Paraiso

I was recently reminded of one of my favorite poems. Published by the New Times, it starts:

You say Phoenix and Eden don’t mix,
That the PHX is more like the sticks.
But there are five million strong
To prove you wrong,
And if you don’t believe us, just listen to this:

In our Valley the sun never dies,
And winter, we think that’s a lie.
The cactus grow tall
The rain hardly falls
And though summer sucks, that’s no reason to cry.
(See, the gods made AC, so when it’s 100 degrees,
The cool air will make your blues go bye-bye.)

Now, Adam and Eve had it good
But did they eat Mexican food
Like that at Rosita’s?
Not even Mrs. Rita
Could predict tacos like those that we’ve chewed.

Ends on a particularly strong note:

Our Steve Nash is MVP for a reason,
Plus the Cards have a new home this season.
New arrivals come this way,
Sometimes hundreds a day,
There’s something about Phoenix that reels ’em.

The Zona is the new Promised Land,
Albeit one surrounded by sand.
It’s where the wise reside,
You might fault us our pride,
But whether for nice or for vice,
You don’t have to ask twice,

It’s the reason we call Phoenix “Paradise.”