I stumbled upon this book at my library's used bookstore and bought it largely for the City Lights rep and migrant worker background. This collection ranges from the overtly political and intensely personal and back again -- many appearing in both English and Spanish. Reading it I kept separate lists of the poems that I loved that put a smile on my face and those that I loved that broke my heart into pieces. I ended up writing down too many to list them all here, so I will just list one favorite of each -- "Smiling Dragon" for making me smile and "Borderbus" for making my heart ache.

While I liked some of the more lighthearted poems and loved all the references to the American Southwest -- what I loved most about this collection were the political poems -- those that raged or railed or wept at injustice. These glow with personal conviction and soul. ( )

This is an explosive, diverse, and ambitious book of poetry by the newly-ordained US Poet Laureate - the first Latino to ever hold that title. Here is a collection of thirty-eight poems, organized into eight sections; each section takes its name from one of the poems within it. The topics range from USA/Mexico immigration, to the treatment of Black Bodes by our justice system, to works of art and music, to the very makeup of our identities as humans in this world. There is so much to unpack in these poems...I feel that I have just scratched the surface.

The poet is, at times, direct with his language - such as in "Borderbus" when two immigrants have been detained while trying to enter the US. At other times, he plays with the very nature of language and its ability to convey and portray events. An example of this is the poem "but i was the one that saw it (drone aftermath)" where letters and numbers are used to explore the scene of a drone attack on a group of civilians.

The way in which a poet can take a single concrete topic, and translate it into a broader abstract emotion or experience is a continual source of magic for me - why I love to read poetry. This collection is a brilliant example of just such artistry. ( )