Starcke Park

How it was
that Starcke Park

played such a role
in the music of her panties

like the wild dam
after a flood

or the sunken picnic tables
gasping for crumbs

her hands in the pants
of two boys

that was the rumor
which was spread about her

the following Monday at school
why did weekends exists

she asked her mother
her mother didn't know

and the park
which defies time

still follows
one of the boys

Growing Up On Fourth Street

Growing up in Seguin
I was the one gravel street

which spit dust
into a spiral

the gang down the street
wore their sweaty lips

the cops
drove around each neck

in school
I always loved a girl

on the white side of town
I used my knife on the books

my barrio
floats in the clouds now

at least
that's what they say

my feet
planted firmly on the ground

I growl my peace
and write

Walled-In Train

Long-legged girl of my dreams
I stretch her like fire in my mouth

her eyes cling to each other
as we kiss

her sighs
interrupted by the train

hauling ribs
to those who still hear

pins drop
her panties

like a rose on the carpet
her mother

seated on the floor
of the hot castle

the police station
flies off like an angry bird

my long-legged girl
trembles in her socks

and the wind
melts in my hands

through the open
window

ponies in the nearby field
of dishwater

and with a knock on the door
even Buddha had those thoughts

live by the word
die by the word

my long-legged girl
whose waist is made of glass

so I can see myself inside of her
as we make love

Mil Mascaras

my mil mascaras can kick the hell
out of your mil mascaras

A Lola
no le gustaba por detrás

but when Porfirio came home drunk
she let him have his way

el padrastro
le robo la flor a Rosita

ahi en el sofa
while her mother slept

dreaming empty dreams
los vecinos

fought tooth and nail
with the neighbors

el novio de Leticia
beat her for the slightest reasons

so she tried to mend her ways
la mojada jumped a picket fence

and lay down
until the patrol car had passed by

but the cop was only thinking
of donuts and damsels in undress

otherwise the barrio was peaceful
and headed in its own direction