spanish
spanglish
hispanic
is north america’s second language
taught poorly in schools
coached in offices
shouted from rooftops
and cackled in homes
my mom really only spoke fluently
when she was angry or gossiping
it never sounded romantic to me
like its own heaviness
a language
to be muttered
under the breath of grumpy puerto rican men
as morenos walk by
for second generation children to scold their children
and for Hollywood
whenever a character
needs to curse in a pg-13 movie
Lest we not forget
fateful days that
molded a people in the belly of a torn open beast
in the name of someone else’s peace
I live here
breathing in the screech of a poorly managed system listen to the cluttered steps passing by ignoring me
while i lull myself to sleep with piss cement blocks for sheets
I am here
representative of the underbelly of these so called streets
the catacombs of an eyes wide shut city Feel me
in every devastatingly dirty train car rattling through the tunnels of my home
I cant go home
So I claim this for my own
You’ve seen me
every piece of blue plastic you sitin or pole you wrap your grubby fingers around holding on for dear life
praying to whoever that its your stop so you dont have to talk to me
Down here is a new hierarchy
i am king if the meek shall inherit the earth then i get the subway
the crying children and filthy tracks
hobos homeless guys bums and sideshow acts
the peddlers and loiters or the guys who hop up & down the aisle holding out thier hats
sharing sob stories of grave misfortune so you ll cut them some slack
people shoveling McDonalds trying not to look fat
hustlers thieves every MTA employee who takes his job way too seriously killers robbers rapists & drunks
We all are here
YOu pay admission to witness our society at its finest from Brooklyn to the Bronx and back
we are the back of a jungle laying on its back
legs open and willing for any customer that dips his card in the turnstile
turn while peering at the surface of the plate glass
we are your reflection
gurgling below the pavement craving retribution
Hosts of lonely souls coast through the streets
feel like desperation when I breathe deep
just trying to keep up with fast feet
if I stop my mind will catch thoughts that creep around my sleep
I am the gaping hole after the tower’s destruction
nothing but blood and hollow exoskeleton
hot to the touch so I must still be alive
But how could anything have survived
buch a vicious blow was so unexpected
It took my hope, structure, foundation when it crash landed
the phoenix reborn among these swaying rooftops
shake off ash and debris
where my heart beat stops is the location of the excavation
Dig me a new soul that’s not half-empty
with repatriation, false devotion, love and harmony
rebuild me in your eyes as how I’m meant to be
In memory of those who continue to die all around me
in these streets, malleable like hot leaded fingers
that grab at son’s sneakers
pushing him to the edge
the city barely gets by on integrity
push him inside, it’s dark down here
Broken back and crumpled spirit
I am the hole in the chest of concrete that can’t be fixed
Sublime in its suckiness
Does that make me beautiful as I coast through the city’s mist
brushing off unhappiness as the sun peeks from behind stratus clouds
ashy smoke bags hazy in their existence
as they hang in the sky over us
the sounds of sirens unheeded
so we burn our city to the bone with our music
The absence of those well-acquainted with the night
leave holes in already unfulfilled souls
The Poetry Corner 