What do you call it
what do you call it
when a chica’s dreams melt faster
than the piragua man’s ice
on a July Harlem block?
when sweetness drips down brown fingers,
but the city never tastes it right?
what do you call it
when they call you spicy —
like it’s a compliment or a curse —
when you’re just tryna argue your piece
on the tenement stoop
where your mami’s voice still echoes
out the third-floor window?
what do you call it
when the block party DJ drops salsa
into hip-hop and the boys battle
for bragging rights and your heart,
but you know better —
you know your name is more
than chica, more than spice,
more than a rumor shouted
through the summer fire hydrant spray?
what do you call it —
this Nuyorican pulse
that hums in the cracks
of Harlem sidewalks,
beats its drum in your ribs,
and dares every deferred dream
to dance, anyway?
what do you call it
when a chica’s dreams melt faster
than the piragua man’s ice
on a July Harlem block?
when sweetness drips down brown fingers,
but the city never tastes it right?
what do you call it
when they call you spicy —
like it’s a compliment or a curse —
when you’re just tryna argue your piece
on the tenement stoop
where your mami’s voice still echoes
out the third-floor window?
what do you call it
when the block party DJ drops salsa
into hip-hop and the boys battle
for bragging rights and your heart,
but you know better —
you know your name is more
than chica, more than spice,
more than a rumor shouted
through the summer fire hydrant spray?
what do you call it —
this Nuyorican pulse
that hums in the cracks
of Harlem sidewalks,
beats its drum in your ribs,
and dares every deferred dream
to dance, anyway?
Copyright © Windy Martinez | Year Posted 2025
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