Poema de Mi Id

“Amor Prohibido (Forbidden Love)”

Your ring finger has a white circle
Not yet conquered by the summer sun.
I know my love for you, my darling,
Should be something that my heart should shun.

But I smile when I see your face
On a day that is frigid and gray
And I sadden when I must see you
Start to turn and walk the other way.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte X

"I've Got No Mask"

With apologies to Robert W. Chambers and Walt Disney

I've got no mask
To hide my shame
To hide my face
Or hide my name.
I had a mask
But now I'm free.
There are no masks on me.

Bare-faced the me-ri-o
That's the only way to go.
I want the world to know
Nothing ever worries me.

I've got no mask
So I have fun
I'm not tied up to anyone.
They've got masks
But you can see
There are no masks on me.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte IX

"White Trash Girl"

I want myself a white trash girl.
A chick who knows where all the pawn shops are.
A woman who looks how to use a food stamp card.
A girl whose hair smells like mayonnaise and
whose skin is the same color as cottage cheese.

I want myself a white trash girl.
A dame who hides her nakedness in Dollar Store underwear.
Who bears scars and bruises from her last boyfriend
And who continually bumps into doors when I'm not around.
A girl who still has a scar on her belly from her last child.
One who knows every last cuss word in the book -- and then some.

I want myself a white trash girl.
Of course, I could just date a girl
from the local barrio instead.
But that would be tacky.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte VIII

"Lessons"

Before the new kids came,
they told you all sorts of sad stories
about them and their parents.
Then you got beat up on the first day
the new kids came to school.
And when you hit back,
you got into even more trouble.
The people who ran things refused to believe
you were only defending yourself.
Though they talked a lot about justice,
they were not really interested in defending it.
So you decided from then on
to not make waves
and to not hit back
when the new kids tried to hit you.
Instead, you learned to hit first.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte VII

"Respect"

Don't disrespect your older cousin,
his beloved father said,
not so much for your cousin's sake
but for the sake for your grandmother
who still remembers him as a young boy,
innocent and full of promise,
and who must now visit him in prison,
where he'll undoubtedly be
for the rest of his natural life.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte VI

“The Mask”

I have worn a mask for ages.
So long I have forgotten
What my true face looks like.

Perhaps I was born with my mask.
Perhaps it was attached in my cradle.
I do not know; I never asked.

Life is easy behind the mask,
But life is hell without it.
My face exposed to the merciless crowd.

No, I'm glad I wear it.
Keeping my face hidden from
The sneers and frowns of my fellow man.

Alas, someday, I fear
I shall fall in love.
Then the real test will come.

Will she love me or
Will she love the mask
She thinks is me?

That is the question
That I must ask myself.
But I dare not.

For I have fallen in love
Before, only to find myself
In love with another's mask.

When I tried to peel it off her,
I found nothing beneath it
Save another mask and another...

Many masks I peeled away,
Until, at last I came to a
barren skull.

Then I realized right there and then
That the girl I loved had worn her mask
So long that she had lost her face.

And should the day ever come
When I too would have to unmask,
Then, I fear, I'll share her fate.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte V

“Babelands”

Poor girls want to be rich.
Rich girls want to be queen,
And a queen ain't satisfied
Till she rules everything.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte IV

“Amour Noir”

My love for you
is a dark love.
A secret love.
A love that lives
in dark shadow
and hides from light,
dwells in darkness,
thrives in silence.
Someday I will
show you my love
and risk watching
it shrivel up
in the harsh light
of a bright day.
Until that time,
I'll keep it safe
within my heart,
hidden from all,
including me.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte III

“Poe-Try”

While the demons, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, “Lust”,
And its hero the Conjugal Worm.

Poema de Mi Id: Parte II

“Yes, I Know He Beats Me But Only with Fists of Love”

My man really loves me.
He’s a good man through and through.
He always shows he loves me
Though he beats me black and blue.

You don’t know the real him.
You can’t see into his heart.
You don’t hear him cry at night.
You just think that you’re so smart.

My man really loves me.
He would never mean me harm.
It’s not his fault, you see,
That last time he broke my arm.

I made him mad that day
Talking to another guy.
I should only talk to him.
And should never ask him why.

He broke my ribs last April
By now they are almost well.
Don’t you get him mad right now
Or tonight he’ll give me hell.

My man really loves me.
To you I would not dare lie.
My man will always love me.
Even if he should make me die.

Poemas de Mi Id

“Amour Noir”
“Babelands”
“I Never Had Time for You”
“Lessons”
“Poe-Try”
“Respect”
“The Mask”
“White Trash Girl”
“Yes, I Know He Beats Me But Only with Fists of Love”

Poema de Mi Id: Parte I

For a person Mi Mejor Amiga and I once knew:

“I Never Had Time for You”

I never had time for you
When your sister hit your eye.
I never had time for you
When the bullies made you cry.

I never had time for you
When you cried yourself to sleep.
I never had time for you
When your best friend proved a creep.

Now I have made time for you
And soon I will see you wed.
Oh, why won't you look at me
And why do you turn your head?