My Block Is My Own
The Universe is contained
Not in a unlimited vast space
But in the street in front of my yard
My universe is magnificent
Blackholes in stomachs and cyclones of tortillas with mantiquilla
Salsa so spicy, young ladies so feisty flirting with men over fences
Watching Sunsets over mountains and waiting for the street lamps to
Switch and brighten the night
Little kids running around dripping ice cold
Cream to heal the cracks
Wounds and aches of the barrio
I say I’ll never leave
But if I did then it’ll be to devote back
To the bones that made me hustle
Struggle, all in the care of a family
Brothers and Sisters, Fathers and Mothers
I thank thee
This hip-hop, won’t stop, running though my veins
I could sway to the music of the streets all night
With the window open and letting
Southwestern air soak into my skin
To the beauty within
We shall win, all the games
That matter because it is my culture
Basketball, scraped knees
Barbeques and tamales
Profusions of colliding emotions
Broken hearts and soothed souls
All over my nana’s best bowl of Menudo
I could laugh to tears about memories
I learned more sitting outside listening to the wind
Rustling though the leaves
Then in a classroom outside of the streets and blocks
I keep my own, I learn
Listening to the Nana’s speak softly
Feeling the soul of my people wash over
Feeding me with stories, life, intensity
Hopes and dreams
That are passed onto generations
The courage to strive and become
Our own makers
Here I stand, ready to give
To what was given to me
Copyright © Bella Cardenas | Year Posted 2007
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