Hardshell, soft-shell, breakfast, Indian, and puffy – whatever taco you fancy, there’s one perfect poem about this delish dish here.
Tacos come from Mexico and have become a popular meal in many parts of the world. They’re made with a crunchy or soft shell, usually filled with meat, cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, and sour cream. Sometimes they are topped with guacamole or salsa. Some people also use ketchup or hot sauce on tacos. Hungry yet?
Here are 13 tasty taco poems for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Taco Poems For Children or Taco Fans
These fun poems are perfect poems for kids or taco lovers of all ages. Some of them are actually written by kids themselves!
1. Taco Shells
Taco shells are made of yellow corn meal.
They are tasty and crunchy, and usually a good deal.
You can stuff them with ground beef, chicken, or even fish.
Fill them up with plenty of whatever you wish.
Tacos are something folks north of the Rio Grande adore.
However, they break too easily and spill their contents on the floor.
—Robert Pettit
2. Taco Land
I’m from Mom and Dad.
I’m from tacos de carne asada.
From agua calientes and Mexico.
From “Hija, ve hacer tu tarea.”
I’m from Taco Land.
I’m from Mom and Dad.
I’m from puppies.
—Haley G.
3. Where are the Skunks in Tacos?
Where are the skunks in tacos?
Do they hide under the lettuce,
or are they melted into the cheese?
Are they ground up with the beef,
or at the bottom of the salsa cup?
Are they baked in the shell,
or in the seeds of the spicy jalapenos?
Where, oh, where, is that stinky, shoddy, skunk?
—Jack, Jackie, Arush and Aneesh
4. Valentine for Ernest Mann
You can’t order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, “I’ll take two”
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, “Here’s my address,
write me a poem,” deserves something in reply.
—Naomi Shihab Nye
5. Three Taco Haiku Poems
wolfing down the mess
carnage on my plate, my face
cheese in fingernails
beans everywhere
i am gasping, salsa breath
lettuce is wilting
tapatio drips
onion lingers on my tongue
i look up, it’s done
—Dina Klarisse
Funny Poems about Tacos
Light, funny, and engaging, these taco poems will definitely make you crave a taco or two.
6. Mid-Western Taco Stand
I frequent a little taco stand
Every time that I’m out west
With Elvis behind the counter
Dressed in his leathers best
Janice Joplin doing dishes
With Southern Comfort breath
Arguing with fry cook Jim Morrison
Over the best way of cheating death
Jimi Hendrix works the tables
That they have set up out front
Recommending the mushroom taco
With the psychedelic crunch.
—Mike Hauser
7. Ode to Taco
Taco, oh taco!
What would the world be
Without your spicy flavor?
You are without doubt
The most wonderful food
Known to mankind.
Oh, but how unattractive we all look
While eating you, oh taco!
With stray pieces of lettuce
Hanging out of our mouths
As we try to take a bite.
And, alas, we must position our heads horizontally
In order to take a single bite
Of your heavenly being!
—Rubber Soul
Last night, I bought a 12-pack of tacos
at Taco Bell, not because I was
especially hungry, but because I could.
My ship had come in, you see,
and for once, I was rolling in it.
I ate six of them in front of the television
while binging on episodes
of some Netflix series, not because
it was particularly engaging, but simply
because I could.
—Al Ortolani
9. Taco Sonnet
No other meal could be just right to please
The taco, in its might and in its storm
Complete with sour cream and blends of cheese
It has become the new meal of my norm
The downside is my stomach fills with gas
I wrote this while waiting for it to pass.
—Plume
Taco Poetry and Latin Heritage
Of course, taco poetry wouldn’t be complete without a few poems that celebrate Latin heritage and food. Here are some poems that will make you appreciate tacos and where they come from even more!
10. A Taco Poem That Answers the Meaning of Life
Give me guisado, carne
stewed, extra sauce on top—
Pork pulled into strips
crispy as carnitas, or soft
and loose like suadero—
I’ll take mine adobado,
the pollo un poco picante—
Grill and fill my tortilla
with fish a la plancha or pescado frito.
Puff up the tortilla or
make mine crunchy shell and let’s go
TexMex—it all makes me miss
familia, instead I can ask
for another taste to take me
to the calle where I can eat
my fill as the trompo still turns
and we can make any excuse
for uno mas por favor,
Sigue! The plate of cabrito
passed at the table,
a last meal with Tío, his chiste ready.
— Annelies Zijderveld
11. Ode to Tortillas
there’s infinite ways to eat a tortilla:
made in the ancient ways by hand
& warmed on a comal. made with corn
or with Taco Bell plastic. (what about flour tortillas?)
flour tortillas count if you ask San Antonio.
my people i am poly with the tortillas.
you can eat tortillas with your hands or roll them up
& dip them in caldo like my mom does.
you can eat them with a fork and knife
like my bougie cousins do. (what bougie cousins?)
(i made them up for the purpose of this poem.)
—José Olivarez
12. 23 Reasons Why Mexicanos Can Still Be Found in a Walmart
Because we will still pack Sabritas, Bonafont, and bedpan in our cars to wait in line for hours to show our green card.
Because we will still cross to Juárez to get tacos, tortas and steaks for the best taste and price.
Because we will still lick our fingers before grabbing the wheel to drive back to El Paso.
—Alessandra Narváez Varela
13. The Mexican Sandwich
Is it a tortilla with peanut butter and jelly,
or jalapeños piled on Wonder Bread?
Is it a coney made with tortillas,
or a Kaiser roll smothered
with salchichas y salsa mayonesa?
Is it chorizo con huevo on whole wheat,
or refried beans on white bread?
Is it the patron saint of botanas,
or a Mexican who can only speak English?
—Sánchez, Trinidad Jr.
More Poems You’ll Love
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