PUERTO RICAN PROVERBS
By Tony Medina
He who disregards
The chancla
Invites welt marks
To his nalga
*
If the Chinese can put
A fortune in a cookie
Then puñieta a Puerto Rican
Can put a pre-nuptial
In a pastel
*
A cocotaso a day
Keeps the dumb shit
Away
*
Beware of abuela’s
Bustello can urn
For it once held
Her dentures
*
Estupido is as estupido does
*
Capitalism, colonialism, Christianity
Catholicism, corn syrup and coquís
On acid and asthma steroids
Is the Chupacabr
*
Spain was a speed bump;
All roads lead to Africa
*
Without Salsa
Y Santeria
There is no
Soul (Sol)
*
It’s apparent
Your tíos and tías
Are your parents
Your cousins
Your siblings
Those congas you
Hear and feel
With each breath
And pulse
Your heartbeat
*
Like WuTang Clan
Bodega cats ain’t
Nuthin to fuck wit
*
Prison tats we know
Are no Picassos
Pero they beez road-
Maps from Colonial
Captive to Capitalist
Casualty
*
Before there was J-Lo
And her Farmers Insurance ass
There was Iris Chacón
And her nalgas like maracas
Spied through TV tube glass
*
When your uncles rocked
Those 1970s afros
They didn’t merely descend
From Africa--
Those mofo’s climbed down
From Saturn, meng!
*
Your grandmother’s
Bata and
Bastón
Were her
Frontline
Military gear
She was at war
Before she
Got here
*
If you know your
History
You know
Your drum
A map deep
Down in your
Soul
Of where you
Come from
*
When your aunt sends you
To the corner store
To get her a Devil Dog
And a Pepsi
Don’t forget to
Bring her back her
Change
By Tony Medina
He who disregards
The chancla
Invites welt marks
To his nalga
*
If the Chinese can put
A fortune in a cookie
Then puñieta a Puerto Rican
Can put a pre-nuptial
In a pastel
*
A cocotaso a day
Keeps the dumb shit
Away
*
Beware of abuela’s
Bustello can urn
For it once held
Her dentures
*
Estupido is as estupido does
*
Capitalism, colonialism, Christianity
Catholicism, corn syrup and coquís
On acid and asthma steroids
Is the Chupacabr
*
Spain was a speed bump;
All roads lead to Africa
*
Without Salsa
Y Santeria
There is no
Soul (Sol)
*
It’s apparent
Your tíos and tías
Are your parents
Your cousins
Your siblings
Those congas you
Hear and feel
With each breath
And pulse
Your heartbeat
*
Like WuTang Clan
Bodega cats ain’t
Nuthin to fuck wit
*
Prison tats we know
Are no Picassos
Pero they beez road-
Maps from Colonial
Captive to Capitalist
Casualty
*
Before there was J-Lo
And her Farmers Insurance ass
There was Iris Chacón
And her nalgas like maracas
Spied through TV tube glass
*
When your uncles rocked
Those 1970s afros
They didn’t merely descend
From Africa--
Those mofo’s climbed down
From Saturn, meng!
*
Your grandmother’s
Bata and
Bastón
Were her
Frontline
Military gear
She was at war
Before she
Got here
*
If you know your
History
You know
Your drum
A map deep
Down in your
Soul
Of where you
Come from
*
When your aunt sends you
To the corner store
To get her a Devil Dog
And a Pepsi
Don’t forget to
Bring her back her
Change
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