music

i won! i won! i
received a phone call from dore
stein: "i have tickets."

new yoshi's, cassandra
wilson. jazz silk to shield me
from sadness...healing.

her voice, her band was
weaving itself within me
its healing tones so good

silk and percussion
tapping keys and bass and drums
i swum in music

a luz nazario

abuelita? soy
tu nieta, eriqua.
y te quiero.

you let go sunday.
and we are stunned, mamita.
i wasn't ready.

dead where i was born.
in el bronx in the winter
on a sunday you died.

but you were better!
i heard you had asopao
de pollo. you ate!

so you let go and
now there is a loss for us.
we lose an elder.

chronos = time

generosity
showered on me friday and
saturday: music.

an extra ticket?
herbst theater? symphonic?
yes! i will attend!

co-chaperone to
bayview youth i witnessed them
the kronos quartet

normal men with a
love to share the world's music
violins, cello

tears poured down my face
sadness waked with me that day
strings pulled them from me

they drew their bows and
i felt streaks down my cheeks from
the music's quiver

songs from every
corner of the world explained and
played so lovingly

the audience was
filled with adoration from
youth, elders alike

thank you chronos men
for drawing emotion from
me, sharing music

one drop

the one drop rule is
outmoded and ignorant
and yet adhered to.

news and folks use it
to determine only Black
ancestry here in

the united states.
one drop of black blood makes you Black
but one drop of white?

what about one drop
of asian blood? indian?
and countless others?

the latin label
is off, too. most of us are
puro latino:

indians and blacks
and europeans and some
are also asian

and middle eastern
(shakira) anyone else?
it's flawed the one drop

medically i
want science to know all my
blood lines to treat me

socially i want
all my blood lines recognized.
politically?

bifercation of
states and populations needs
to end. we are more

than just two camps here.
we have been since indians
came. america:

asian continent
inhabited by europe
worked on by black slaves

who may have been mixed
(africa is large and is
rather connected

pure blood can be claimed
by populations who have
been isolated

but we rarely have
these populations now. why?
we're humanity.

persepolis

marjane satrapi's
persepolis is a gorgeous
film. so beautiful!

the animation
is complex in its layers,
colour scheme and script.

feminine strength told
through many generations:
mother, grandmother.

iran's story told
from a young girl's point of view.
children tell the truth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dr. king's feast day
fell upon me like the rain
i walked out back pain.

i walked determined
to bless out the demons of
doubt and fear and won.

breakfast to feed my
tummy and book store to buy
junot's novel. i am

in this book! latin,
nerdy, bridging the divide...
street academic...

diaz speaks some of me
and it touches me, this street
novel with plantains.

in the evening a
health conductor meeting to
meet and organize

my trio to be
are men dedicated to
harriet tubman.

she delivered slaves
to freedom. first herself then
others. underground.

i join this journey
to save myself. then others.
on to a whole world.

lo mas importante

the giants just won
against green bay. freezing cold, man!
coach coughlin? well done.

they'll head to glendale
to battle the patriots.
seen the stadium?

can i be real, please?
the university of
phoenix? no campus.

faux green marble

i woke up and the
ogre in the mirror was odd!
the face was puffy!

ah, salt in my sheets.
disturbed dreams. and the dull pain.
god, implicate me!

after the flog comes
release. dying christ gazes down
and, lo! grants thee peace.

faux green marble tile
beneath florescent light beams
leads one to nothing.

they're open eight to three.
my companions? talkin' 'bout
weed, jail, and the man.

how many primaries are left?
oh, quite a few. the people still
are speaking. polls? SHHHHH!!!!!

normally, i love you

normally i love
kalw for
indepth reporting

but this morning i
was disturbed when you referred
to teachers. not professionals?

the story focused
on Oakland schools: their dropouts
teachers and students

the reporter said teachers
left to seek professional
work: lawyers, doctors.

i'm sorry. teachers
ARE professionals who guide
all to professions!

computer genius at 4

reversi on the
"t" line with a four year old
is awesome. she rocked!

she tapped the track pad
and moved the mouse easily.
young mac user. awwwww!

the t line went past
wendy's cheesecake bakery.
yes! i want to go there!

this morning steve shared his
new invention: air. it is
GORGEOUS! sleek and light.

i missed today's news
but in retrospect it is
mlk's birthday.

a symbol of honor,
radical change and of love.
because i now dream.

unfair advantage?

the story that has me
most annoyed today is the
amputee athlete.

he can't compete? why?
beijing says it's too unfair!
i think they're not right.

