November 1915
Pancho Villa wasn’t seeking asylum
when he splashed across the Santa Cruz
on horseback with 1,500 men, criss-crossed
bandoliers & carbines into Nogales,
Arizona. Atención Gringos!
said the handbills. For Gold
& Glory Come Ride with Pancho
Villa. A thousand sombreros blunted
the Chihuahua sun & draped
shade on faces that faced death
many times. From Villa’s unbounded
grin, inflected by the coal-black swash
of el bigote, his moustache, laughter
roars & you feel the magnetic thrill
of personality that made peasants believe
they’re free. Or could be. A hundred
years later, that photo sells tacos.
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