Before I loved the Plaza . . .

Before I loved the Plaza,

there was dust, a deserted bus station,

small, dirty, dead end streets,

and the Malecon

was grey.

Green came first to the city,

and turned it into a town.

I found the lime-leaf archway

that had been there all along.

The cobblestones were cool and even,

and even the stray dogs stayed in the shade at the side,

asleep, away.

Roots broke pavement,

grew vines, leaves, and flowers beneath my feet,

in the space of a stride,

in one breath’s time.

Emerging on the far side of the archway,

I stood on the tumbled stones of the Malecon,

saw the sun on the sea,

how the yellow shows the water’s brightest blue.

I choose. I choose.

Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico 01/06