when we played lotería
I was expected to like La Sirena
the roundness of breasts rendered on cardboard
should’ve lured me
into the depths of manhood
I liked El Mundo instead
his chest wide, his back ample
the world balancing on the mounds of his shoulders
the authority of his thighs governing my gaze
César Leonardo de León is a poet and activist from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. He is one of the four poet organizers for Poets Against Walls, a collective that aims to tell, document, and share communal stories along the borderlands/la frontera. His collection of poetry, Speaking with Grackles by Soapberry Trees, where “El Mundo” is found, is the winner of the Texas Institute of Letters John A. Robertson award and the Philosophical Society of Texas Best Book of Poetry award. He is also co-editor of I Love Us: Queer Voices from South Texas and the Borderlands is set to release later in the year.
Chapin City Blues 
Leave a reply to National Poetry Month 2025 – Chapin City Blues Cancel reply