Capitan Ocho

Capitan Ocho
of the submarine

Muy Hondo
looked through

the perroscope
and spotted

the American destroyer
the U.S.S. Spot

he fired tubes
on and two

both hit the destroyer
amid ship

sinking it with
all aboard

Capitan Ocho
claimed the victory

for Aztlan
land of plenty feet

and the submarine
farted victorious bubbles

Otra Vez

El ocho
didn't believe in re-incarnation

but the higher ups
or the lower downs

whichever
you prefer

preferred that el ocho
come back to life again

and so
they brought him back

in the form
of a millipede this time.

In a previous life
el ocho had been

a centipede
though he of course

was unaware of that existence---
yet he had always favored

more than
two boring feet

Aquarena Springs

In another life
el ocho patas

was Ralph
the Swimming Pig

of Aquarena Springs
he entertained

the children
and the adults

who never grew up
he embarrassed

the other boy pigs
while the girl pigs

swooned and
daydreamed of Ralphie Ocho

but alas
one day

they closed
Aquarena Springs

and Ralph
drowned his sorrows

in the mud
that was left

and which turned
into the city of San Marcos

Atelcicib

El ocho patas
got on his anti-bicicleta

and went
anti-everywhere

nothing was there
and nobody cared

just the opposite
of what we couldn't think

our anti-shouts
were silencing

of what we had not learned
only the forgetting

the anti-bicicleta
parked outside of Carmen's house

waiting for her
not to come out

waiting not to give her a ride
on the anti-handle bars

so anti-long ago
where we can not be cicleta

Cuates

Once upon a time
the Lord Jesus

and el ocho patas
were one and the same

they preached love
and peace

but only hate
and violence

fell upon their heads
so el ocho patas

made a run for it
high-tailed

out of there
went his own way

two roads diverged
in a yellow wood

and el ocho
turned yellow