A Barrio Tour

By: Abe Sierra Jr.

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Bienvenidos Al Barrio​

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Dear Newcomers​​

Around Here We Have...​​

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Skyscraping Little People

Towering On Street Corners Like Lamp Posts

Lighting Up Alleyways Littered With Contradictions​​​​

 

Men Slowly Blinded

By The Dim Glow Of Their Own Make-Believe Shine​

Women Going Deaf

From The Resounding Fabricated Facts

That Are Whispered To Them Daily​

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And Mutes Who Speak Fluently

Muted Not By A Lack Of Voice

But By Society's Inability To Hear Them​​

 

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We Have...

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​​Adult Infants

Nursing Their Newborn Parents​​

 

The Unemployed Working Energetically

While The Laborers Sleep​

 

Addicts Now Sober

Advising Their Intoxicated Sponsors​

 

And Local Gangs Protecting and Serving

While The Cops Keep Thuggin' It Out

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But It's Not All Bad Though

 

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We Also Have...

 

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Poets Painting Pastel Portraits

And Graffiti Artists Editing Elaborate Eulogies

 

Veteran Educators Graduating Into Students

Their Minds Fed By Classrooms Full Of Starving Children​

 

Illiterate Intellectuals

Facilitating Pop-Up Philosophy Sessions

Converting Humble Park Benches

Into Prestigious Academies

 

​And Wise Fools

Who've Spent Lifetimes Collecting Big Mistakes

And Then Trading Them In

For Little Nuggets of Wisdom To Share With Us​​​​​

 

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Yeah Where I'm From Paradox Is The Norm

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It's A World of Its Own​​​​

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Dear Newcomers

Bienvenidos Al Barrio

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And As You Begin Your Mission To Erase And Replace​​​

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Don't Forget

This Is Already Our Home...

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