I
Bang, Bang you are dead
One
Two
Three
An AIDS victim died
A B C Cuban refugees
Aliens across the fence
City bombers planning their next hit
A child cries for his mother
A crack-head breaks a glass window
A man builds a box
O.J. runs in his bronco
The Menendez cried in court
A lawyer points his finger
A mother drowned her kid
A cop chased a mugger
A woman holds a sign —Jesus Saves
The air is polluted
My friend hates his Father
His Father hates his Mother
His Mother is leaving his Father
The children are running away
The student carries a gun
The drug addict stops a car
The blind subway music man kicks his dog
A teenager drinks a beer
A preacher stands in a corner
A soldier shoots his rifle
A wedding takes place in the park
A rich man counts his money
A thirsty man asks for water
A clown smiles
A sinner prays
A dog barks
The train runs late
The light switch donʼt work
The Museum of Modern Art is free on Thursday
I look at my watch
I stretch a canvas
I mix some colors
I use a 2 1/2 inch brush
I listen to Gregorian Chants and
Cuban music
I change my style
I use acrylic paint
I nail plywood into the canvas
I look at myself in the mirror
I kill a roach
I make a painting of a barricade
I let it drip
I change the color
I don’t like it
I answer the phone
I change the color again
I flip the CD
Tom Waits sings
Goya canʼt hear
Vincent cuts his ear
Picasso goes to Spain
Mondrian goes to Broadway
Beckman smokes a cigarette
Frida cuts her hair
Baselitz upside down
Saulʼs Day-Glo
Arneson picks his nose
Tomorrow is coming
Tomorrow is today
Today is now
Now is present
4 de noviembre de 1995
II
1 fence
2 fences
3 fences
one wall
two walls
three walls
the border is the sea
blue, deep. Dense
transparent, mysterious, deadly
shark infested
guns
speeches
slogans
barbwire & guaguanco
across
the north
cold, clean & rich
the exile begins
border language one
border color two
border ghetto three
uprooted
in transit
on wheels
not here
nor there
spic
Spanish, Hispanic, latino
Coffee, fear & hope
Diaspora and rock & roll
Split, split, split
Caught between 2 cultures
And the sea
Mirror, mirror, mirror
Urban jungle, urban beast
A piece of bread
And a daiquiri
A hole
A gun
A knife
And a dream
Alienation, creation & determination
Biting the edge
With a brush, ideas & nails
Confronting reality
At the foot
Of the abyss
Drowing
Fighting
Surviving
Living & loving
Border line
With
The American dream
Waiting…
11 de agosto de 1996
Nota:
Estos poemas fueron escritos originalmente en inglés y así los publicamos, con la intención de ofrecer sin traducir la voz del autor.
Para aquellos lectores que prefieran una versión de los mismos en español, sugerimos que usen el traductor DeepL, del que facilitamos su link: https://www.deepl.com/en/translator
Cabeza
En este áspero suelo se arrastra todo cuerpo y hace sonar su prótesis / camina escribe dibuja una letra reconstruida / una / armada de carencia / toma el zapato y ve el pie adentro / ve el paso donde el pie queda / tieso paso firme / mientras la cabeza avanzacon cinco sentidos en alto / allá arriba / ajena al suelo áspero sucio
