Written by James Hannon
Flocking from Mexico
for a safe place
to eat milkweed and breed.
The anchor babies fly
north, farther north,
eat and breed.
And the next gen
do the same,
and at the far north
of their world
fifth gen Americans
long for home
and return to the place
they’ve never been.
Do they reflect
on this weird experience?
I know. I know.
Hard-wired for all this.
Get born,
learn to work the milkweed,
eat, breed, and die
or fly, and which is worse?
Let me speak on their mute behalf:
What do workers gain from their toil?
Do they notice the slowpokes
crossing the desert,
the mountains, more deserts,
past hundreds of crosses
built for the fallen?
Gray ghosts watch here
for friends and family.
Some cheer them on,
like marathon fans.
This is a hundred marathons.
Anderson Cooper did a special
in the Mexican mountains.
The entomologist said
The monarchs are popular,
because they’re charismatic,
large and beautiful.
Tourists were catching them
in those big nets so they could
be studied and protected.
Last year 20% more
made it back to Mexico.
No one’s sure why.
.
James Hannon is a psychotherapist in Massachusetts where he accompanies adolescents and adults recovering from addictions, disappointments, and deceptions. Recent work has appeared in Braided Way, Bull, South Florida Poetry Journal, Friends Journal, Heimat Review, and Vita Poetica. He writes about politics and culture at Joyful Resistance (jimhannon.substack.com).