The following appeared in ¿WHAT’S IN A NOMBRE? Writing Latin@ Identity in America. This 310-page issue, which was guest edited by Nancy Mercado, features a cavalcade of over 117 Latino poets, writers and artists from across the U.S. Here’s my poem:
Wedo
When I was 15 I was a pachuco
which is a Mexican zoot-suiter
& very dark
& very curly-haired
& tough
& can whip sailors & Okies by himself
or with his gang
But I was small for my age
& Spanish
& so white for my Mexican buddies
they nicknamed me Wedo
which means white
& didn’t have curly hair
& would never be 6 feet tall
& wasn’t very tough
But I was brave
& had a Hollywood haircut
that was wavy on top
& fell onto my forehead
like Frank Sinatra’s
& combed into such a smooth duck’s ass in back
that everybody admired it
in fact
it had so much pomade on it
to keep it stiff & in tight place
as a helmet
that I could dive into a forest stream
from a high rock in Mendocino County
& go way down
& coast way up
& get out
all dripping & wet
without even putting a dent in it
Here’s the link to the magazine:
http://phatitude.org/online/2012/04/whats-in-a-nombre-publishes/