SECOND COMING
Now, I want to address this—
this situation—
if you want to call it that—
I guess it’s a situation
we have going on down in Mexico—
where else, where else—
no offense to Mexico
and the wonderful people
the good ones
who live in Mexico—
people will say—
I can hear them already—
people will say I said this, I said that—
he hates Mexicans!
I can hear them now—
let them say whatever they want,
we know the truth.
So, we have this situation,
if you want to call it that,
down in Mexico—
though it goes beyond Mexico
because people are saying—
well, you know what people are saying
about this boy—
how old is he, thirteen, fourteen—
that he’s the second—
I can’t even bring myself to say it—
it feels wrong, doesn’t it—
and of all places, Mexico—
again, there’s nothing wrong with Mexico—
actually, there’s a lot wrong with Mexico,
a lot of problems in Mexico,
but if there’s ever going to be a second coming—
I didn’t want to say it, but okay—
it would be an American,
let’s face it, we all know that,
because this is the greatest country on—
and have you seen photos of this boy,
he’s a little bit, how to say it without—
let’s just say that some people,
and I can see why,
maybe you felt this way too,
take a close look, the shape of the face, the body,
some people mistook him for a girl,
there’s something, what’s that word,
androgynous,
you know that word,
there’s something—
you look and you’re not sure,
boy or girl,
the long hair, long eyelashes,
maybe he goes by they-them-it,
who knows,
but we’ll say he—
he doesn’t say much,
have you noticed that,
other people say things about him,
I find that strange,
don’t you,
other people say he’s this and that,
they use the word messiah,
they’re actually using that word
down in Mexico,
and here’s the thing,
he’s never denied it,
and let me tell you,
I know about having to deny things,
if someone says something about you
that’s not true,
you have to deny it,
you have to,
you deny it aggressively,
but this kid, boy, girl, who knows,
doesn’t say a word
when they say what they say about him,
which to me says something,
and we have all these reports
of miracles and healings,
the blind can see, the lame can walk,
people rising from the dead—
this is what people are saying,
but he denies nothing,
which means that he—
listen, what I want to know is
why are there so many blind and lame
in this small town in Mexico
where this kid lives,
what’s going on there,
this kid’s born and there’s a boom
in people who need healing,
what’s happening down there—
sometimes people are the opposite
of who we think they are,
that’s all I’m saying,
and this is all over the news,
it’s all anyone can talk about
when there are much more important things
to talk about,
like today—
look at all of you out there,
who knows how many tens of thousands,
people are making pilgrimages to Mexico
to see this kid,
many, many people,
but nowhere near as many
as are in this arena today,
the news wants to talk about him,
they inflate the numbers,
and you know what,
if he were American, they’d ignore him,
because they hate America,
but he’s Mexican,
so it’s all right to say he’s this and that,
frankly, I think it’s sacrilegious,
it’s anti-Christian to say what people are saying
about him-they-it,
maybe he’s a thing,
you’ve seen that movie where—
you know the one where the alien
from outer space, and everyone thinks
he’s here to save the world,
but in the end—
well, you know how that ended—
I mean, if you had a video of the kid
walking on water, even then I’d say
it’s fake, it’s AI, you can do anything
with AI, believe me, you can’t believe
anything these days—
like I said, there’s something very strange
going on down in Mexico,
and I don’t mean good-strange,
I’ll leave it at that,
and if you’re looking for a second coming,
if you’re looking for someone
to save us,
well, I don’t want to say here I am,
I’ll say here we are,
all of us in this arena today—
and I’d debate that kid,
I’m not afraid,
not that he says much,
he’d probably just stand there
and stare at me—
gives me the creeps—
we’ll have a staring contest,
I’ll look into his eyes,
I won’t blink,
he can look into my eyes
as long as he wants,
he won’t find anything there.
—from Poets Respond
January 7, 2024
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Nicholas Montemarano: “When Donald Trump visited Iowa this week, he continued his longstanding tactic of fearmongering about ‘terrorists’ and people from ‘mental asylums’ crossing the border from Mexico to the United States. My imagination took things from there: How would Trump respond to something seemingly miraculous happening in Mexico? The double meaning of the title occurred to me only after I’d written this persona poem.” (web)