able-bodied me
thinks there's a bias out there
no legs? LET HIM RUN!

the olympics should
have all those willing to win
compete. it's their right!

car accident

the weekend started
well...bad. quick car accident.
my lower back feels bad.

oh well. work to be
done and people to see, you know.
jack bauer all sat/sun.

i wrote and sat in
the sun and played with girl twins
and was beat at chess

i ate a FEAST that
left my tastebuds humming, "MMMMMMMMMM"
friends and food and cats.

sat. night? Q phone call
"raro" pense. good to talk
that voice timbre? wow.

new york? january?
maybe. we'll see. would be nice.
but is it right? hmm.

sunday? lunch with c.
we spoke boricua and ate
pasteles. muy bien!

did russell get to
drink coquito? i HOPE SO!
libations for laughs!

but my back hurts, still.
car accident from friday.
i'll call the doctor.

children of immigrants

I'm an immigrant
by proxy. mom and dad came
via their parents.

from a warm island
they arrived. new york city!
big manzana ciudad!

last night i laughed so
hard listening to stories
of immigrant kids.

comedians told
stories in funny accents
just like my parents.

being brown gives you
perspective in the world that's
different. it's true.

ever translate your
family's traditions to
your friends? no? it's fun!

we eat this food and
we speak this way it's so cool!
don't you? no? why not?

My mommy kisses
me goodnight and tells me her
country's prayers to Dios.

Superstitions, too!
Lightning? Santa Barbara!
American? Que?

We dance this way and
we celebrate these feast days!
Don't you? No? Why not?

Poor thing. You only
got St. Patty's day? Irish?
What's your tradition?

I'll share mine and you'll
share yours. Come to my house and
eat rice and beans. Ven!

We love so much in
my family. We show it
a lot. I FEEL it.

I'm lucky to be me.
Boricuas appreciate
ev'ryone's culture!

russell peters and corey fernandez

last night i drove in
the rain from San Francisco
to Oakland to SJ.

i wanted to see
russell peters and to laugh.
his characters rock.

but i was surprised
to see a boricua, too!
corey fernandez!

represent new york!
go 'head, corey! tell the world!
we new yorkers? real!

are you sure you're qualified if...?

"you can be what you
want to be" is what they said
to me growing up.

bright brown eyes, brown skin.
they weren't lying, of course not!
adults mean the truth.

so if they were not
twisting the truth why are they
asking if she can win?

or asking if he
can win? weren't they little kids
at desks, too? great kids!

the adults said, "maybe
someday you'll grow up to be
president!" (to all!)

there were no footnotes
to the brown, black, red, yellow...
"wait...except for you."

beck

beck is a cancer
and 37. genius.
lunch? because you're cool.

nh primary & other news

ha ha ha RAIN! ha!
elvis' birthday is today
and the vote goes on

last week? iowa:
obama and huckabee.
this week? who's to tell?

clinton or barak?
mac-attack? these primaries are
a long race to run

we're tired of the games
coke and pepsi politics.
who's up for water?

there's still great news to
be learned and shared. other than
what's poured in our ears.

son of bhutto is
a young gentleman to lead
pakistan's party

strikes' still on, people.
no golden globes. we stand strong!
solidarity!

the pen is mighty
and will not stand to be shunned.
give 'em a good deal!

sol...

los reyes magos
me han trayeron el sol
que bien! bonita luz!

fui al cine y
BOO! me di un susto con
el orfanato!

lluvia

little man, eli
why did you wake up so ill?
your dad called early!

little black cat is
so shy usually and
today he was just there.

poor thing! we love you!
we'll take care of you because
you're the little one.

rainy days make for
great reading days. this book will
end! i swear to G-d!

obama's win on
thursday means what? cleaner air?
change? maybe. maybe not.

iowa caucus

today the fight REALLY
begins. in iowa with
the caucuses' vote.

only two parties
are given attention here
dems and repubs. why?

the political
machine doesn't like others
involved. squeeze 'em out!

who will get the vote?
huckabee? obama? who?
ten percent chose them.

while i know voting
doesn't make government whole
it's a part of it!

new que?

kenyan riots kill
what is going on? where's the
peace, people? more peace!

i began by fling-
ing my coconut into
the ocean and let

go of 0-7. YES!
i watched the moon. she winked and
the waves poured hope on.

i sat and poured salt
and roses onto the beach
and prayed for world peace.

i sat and prayed for
my soul to arise from the
dark so i could fly.

to family and
friends and strangers alike i
wish for peace and good.

let us see ourselves
in eachother and show care
interdependence