WEBVTT

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The next one was
titled "Caballero."

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And of course that refers
to-- means gentlemen,

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if you've been to a
Mexican restaurant--

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Damas [INAUDIBLE] and caballero.

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But it also refers to somebody--
a man-- who is infatuated,

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in love, obsessed
with horse culture--

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horses.

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And it begins with an epigraph
from one of my formative poets,

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Lorna Dee Cervantes.

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"Only symmetry harbors loss."

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"Caballero."

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"Throatlatch.

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Crupper.

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Martingale.

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Terret.

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My breath tightens around
him, like a harness.

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Once a year he eats
a spoonful of dirt

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from his father's grave.

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In his sleep, he mutters lines
from his favorite flick--

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Capulina Contra Los Vampiros.

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Summers, he hunts
underground water

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with a dowsing rod made from the
sun-bleached spine of a wolf.

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When a word stalls
on his tongue,

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he utters, suffering succotash.

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Stout, Apache, dark,
curious, and quick.

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He builds up the bridge
of his nose with clay.

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Mornings, he sings:
Dices que me quieres

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pero mi tienes trabajando.

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He spits into a tin cup
each time lightning strikes.

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In the small of his
back, I bury my hands.

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Once, lost in the desert, he
ate beak-punctured pitayas,

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pissed on his fingers
to keep them warm.

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Weekly, he plays poker
with other mojados.

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The winning hands teach
him more English--

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sawmill, three kings, presto.

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He pronounces my
name beautifully.

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His thumb, flecha de
sal, gancho de menta.

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In Nogales, he bought
a whiskey colored mutt.

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He named it Nalgas.

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He slipped a canary into
his father's coffin--

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its pecking, its
hunger, smoothing

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the creases of the face.

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With an old sock and black
coffee, he polishes his boots.

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Rosa salvaje.

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Corazón salvaje.

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The innermost part of
a castle is the keep.

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Andale, pues.

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When I ride him at
night, I call out

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the name of his first horse."

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And that's why my nephew
could not take this book--

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[LAUGHTER]

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--to show and tell.

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