Poverty Is Not an Accident

Poverty Is Not an Accident
Nelson Mandela

Friday, March 05, 2004

Puerto Rican Obituary

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.comthis could have been written about the War Zone.

Pedro Pietri
Puerto Rican Obituary

They worked
They were always on time
They were never late
They never spoke back
when they were insulted

They worked
They never took days off
that were not on the calendar
They never went on strike
without permission

They worked
ten days a week
and were only paid for five

They worked

They worked

They worked
and they died

They died broke
They died owing
They died never knowing
what the front entrance
of the first national city bank looks like

Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
passing their bill collectors
on to the next of kin

All died
waiting for the garden of eden
to open up again
under a new management

All died
dreaming about america
waking them up in the middle of the night

screaming: Mira Mira
your name is on the winning lottery ticket
for one hundred thousand dollars

All died
hating the grocery stores
that sold them make-believe steak
and bullet-proof rice and beans

All died waiting dreaming and hating

Dead Puerto Ricans
Who never knew they were Puerto Ricans
Who never took a coffee break
from the ten commandments
to KILL KILL KILL
the landlords of their cracked skulls
and communicate with their latino souls

Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
From the nervous breakdown streets
where the mice live like millionaires
and the people do not live at all
are dead and were never alive

Juan
died waiting for his number to hit

Miguel
died waiting for the welfare check
to come and go and come again

Milagros
died waiting for her ten children
to grow up and work
so she could quit working

Olga
died waiting for a five dollar raise

Manuel
died waiting for his supervisor to drop dead
so he could get a promotion

Is a long ride
from Spanish Harlem
to long island cemetery
where they were buried
First the train
and then the bus
and the cold cuts for lunch
and the flowers
that will be stolen
when visiting hours are over
Is very expensive

Is very expensive
But they understand
Their parents understood
Is a long non-profit ride
from Spanish Harlem
to long~island cemetery

Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Dreaming
Dreaming about queens
Clean-cut lily-white neighborhood
Puerto Ricanless scene
Thirty-thousand-dollar home
The first spics on the block
Proud to belong to a community
of gringos who want them lynched
Proud to be a long distance away
from the sacred phrase: Que Pasa

These dreams
These empty dreams
from the make-believe bedrooms
their parents left them
are the after-effects
of television programs
about the ideal
white american family
with black maids
and latino janitors
who are well train
to make everyone
and their bill collectors
laugh at them
and the people they represent

Juan
died dreaming about a new car

Miguel
died dreaming about new anti-poverty programs

Milagros
died dreaming about a trip to Puerto Rico

Olga
died dreaming about real jewelry

Manuel
died dreaming about the irish sweepstakes

They all died
like a hero sandwich dies
in the garment district
at twelve o'clock in the afternoon

social security number to ashes
union dues to dust

They knew
they were born to weep
and keep the morticians employed
as long as they pledge allegiance
to the flag that wants them destroyed

They saw their names listed
in the telephone directory of destruction

They were trained to turn
the other cheek by newspapers
that mispelled mispronounced
and misunderstood their names
and celebrated when death came
and stole their final laundry ticket

They were born dead
and they died dead

Is time
to visit sister lopez again
the number one healer
and fortune card dealer
in Spanish Harlem
She can communicate
with your late relatives
for a reasonable fee
Good news is guaranteed

Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
Those who love you want to know
the correct number to play
Let them know this right away

Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
Now that your problems are over
and the world is off your shoulders help those who you left behind
find financial peace of mind

Rise Table Rise Table
death is not dumb and disable
If the right number we hit
all our problems will split
and we will visit your grave
on every legal holiday

Those who love you want to know
the correct number to play
Let them know this right away
We know your spirit is able
Death is not dumb and disable
RISE TABLE RISE TABLE

Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
Hating fighting and stealing
broken windows from each other
Practicing a religion without a roof
The old testament
The new testament
according to the gospel
of the internal revenue
the judge and jury and executioner
protector and eternal bill collector
Secondhand sh)t for sale

Learn how to say Como Esta Usted
and you will make a fortune

They are dead

They are dead
and will not return from the dead
until they stop neglecting
the art of their dialogue
for broken english lessons
to impress the mister goldsteins
who keep them employed
as lavaplatos porters messenger boys
factory workers maids stock clerks
shipping clerks assistant mailroom
assistant, assisant assistant
to the assistant's assistant
assistant lavaplatos and automatic
artificial smiling doormen
for the lowest wages of the ages
and rages when you demand a raise
because is against the company policy
to promote SPICS SPICS SPICS

Juan
died hating Miguel because Miguel's used car was in better running condition
than his used car

Miguel
died hating Milagros because Milagros
had a color television set
and he could not afford one yet

Milagros
died hating Olga because Olga
made five dollars more on the same job

Olga
died hating Manuel because Manuel
had hit the numbers more times
than she had hit the numbers

Manuel
died hating all of them
Juan
Miguel
Milagros
and Olga
because they all spoke broken english
more fluently than he did

And now they are together
in the main lobby of the void
Addicted to silence
Off limits to the wind
Confine to worm supremacy
in long island cemetery

This is the groovy hereafter
the protestant collection box
was talking so loud and proud about
Here lies Juan
Here lies Miguel
Here lies Milagros
Here lies Olga
Here lies Manuel
who died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow

Always broke
Always owing
Never knowing
that they are beautiful people
Never knowing
the geography of their complexion
PUERTO RICO IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE
PUERTORRIQUENOS ARE A BEAUTIFUL RACE

If only they
had turned off the television
and tune into their own imaginations

If only they
had used the white supremacy bibles for toilet paper purpose
and make their latino souls
the only religion of their race

If only they
had return to the definition of the sun
after the first mental snowstorm
on the summer of their senses

If only they
had kept their eyes open
at the funeral of their fellow employees
who came to this country to make a fortune
and were buried without underwears

Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
will right now be doing their own thing
where beautiful people sing
and dance and work together
where the wind is a stranger
to miserable weather conditions
where you do not need a dictionary
to communicate with your people
Aqui Se Habla Espanol all the time
Aqui you salute your flag first
Aqui there are no dial soap commericals
Aqui everybody smells good
Aqui tv dinners do not have a future
Aqui the men and women admire desire
and never get tired of each other
Aqui Que Paso Power is what's happening

Aqui to be called negrito
means to be called LOVE

Puerto Rican Obituary,
Pedro Pietri,
Monthy Review Press,
N. Y., London, 1973, pp. 1 - 11

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