July 24, 1971

        Barrios of the World*


barrios of the world,
where we live and strive,
where rich and poor separate 
         their worlds 
into different realities; 
barrios of the world, 
paradoxes
seething with rage/unsanity

a new world cometh,
world of awareness,
plagueless world,
spectral world,
love struck world,
composite of man's humanity, 
cauldron of sister/brother-hood.

el chuco, los, alburque, denver, 
san anto, el valle, laredo, 
the midwest, boricua harlem, 
change is coming to you
birdlike, vibrant, vehemently virile.

la voz del Chicano proclaims 
hermandad-carnalismo-humanidad, 
like bumper stickers cauterizing 
gods of all dimensions.

god is chicano, mexican, hispano, 
          cholo, pocho, mexican-american, 
          american of spanish surname (ASS!) 
          boricua, puertorro and a host 
          multihued
          proclamando divinity, dignity, 
          humankind moving forth . . .

for us, there is our reality, 
it is real and virile/fertile, 
simplicity unadorned, 
scorched by sun and drenched in love,

chicano destiny being created, 
carnales one and all, we do not fear 
the providence others claim, 
we just seek our own horizons; 
peaceful people that we are, 
we'll defend our right to live. 
somos la raza, hogan/jacal creators, 
pyramid builders, cathedral makers, 
living en el diablo, siete infiernos, 
coronado, la loma y kern place, 
creators of our destinies 
desde barelas a maravilla . . .

*also appeared in Selected Poems