replace tomorrow spray tomorrow your running toilet your fusty curtain those bugs beneath the kitchen sink

Not my first roadside cairn twig cross photo frame bits and memorial bobs sum of zigzag rattletrap eyes for an instant pulled from the road

Not my first shardtopped wall charged razorwire hedgehidden compound whittled bamboo keepthehellaway

Not my first cobblestone lurch wine and local tidbits lovey-dovey purr and coo home to consummate on rented sheets