Mexico Farewell Poem by Frank V. Gardner

Six years we've lived in Mexico,
And now it's time to go.
We're headed back to Washington,
Where winter brings the snow.

The winters here are warmer though;
In Juarez it was dry.
Sonora baked in sunlight,
Under blue and open sky.

But, if we wanted weather,
We would not have made a bet
That New Laredo was a place
To be so drippy wet.

Aside from weather, there are
Many things to talk about:
That we have learned your 'espanol, '
We don't think there's a doubt.

We like your food, we sing your songs,
Of course, your dances, too.
Your beauty has rubbed off on us,
The way good cultures do.

We'll take these things back home with us,
To use them when we can....
And tell them tales of Mexico,
Its people, and its land.

The people and the land,
Oh, how inseparable they are.
The people's love of 'patria'
Is like a shining star.

Of all the things we think about,
As our time here now ends,
The things we cherish most of all
Are having you as friends.

To Mexico, a fond farewell.
To friends, our gratitude,
For making these six years with you
A pleasant interlude.


(Recited to our friends at a farewell dinner,
'La comida de despedida, ' on June 24,1972,
in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.)