Mexico City 1965

I am on a bus
Somewhere south
Of the Rio Grande,
Headed towards
Mexico City with
My friend Paul
Whose family will
Host us for part
Of the summer.
We are both fresh
Graduates of H.S.
And fearless of danger.
How I talked my parents
Into this trip I know not,
We stay in Satélite NW
Of Mexico City and bus
In each day to museums
And murals and the magic
Of Xochimilco, Teotihuacan,
Tlacopan and Chapultepec.
I drink the water,
Breathe the air,
Eat the food.
My Spanish allows me
To communicate and learn.
The place takes me heart,
Mind, body and soul.
We travel to the
Mountain caves,
Through Guerrero
To Acapulco and
The old markets of
Curanderos y herbs.
We head back north
To Texas and college,
Passing through a
Smallpox outbreak
And the perils of the road,
Arriving each at our home,
Wiser and aware of
Other nations,
Other customs,
Other magic
And ourselves.
I will never
Forget.