by Pilar Saavedra-Vela
 |
| Vusala Yusifova and her daughter, Inji, asylum seekers from Azerbaijan, cutting a client’s hair in Monteverde, Costa Rica. |
Trump Deported Them. A Costa Rican Mountain Town Took Them In. —The New York Times, April 16, 2026
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. —Matthew 25:31-46
The cicadas have been silenced
by the chill of the oncoming night
On the highway, under a tree,
cardboard is home to a warm body
The cloud village of Monteverde
welcomes deported families
from Russia and Azerbaijan who sought
asylum in America
One Russian witnessed election cheating
another man protested in Azerbaijan
Imagine being denied American
solidarity, shown instead a boot
all the way to Costa Rican limbo
to find help among the Quakers
Korean war objectors
who settled a mountain top
The poet’s song has been silenced
by the chill of the oncoming night
The tired, poor yearning masses
cradled by the foreigners as their own.
Pilar Saavedra-Vela is a student of poetry, painting, and acting, former editor and translator. Born in Colombia, she grew up in the US and now lives in Costa Rica. Pilar's poetry has been published in Passagers and The New Verse News.
by the chill of the oncoming night
On the highway, under a tree,
cardboard is home to a warm body
The cloud village of Monteverde
welcomes deported families
from Russia and Azerbaijan who sought
asylum in America
One Russian witnessed election cheating
another man protested in Azerbaijan
Imagine being denied American
solidarity, shown instead a boot
all the way to Costa Rican limbo
to find help among the Quakers
Korean war objectors
who settled a mountain top
The poet’s song has been silenced
by the chill of the oncoming night
The tired, poor yearning masses
cradled by the foreigners as their own.
Pilar Saavedra-Vela is a student of poetry, painting, and acting, former editor and translator. Born in Colombia, she grew up in the US and now lives in Costa Rica. Pilar's poetry has been published in Passagers and The New Verse News.
