Your daily dose of Chicano poetry
"I write poems on walls that crumble and fall
I talk to shadows that sleep and go away crying.”
Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008)
No Exit
I sleep near unlocked entries
tempting death and desire
through doorway number nine
A red fire extinguisher
stands lonely guard while
I press patchouli to my skin
break bubbles and foam
with my shriveled sex
I lay prone upon the floor
ear cocked to the voices below
On a wrought iron
rust ridden fire escape
I sip coconut milk and vodka
A burnished cigarette in my palm
From a third world slumber
I rise with the moon
canted ceilings bearing witness
to a frenzied dance between
a dustpan and broom
Piles gathered like
so many sand-dollars
crumbling under
the sea of humanity
I shovel mourning doves
or tiny tumbleweeds like
dust balls and lint.
Grey cotton candy
drifting quickly across
polished wooden planks
that creak with ancient wisdom
I sleep near unlocked doors
behind rice paper scrims
tempting fate and my forgotten future
I howl with silent laughter
daring misbegotten memories
to fetch my stuporous frame
and deliver me home.
Abel Markos Salas
This poem was taken from Lone Oak In December: El Encino Invernal (1999)
Not so very long ago, the pocket-size chapbook was available exclusively at Resistencia Bookstore in Austin, Texas.
Nephtalí De León
I bring you the things rarely told
I bring you the things rarely told
— about a Gypsy folk,
new world natives
— like Chicano Popcorn,
rarely heard of in academia
rarely seen in libraries or bookstores
— it is a tale of a moving migrant people
multilingual, multicultural, their language
ever changing and growing,
based on ancient Aztec/Nahuatl,
mixed with English, Spanish,
Gypsy, Moorish … it is tale told
sometimes in the Caló of La raza
Cósmica — Chicanos, Chicanas,
who also believe in motherhood
and apple pie…
only their paradise is chile spiced
rushing on tortilla wheels…
Nephtalí De León is an early Chicano writer, poet/painter and gypsy vagabond. He is the author of “Hey, Mr.President, Man!”, “Coca Cola Dream,” and “Chicano Popcorn.” Read the preface to de Leon’s Chicano, published in 1972, HERE.
Tenacatecutli by Nephtali De Leon
Side Note: The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez
In 1997, U.S. Marines patrolling the Texas-Mexico border as part of the War on Drugs shot and killed Esequiel Hernández Jr. Mistaken for a drug runner, the 18-year-old was, in fact, a U.S. citizen tending his family’s goats with a .22 rifle. He became the first American killed by U.S. military forces on native soil since the 1970 Kent State shootings. “The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández,” narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, explores Hernández’s tragic death and its torturous aftermath. His parents and friends, the Marines on patrol, and investigators discuss the dangers of militarizing the border and the death of one young man. A co-presentation of Latino Public Broadcasting. An official selection of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.
Find out more about this film: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/ballad
P.O.V. Blog http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog
Broadcast Date: July 8, 2008
Oscar “Zeta” Acosta: Letter to Playboy
[15 October 1973]
The Playboy Forum
Playboy Building
919 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Sir:
Your November issue, “On The Scene” section on Mr. Hunter S. Thompson as the creator of Gonzo Journalism, which you say he both created and named… Well, sir, I beg to take issue with you. And with anyone else who says that. In point in fact, Doctor Duke and I — the world famous Dr. Gonzo — together we both, hand in hand, sought out the teachings and curative powers of the world famous Savage Henry, the Scag Baron of Las Vegas, and in point of fact the term and methodology of reporting crucial events under fire and drugs, which are of course essential to any good writing in this age of confusion — all this I say came from out of the mouth of our teacher who is also known by the name of Owl. These matters I point out not as a threat of legalities or etcetera but simply to inform you and to invite serious discussion on the subject.
Yours very truly,
Oscar Zeta Acosta
Chicano Lawyer
P.S. The guacamole and XX he got from me.
This letter was taken from Oscar “Zeta” Acosta: The Uncollected Works (1996) published by Arte Público Press.
Acosta (April 8, 1935 – 1974?) was a Chicano attorney, writer, politician and activist. He is most famously known as “Dr. Gonzo” in Hunter S. Thompson’s book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
To see video of Acosta reading from his book Revolt of the Cockroach People CLICK HERE.
VI of Assorted Poems
Like the man said, “Nowadays I ain’t paying too much
attention
to poets and presidents…”, etc
Like I said, I’m paying too goddamn much attention to myself!
Knowing full well that a man can’t write verse
on a belly full of beer
no more than fish can swim
in oil or lard
nevertheless I sit and swivel sandlike particles
and molecules with Bud Shank
from Azusa,
California… Hoping that you will join me
in the desecration of this temple
I once read lots of things
that went to my head,
e.g.,
The Beatles is Bob Dylan
in drag,
&
God ain’t dead
he just doesn’t want to get
involved.
Which kind of pissed me off
because that same guy told
me that not one bird falls
without him knowing, etc.
Well, hell, let’s get these
things straight!
The reason most experts’
opinions aren’t taken
as given
is because they’re
too
cocksure.
So…
Here’s a whishy-
washie
for you:
Where is Andy-
W? (For that matter, where is W?)
Oscar “Zeta” Acosta
This poem was taken from Oscar “Zeta” Acosta: The Uncollected Works (1996) published by Arte Público Press.
Acosta (April 8, 1935 – 1974?) was a Chicano attorney, writer, politician and activist. He is most famously known as “Dr. Gonzo” in Hunter S. Thompson‘s book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
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