Going North

(for my grandfather)

Those streets in my youth
hilarious and angry,
cobblestoned by Mestizos,
fresh fruit
and dancing beggars.
Gone are the soldiers
and the nuns.
My Portuguese friends
have gone North.
The school girls
have ripened
overnight.
I hum Spanish tunes
waiting for the bus
in Fresno.
These avenues
I watch
carefree
young, open collared
like my grandfather
who died in a dream
going North.

Luis Omar Salinas

Poet Jose Montoya wrote, “…no one has ever disputed the fact that Luis Omar Salinas es el mero chingon de la poesia chicana. This has been not only the opinion of his fellow poets but of critics as well…He’s our Guru.”
Going North is from Salinas’ Afternoon of the Unreal. Read three more of his poems here.