poetry Undocumented

California poet Esther Kamkar’s “Undocumented” puts the great Wall debate in botanical perspective.

Esther Kamkar
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Undocumented

By Esther Kamkar

 

Come over here,

I have something to show you.

The indigenous border-crossers

oblivious to guards and checkpoints

blanket the fields.

 

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Heliotropo smells like vanilla.

Sagebrush, is silvery-green artemisa.

The red of ocotillos, not the same

as the red of fairy dusters, zapotillos,

in harmony with yellow creosote flowers

and orange desert mallow.

What difference does a wall make?

Sun cup’s only story is the story of yellow.

A former “illegal alien,” Esther Kamkar is currently living & writing in California. Her new book titled of such things (2018) is available on Barnes and Noble & Amazon.