Time on the Block

Drivebys,

Quienceneras,

And Block parties.

Hindsight-

Are all blurred in my mind’s eye.

They’re all the same.



I have seen kids

                           Become teens,

                                                   Become thugs.

Seen fights

                           Become beef,

                                                   Become slugs.



“If you look long enough into the abyss,

It looks back at you.”



I ask myself indeed,

Am I watching the block

Or is the block watching me?

I Am Free (Troy Davis) (video performance)

http://www.youtube.com/user/ec1185?blend=22&ob=5#p/a/u/0/35XaSfPsAdE

Poem for a Big Sister (video performance)

http://www.youtube.com/user/ec1185?blend=22&ob=5

Expectation

Expectation is a prison.

Let go and you will be free.

Abba

My father is a strange man
Who at times was a stranger
A boisterous Dominican
But strangely enough
Shrouded his son in silence

My father is a simple man
Que come su arroz y carne sin sazon
Sesenta anos sufriendo en el silencio

I have nightmares
Because I never knew my father’s dreams

I was smitten with resentment
I embraced her jagged figure
18 years, 5 sports and never once
Counted his countenance at a court
I don’t know what my father’s applause sounds like

My quandary:
Knowing where my father is
And still feeling fatherless

He called me yesterday
And in between flat niceties
He said “te quiero”
So I forgave him
Because even when we fall far from the tree
We yearn for our roots

Columbia Social Haiku

Recently Columbia University created an establishment in the Heights (168th and Broadway) called Columbia Social. This haiku is dedicated to them and their constituency.

Anyone who eats

At Columbia Social

Is a deu-uuuce bag

Butterscotch Skin

Butterscotch skin
I <3 the way the sun
Kisses your melanin
Deep with your lips
And then it drips
Down to your hips
And it moves slowly
Because even the sun knows
Time with you is precious.

Caramel complexion
I <3 the way the earth
Moves at your discretion
You are the reason seasons change
And why the timeless remains
And why spring comes
At the mention of your name.

The earth knows you
And has blessed you
In it’s image.

You are my favorite color
You are brown skinned
Like god made the outline
And I colored you in
And I took my time
-And I stayed within the lines
But you are more than a color
And truly no one color
Could describe your beauty

You are the color of samba
Danced by almas
Covered in palmas
Remixed and switched to salsa
El color de aire en alta montanas
El color cuando Dios te acompana

Only God could plan this
You are the color of joy
And my heart is your canvas