Jose Hernandez Diaz

Jose Hernandez Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He is from Southern California. He is the author of The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020). His work appears in The American Poetry Review, Boulevard, Cincinnati Review, Georgia Review, Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, The Nation, Poetry, and in The Best American Nonrequired Reading. Currently, he is an Associate Editor at Frontier Poetry and Guest Editor at Palette Poetry.

Content by Jose Hernandez Diaz

Poetry,

The Ollie

BY Jose Hernandez Diaz

A man in a Chicano Batman shirt skated along the border. He was going back to the U.S. Instead of waiting in line, he ollied over the border wall. As he landed, he crossed himself.

Then he went to Alberto’s Tacos. He ordered a California Burrito. When he was in México that summer, he had enjoyed plenty of authentic meals, but now that he was back in the States, he craved a Pocho classic: the California Burrito. Carne asada, fries, pico de gallo, sour cream, and a bit of salsa. He was set. It was delicious. When he finished, he rode to the bus station and headed back to Southeast Los Angeles. It was the last day of winter.