So little is said about
those others who
endlessly cross the border
without permission:

lizards slipping under
the new wire

smirking coyote scenting
grouse

brown-gray javelinas
who seem to fancy themselves
lords of every country they set foot on

red-eared sliders who
work the Rio Grande

and always, in that
freedom which seems
to ignore our lines and preoccupations
as angels must ignore them,

always of course the

birds

 

This article appears in February 2021.

Tim J. Myers is a writer, songwriter, storyteller, visual artist and senior lecturer at Santa Clara University,. His 16 children’s books have won recognition from The New York Times, NPR and the Smithsonian. He has published five poetry collections, as well as a nonfiction book on fatherhood.