Eleven.

Ay Beto, I try to think about all the things
little boys like you should enjoy
when you're eleven.
Right now, you should be enjoying
shaved ice outside
after having chased down an ice cream truck
in today's hot summer sun.
or you should be on the sofa
playing a game of Angry Birds
on your older brother's smartphone.
Ay Beto, you should be thinking about
wanting a new bike,
or starting middle school,
or about the girls you'll meet in your new class.
I imagine you scrunching your face
when your brother jokes about
when you'll have your first kiss.
and that would've been okay, you know.
you didn't have to grow up as fast as he did.
you deserved more time to be eleven.
it took them so long to find you
because your bones were so small,
easily hidden in the brush.
what went through the border officer's head
when he found your jeans, covered with Angry Birds cartoons?
Ay Beto.
you deserved more time to be eleven.

Inspired by this article. For Gilberto Francisco Ramos Juarez and all the children who risk their lives crossing the southern U.S. border each day.