This Is Not California Poem by Juan Olivarez

This is not California,
I realize as I come awake.

This is not California.

I drag myself to the window,
To seek verification.

There is no snow covered mountain,
to the west.

There are no Joshua trees,
Or Cholla bushes,
In my line of vision.

There are no Coyotes in my driveway.
There are no raucous ravens on the Desert willow,
Hell, there isn't even,
A Desert Willow.

There is only an endless stretch,
Of Rio Grande flat delta land,
That rolls endlessly on, disappearing on a faded horizon,
Amidst the haze of the fires in Mexico

This is not California.

May,10,2015