¡Bienvenidos Al Barrio!

By: Abe Sierra Jr.

​

El Barrio...

...Where I'm From

 

We Have​​

Sky-Scraping Little People

Towering On Street Corners Like Lamp Posts,

Lighting Up Alleyways Littered With Contradictions.​​

​

Men Who've Been Blinded

By The Dim Glow Of Their Own Imaginary Shine;

Women Going Deaf

From The Resounding Fabricated Facts

That Are Whispered To Them Daily;

And Mutes Who Speak Fluently.

Muted, Not By An Absence Of Voice, 

But By Society's Inability To Hear Them​​.​​​​​​​

 

We Have

Grown Infants Nursing Newborn Parents;​

The Lazy Working Tirelessly

While The Laborers Sleep.

Addicts Now Sober,

And Advising Their Intoxicated Sponsors;

Local Gangs Protecting and Serving

While The Police Are Thugging It Out.

 

But It's Not All Bad Though....

 

We Also Have

Poets Painting Pastel Portraits

And Graffiti Artists Wordsmithing Elaborate Verses;

Veteran Teachers Progressing Into Students,

Their Minds Fed By A Class Of Starving Children;

 

We Have

Illiterate Intellectuals

Facilitating Pop-Up Philosophy Sessions.  

​​​​

Where I'm From...​

Paradox Is The Norm; It's A World of Its Own.​​​

 

To You This Might Be Confusing, Or Perhaps Amusing.

 

But To Me...

...It's Just Home.

​​