by Tato Laviera

(for Dr. Juan Flores)

he claims he can translate pals matos
black poetry faster than i can talk,
an that if i !et too smart,
he "ill ouble translate pi! latin
en!lish ri!ht out of "ebsters
ictionary, o you kno" him#
he claims he can "alk into east harlem
apartment "here lan!ston hu!hes !ives
span!lish classes for ne"ly$arrive
immi!rants seekin! a bolitero$numbers
career an part$time venors of cuchi$
fritters sunay afternoon in central
park, o you kno" him#
he claims to have a stron!hol of the
only santer%a secret baptist sect in
"est harlem, o you kno" him#
he claims he can talk spanish style in
sunay ress eatin! crabmeat$&ueyes
brou!ht over on the mornin! eastern
plane eep frie by la ne!ra costoso
&oyfully sin!in! puerto rican folklore' (mar%a luisa no seas brava,
llvame conti!o pa la cama,) or
(oi!a capit*n el!ao, hey captain el!aro,
mane a revisar la !rama, please inspect
the !rass, +ue icen +ue un aeroplano,
they say that an airplane thro"s mari&uana
sees.)
o you kno" him# yes you o,
i kno" you kno" him, thats ri!ht,
maera smith, tito maera smith'
he blacks an prieto talks at the same time,
splittin! his mothers santurce talk,
t"istin! his fathers south carolina soul,
ain! ne" york scente blackest harlem
bro"n$eyes iy bops, t, sabes mami,
that i can ski like a bomba soul salsa
mambo turns to aretha franklin stevie
"oner nickname patato !ua!uanc- steps,
o you kno" him#
he puerto rican talks to las mamitas
outsie the pentecostal church, an
he !ets a"ay "ith it, fast$pace i
unerstan$you$my$man, "ith clave
sticks comin! out of his pockets hooke
to his stereophonic ./$speaker inispensable
isco souns blastin! a"ay at col reality
stru!!lin! to say est*s buena baby
as he "alks out of tune an out of
step "ith alleluia cascabells,
puma sneakers,
pants rolle up,
shirt cut in mile chest,
santer%a chains,
maamo pantallas,
into the spanish social club,
to challen!e elers in ominoes,
like the kin! o el iarios
bu"eiser tournament
rinkin! cerve0a$beer
like a champ,
o you kno" him#
"ell, i sure ont,
an if i i, i
refer him to .123
social scientists
for assimilation
acculturation
i!!in!
autopsy
into
their
heart
attacks,
oh,
oh,
there
he
comes,
you can call him tito,
or you can call him maera,
or you can call him smitty,
or you can call him mr. t,
or you can call him nuyorican,
or you can call him black,
or you can call him latino,
or you can call him mr. smith,
his sharp eyes of a"areness,
!reetin! us in aristocratic harmony'
(you can call me many thin!s, but
you !otta call me somethin!.)