Star Tracalada

To think
that el ocho patas

had once believed
in revolution

and had grown
a mustache to prove it

and donned
a sombrero

wrote the
mandatory poems

about La Raza
had praised

the barrio
re-invented abuelas

learned to spik
the lingo

but the revolution
did not materialize

the transporter
must have malfunctioned

maybe Scotty
was on the potty

The Immigrant Blues

El ocho patas
was riding the Mexican bus

across the border
returning to Texas

after failing to find
any kind of relatives

in the bowels of Mexico
for you see

el ocho's ancestors
had always lived

in Texas
or whatever

it was called
before it became Texas

poor ocho was even a failure
at being an immigrant

Homage To Kelly Bundy

Alfredo the Shoe Man
loved it

when el ocho patas
stepped into his shoe store,

he knew
he'd make a killing

selling el ocho
the best leather

in all of Tejas.
The bones

in ocho's feet
were all so different

and distorted
in so many ways

that the Shoe Man
had orgasms

just finding
the perfect shoes.

When el ocho patas
walked out

with his many
and diverse shoe sizes

the barrio people
stood around in awe

as el ocho patas
flew down the street

gargling
with his feet

Super Ocho

Abuela washed
el ocho's cape

somehow he got it full of
the mildest salsa on earth

abuela washed
el ocho's calzoncillos

she washed
his super pantalones

she boiled
his frijolitos

hasta que el ocho
got his super panza full

and flew off
haphazardly

to date an unwed mother---
I mean

to the help the poor
aunque a chingazos

Toboggan

El ocho patas
would toboggan

on Louise Bogan
he'd pull Plath

by the feet
from the oven

he'd keep Berryman
from flying, man,

he'd take the keys
from Weldon Kees

he'd drain
the Gulf of Mejico

for old Hart Crane
he'd ban dune buggies

from O'Hara's hair
he'd make sure

that poets stayed away
from poetryness

The Lynching

They tried to lynch
al ocho patas

on that oak tree
by the square

in Seguin, Texas
just like

they had lynched
other Mexicans

they wanted to see
el ocho's ocho patas

swinging wildly
but instead

the rope snapped
and the

always faithful branch
splintered

el ocho
dropped to the ground

alive
and the

sons of bitches
stood there motionless

the oak tree
shuddered

lost all its bark
and el ocho patas

lived on
in his lynchable ways

La Migra

El ocho patas
thought La Migra

was after him
but it turned out

to be las migas
you know

scrambled eggs
with sliced up

corn tortillas
diced onions

tomatoes
and cilantro

La Migra
doesn't come around

with any of that
so el ocho patas

breathed a
sigh of relief

and ate his migas
like a citizen

M&Ms

El ocho patas
loved his brown M&M girl

as the blue
and the red M&Ms

fought ove the turf
that belonged

to Mr. Mars
the green M&Ms

were green with envy
of el ocho's girl

the yellow M&Ms
were scared to be jealous

and the purple M&Ms
were just hateful

but el ocho patas
and his brown M&M girl

walked thru the barrio
smeared in chocolatl