All Aboard

Take the Amtrak from Santa Ana to LA
across town through back alleys
and graffiti marked riverbeds

the Amtrak with its steady rock
whistling through road crossings

connecting two Spanish towns

along a railroad track

We’ll get off at Union Station
walk a block to Olvera Street
see folkloric dancers and mariachi bands

Visit vendors selling traditional wares
sombreros and leather goods,
guitars and marionettes.

The smell of churros will fill the air

carne assada, guacamole and tortillas too
tempting all those who walk through

this single street of historic memory
depicting a place in Mexico.

Lots of music and conversations as we
wander through stores and churches
then back home again on the Amtrak.