Juan Olivarez Poems

I got a tree full of nuts,
That keep hanging around.
Since the party began,
They won't light on the ground.
...

Ode to a sour pickle,
To pucker up your puss.
Lay down a shiny nickel,
Come on, don't be a wuss.
...

Blinded by the light,
The sun is unrelenting.
The sand is hot and oh, so bright,
I just can't keep from squinting.
...

Some days everything goes wrong,
You choke on your orange juice, and burn your eggs.
And you feel like you don't belong,
And then a dog pees on your legs.
...

This really was a rotten day,
My best lure is in a tree.
And the fish I caught, have slipped away,
Now they are swimming free.
...

There is a veil that separates,
Our Earthly world from theirs.
So you should stop to meditate,
Lest they catch you unawares.
...

Que lindos son los nopalitos,
Con chile rojo bien guisados.
Con pequenos camaroncitos,
Y muy bien encebollados.
...

Sitting high on a mountain side,
I gazed at the coming sun.
I watched the ravens start to glide,
With the new day just begun.
...

How insignificant is man,
Standing on a mountain high?
Wondering if somehow he can,
Reach up and touch the sky.
...

In the Mojave's burning sand,
Something glittered like lost gold.
So I picked it up in my hand,
It was an anchor I did hold.
...