XVI
To wonder where you were actually born before coming to this
Territory of the greatest story ever told about your existence
In your quest for freedom of movement without having to move
& freedom of expression without having to say anything to take
Credit for having said something that will put you on the map
Of free verse in the theater of spontaneous loss of memory to
Track down your roots as an entertainer on an outer space stage
For an audience that will be born a few hundred years from now
When accents will be in demand to understand how it all began
And the temptation to or not to rhyme will not be considered
A crime against the simplistic state of mind of the wilderness
Where all the nationalities of the universe began their career
With all intentions of ending up here sooner or later!
To eradicate structure in standards of improvised out of focus
Living conditions unlike anything seen on television unless
You get an unclear picture on the screen & you don't scream
Because you have seen everything there is to see already on
The flight from daylight to total darkness interrupted by neon
Lights and sights that induce pleasure & fright all through
The night that gave proof that our flag was no longer there!
Oh say can you see there is nothing to see if all you can see
Is what you see and not what you don't see! How many people
Admit that they came to this country on a helium balloon
Because it was cheaper than the price of the ticket purchased
At the ticket counter of American Airlines? Only a poet will
Clench his fist and raise his left arm when the question
Is asked by the Census Bureau who keep insisting Tainos are
Extinct! And I repeat: only because they stopped counting them
On orders from the State Department of the occupying forces
