A Poem By Jose Montalvo,
otherwise known as
"The Black Hat Poet"

MI PRIMER POEMA EN AUSTIN

7-28 del 1982
El Ostion

Last night,
at a quarter to nine
vino el vato del post office
bringing my draft card renewal,
the monkey wards and phone bills.
I wrote the checks,
including their well-earned
fifteen per cent gratuity.

El Eyewitness News
showed all
about middle east peace
in half a second flat.

Platicando con la luna,
I found out que
our father sun
was out
making a business deal
con los pinches del Exxon.
She was making nopalitos.

My next door neighbor trabajando
en su model home
nuclear reactor
while his children
were drying out the cat
en el microwave oven.

I read the Bible
according to Billy Graham
and neatly folded
old glory.

I cleaned my picture
of the last supper
and did their dishes.
And at eleven twenty seven
I fell sound asleep
with a Budweiser popsicle
in my hand
and was awake six hours later
to the music of John Wayne
y sus mariachis
serenading me.

I woke up really scared
so I went to work…
on my jalapeño garden.