I wanted to see--
I wanted to-- actually, I did a poem in this collection
that, to me, it was a poem that opened the door to a new life
for me.
I did this poem, a poem came out,
and it's called "Ode to Tomatoes."
I love tomatoes.
[LAUGHTER]
You know?
Today I had dinner at the Kingfisher
and I ordered some fish.
But when they said that one of the ingredients was Chipotle,
I said I have to have Chipotle.
For me, Chipotle is very important
because it has tomato and has chili.
And so this is my "Ode to Tomatoes."
It says-- "'Ode to Tomatoes.'
They make friends anywhere.
Red smiles in salads.
Tender, young, and generous.
Hot salsa dancers, round corners of the kitchen.
Hard to imagine cooking without first asking their blessings."
And after I did this poem, I decided
to write poetry for children because now I have
four nieces and five nephews.
They're about three months old to about 13 years old now.
And I did not find too many books published in a bilingual
format in inglés, en español.
And so I did my first book after, actually,
asking the publisher for four years
that I wanted to do a collection of poems.
And they told me, poetry doesn't sell, Francisco.