Boogaloo Down Fourth Street

Bitches, remember when el ocho patas
would boogaloo down Fourth Street

when it would send up
a cloud of gravel dust

before them white people
finally decided to pave it

el ocho would throw footballs
or toss baseballs up into outer space

to impress
that fucking Sepulveda girl

nigga, why did you waste your time
friends would tell el ocho patas

and here el ocho thought
that Fourth Street was paradise

el ocho was a swashbuckler
without a buckle or a swash

it's a whole lot easier
to boogaloo with eight goddamn feet

but it can also get you
in deep shit, ese

For Granddaughter Shelby

She's eleven
and a little bit of heaven.

I Sing The Body Electric

I sing the body electric
said el ocho patas

as he stuck his finger
into the light socket

you could see
his skeleton light up

and his hair
stood straight up

like wire
so he pulled his finger out

and then
stuck it back in

he sang the body electric
until the city

cut off his utilities
as is bound to happen

in a just
and free society