BIO
César Leonardo De León is a resident of McAllen, Texas. His poetry has been published in the anthologies Along the River 2: More Voices From the Rio Grande, and Juventud!: Growing up on the Border among other anthologies and journals. In 2012, César received a Golden Circle Award from The University of Columbia Press for his poem “Us”, and in 2014 he was awarded 2nd place in poetry from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. He is currently working on his MFA in Creative Writing with a Certificate in Mexican American Studies at The University of Texas-Pan American.
The First Cold Front in El Valle
The first cold front in El Valle is
shopping at the meatmarket to make
caldo de res for dinner,
even though the temperature will only drop
into the 70's that night.
You have to find the right cut of carne
with thick white marrow
still in the bone; the butcher knows the kind.
From the small produce section
you pick calabazita tierrna ,carrots,
small juicy valley limes, and cabbage
that will turn translucent as the fatty broth boils
sending waves of cumin-fragrant
steam to cling on the windows.
If we are lucky, the northern will arrive with rain
driven sideways by a stiff wind
that will ruffle palm fronds
that never turn red, orange, or yellow.
That never fall in the short blue-gray days of winter
like the leaves on the trees
in the calendar of the kitchen wall.