COSTA CHICA, MEXICO - poem

Missionaries come face
to face with poverty
in the village, where spark-eyed
children ignore garbage
strewn about, wild
dogs sniffing, strangers drilling
for water beside
coconut-stick houses
so children can be
clean and have a new way
of life. Soon families
come dressed for
Polaroid photos, hair combed,
cheeks filled with smiling
teeth. Yes Gringos, dig
more wells like those in Las
Penas and El Paso.