02. THE AUTHENTIC SKULLS OF PANCHO VILLA

THE AUTHENTIC SKULLS OF PANCHO VILLA

My brother and I strolled with our father
down Juarez avenue,
we were going see the silversmith,
and some other men my father knew,
when a voice from a darkened doorway
said “Senor, come in, take a look,
I’ve got something to show you that you’ve never seen
but maybe you read in a book”.

My father, being a curious man,
followed the fellow inside,
where we heard an eerie story
from our new found friend and guide.
He said, “They shot Pancho Villa,
but before he was put in the ground,
somebody cut off his ugly head
and never was it ever found”.

He pulled out an ancient, small, dusty trunk,
unlocked and unlatched the apparatus,
with a flourish revealing the treasure inside,
a human skull staring back at us!
“An opportunity like this, senor,
does not come along cada dia,
for one hundred pesos this prize can be yours,
the authentic skull of Pancho Villa.”

My father agreed that a chance like that
doesn’t come round every day,
a bargain was reached, Dad picked up the box,
and the three of us went on our way.
We went to sit down in the plaza,
and Dad bought us all lemonade,
when a man with a hatbox under his arm
approached as we sat in the shade.

He said, “I have something to show you,
and I swear on la Santa Maria,”
he opened the box, we peered in as he said,
“the authentic skull of Pancho Villa!”
My father scoffed, “That can’t be old Pancho’s skull,
I have the authentic one here,”
Dad opened his treasure box right on the bench,
and the street vendor drew very near.

He carefully studied the two boney globes
with an attitude of consternation,
his was the larger, my father’s more small,
so he offered this explanation:
“Yes, you have the skull of Pancho Villa
but, senor, you must understand,
that was his skull when he was but a child
this skull is when he was a man!”

When we crossed the bridge with no problems,
the border guards all knew my dad,
not one of them mentioned the boxes,
or asked what it was that we had.
And dad seemed pleased with himself though we knew
that mom wouldn’t like the idea
that we would be the trustees of
the authentic skulls of Pancho Villa.

Las Calaveras Auntenticas de Pancho Villa