April 27, 2022: Ode to Tortillas, José Olivarez
Ode to Tortillas
José Olivarez
thereâs two ways to be a Mexican writer
that weâve discovered so far.
you can be the Mexican writer who writes about tortillas
or you can be the Mexican writer who writes about croissants
instead of the tortillas on their plate.
(can you be a Mexican writer if youâre allergic to corn?)
thereâs two ways to be a Mexican writer that are true
& tested. you can write about migration
or you can write about migration.
(can you be a Mexican writer if you never migrated?
if your family never migrated?)
thereâs two ways to be a Mexican writer. you can translate
from Spanish. or you can translate to Spanish.
or you can refuse to translate altogether.
thereâs only one wound in the Mexican writerâs imagination
& itâs the wound of the chancla. itâs the wound of birria
being sold out at the taco truck. itâs the wound
of too many dolores and not enough dollars. it can be argued
that these are all chanclazos. even death is a chanclazo.
thereâs only one miracle gifted to Mexicans
& it is the miracle of never running out of cheap beer.
itâs the miracle of never running out of bad jokes.
thereâs infinite ways to eat a tortilla:
made in the ancient ways by hand
& warmed on a comal. made with corn
or with Taco Bell plastic. (what about flour tortillas?)
flour tortillas count if you ask San Antonio.
my people i am poly with the tortillas.
you can eat tortillas with your hands or roll them up
& dip them in caldo like my mom does.
you can eat them with a fork and knife
like my bougie cousins do. (what bougie cousins?)
(i made them up for the purpose of this poem.)
you can eat tortillas in tacos or warmed up
by microwave and drizzled with butter. tortillas
con arroz. tortillas con frijoles. tortillas flipped by hand
or tortillas flipped with a spatula. tortillas with eggs for breakfast.
tortillas fried and sprinkled with sugar for dessert. hard-shell
tortillas. gluten-free tortillas for our mixed family. we are still
discovering new ways to fold a tortilla. to cut a tortilla up.
to transform a tortilla into new worlds. to feed each other
with tortillas. my people: if i have children, i will teach them
about tortillas, but iâm sure theyâll want McDonaldâs.
2021:Â Say Thank You Say Iâm Sorry, Jericho Brown
2020: The Restoration, Gary Jackson
2019: The Termite, Ogden Nash
2018: Elegy, W.S. Merwin
2017: Young Wifeâs Lament, Brigit Pegeen Kelly
2016: For the Confederate Dead, Kevin Young
2015: Awaking in New York, Maya Angelou
2014: when you have forgotten Sunday: the love story, Gwendolyn Brooks
2013: Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey, Hayden Carruth
2012: My Place, Franz Wright
2011: from The Wild Geese, Wendell Berry
2010: Love After Love, Derek Walcott
2009: To This May, W.S. Merwin
2008: Father, Ted Kooser
2007: from Little Sleepâs-Head Sprouting Hair in the Moonlight, Galway Kinnell
2006: Crusoe in England, Elizabeth Bishop
2005: Dream Song 1, John Berryman
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