The Best Mentes Of My Gente

The best mentes of my gente
have taught me that the best way to say
what’s on my mind

is to use the right words,
the right sounds at the end
of each stanza.

Las mejores palabras
siempre son the most simple words.
Words that balance on their own.

The best minds of my generation
have not gone down the wrong road.
On the contrary, they have guided me

on this road that I am on.
Bad gringoes bouncing off my fenders,
vendidos tambien.

Las mejores mentes de mi gente
always find a way
como el chino Lao.

Like my teacher Tomas Rivera
once said of the words that roam our heads.
“Don’t ever try to write them down!”

I see it plainly now
the words are within reach
and I see their innards.

I see the transparent eyes
of each bewitching word
as I grasp them and put them here.