Juan Seguin Elementary

I was
not born
in Papalote,

long ago
I was born
and raised

in Seguin,
Texas,
Aztlan.

My barrio
had gravel
streets,

only the
white side
of town was paved.

At the
Palace Theater
if you were

black or brown
you had to
watch movies

from the balcony.
Whites went
to white schools.

Blacks went
to black schools,
and Mexicans

went to
all Mexican schools.
I went

to Juan Seguin
Elementary,
there by the creek.

The only
white kids
I knew

when I was
growing up
were Dick and Jane.