what's good everyone my bad it's been a minute but I'm almost done with everything just got one more paper. This is an excerpt from my final master's project...hope you feel it, these are the people i deal with everyday. peace everybody we need to get twisted once i graduate.....ant


My Kids

Sterling Cepeda’s dream
Is to be the 2nd Dominican NBA player
after Felipe Lopez and he will have
his own throwback jersey #1
with matching Nike Air Force One
signature shoes

Jonathan Cerda likes to walk
around hallways
white tee looking like a dress
eyes empty looking like stress

Aaron Ramon tells me
I’m not your fams
so please don’t call me that
as he sits in the back of the room
calling girls ugly
reading eye candy in XXL

Class 303 wylin out
not listenin sittin lookin’ at each other
crackin jokes on themselves
never crack a book
or lift a pen to open up
beyond tellin’ everyone to “SHUT UP!!!”

Glorivi Peralta writes that
nobody understands her
She feels like she is large fea (ugly) and dark
so there will never be a boyfriend
but she swears she won’t go crazy again

Brian Rodriguez’s dream is to publish
his first book at the same time
as his platinum 1st album
Available at your local 125th bootlegger
and Barnes & Noble

Jose & Giraldi make fun
and laugh at the fake Dominicanos
who called them hicks
next breath they are
pounding each other
giving free cocotazos
for excusing one another
of tirando peos (throwing farts)

Nilka, Sofia, Arisleidy and Stephanie
Dominicanas En Vogue
sing the last song they heard
en Sajoma before coming to NYC

Norlberto and Luigi download
and bump the latest Tego Guasa Guasa
macking chorties to the rhythm of perreo

Class 203 while typing up
their ESL homework
seranade each other with
Aventura’s Obsesion

Lil Freddy Difo quiere pelear (wants to fight)
con Willy for drawing
a mustache on his mustang
picture he laminated to his desk
all of class 234 echoes his war cry
“Payaso!!” (Clown)
“Mama Huevo!!!”

Class 234 learning English
saying Puddle window
watching feeling
Ms Del Rosario giving them
HW stars and praise for trying
stammering and stumbling
taking their first steps towards
freedom to assimilate

Luy Medina 2 foot fro stutters
when asked the meaning
of freedom but enunciates
Biggie’s Gimme tha Loot
syllable for syllable

Rosylvia Vazquez
says her biggest accomplishment
was the 1st time she moved into
her own room in her own house
after living so long in the shelter
because of landlord arson

Jael Luzon sits in the back of class
watching wind flow outside
I ask him when we will he get started
C’mon you know I don’t mess
with that poetry stuff
I’m gonna be the Dominican Lloyd Banks

The Medrano Sisters
Ninoska big emotions
wide as oceans would write about
her tear drop scars
and future fantasies fulfilled
Francis sickle cell strong
courage creates art & life
through each defiant pencil stroke

Rebecca Garcia & Kedwin Zapata
run after each other
hitting and hugging on the low
when told they will be married
He calls her a wench
She calls him a toad

Sodanys Paulino wanted to live
far far from the hood
Big mansion forty rooms forty bathrooms
enough for kids and family members from
back home

Jonathan V. never wanted to leave the hood
someone might merk him while at
one of those suburb malls
shopping for teddy bears with his son
jealous of his hood richness

Ariel De La Nuez says
he will be a professional flyweight
paper ball fight champ

Kimberly Lopez always remembers
the first time her mother cried
She said it felt like the Polo Grounds
spirits came alive

Yesenia Gutierrez thinks
she gets judged unfairly and mistreated
everyday in school
kids make fun of her
because she is Mexican

Feliciano Perez goes on the internet
to look at pictures of Puebla
and get misty eyed

Elianne Mejia screams in Open Room
just because she gets good grades
don’t make her not cool
She is who she is
& proud/tells Manny that
he is a pussy because he cursed at her
and was absent the next day

Roderick Rasuk will wait
for his mother to give him
fresh white tees and fresh jordans
for failure while she sobs
at Parent Teacher Night about
where he sees himself in 5 years
Maybe dead maybe hustling I don’t know

Terrell Moody is just like his name sounds
Terrell Moody. He was scary too big for his age
Lloking 17 while 12 used to always say
It’s because I’m black right?
Picked Erica Frias, self described
Dominicana princess, up by both arms
and threw her over 2 desks crashing
headfirst into lockers.
He waited to go platinum & be in the NFL
while writing elegant odes to his Nubian sisters

Nicole Owens is a self described
ghetto queen who reads Shel Silverstein
& Nikki Giovanni/ speaks her mind
& thinks about living her dreams
says that all teachers is foul
even they got they own schemes

Ramon Belliard asks me
if he can write about Mephisto
and El Diablo and how the Devil
is about to reign on the world

Derrick Barnes is the next Nas
spitting rapid fire verses
about being broke & hustling
overcoming all struggle
Told me stories about Joe Dirt
the kid who always got sonned
& picked on but rose up
to be the biggest baddest willie on the block

Class 209 Marior Penelope & Daury
describe America
Shut UP America
Go to Hell America
Xenophobic America
Racist America
Why are you so cruel America?

Fat Jessica Sanchez
poured her soul out
in journals scribbled sloppy
spelled culture like KULCHER
as if some villian
sometimes it is
described her heartbreak
from Eric Castro
gave away the only thing she had left
& how her Pops never listened to her
she is expecting late summer
hustler is her husband holdin her down
said her cousin

Edward Perez, fly boy smart tough
young brother wrote deep verses
on wrinkled paper bout trying to
go straight/seen what it was like
in those streets won’t be 3 strikes
seen Moms tears after popped
Walk away young bro
Stay free

Angelicas - there was a few only want
to shout out two in particular:

Angelica Arache aka Princess
Future as bright as smile first one like
Read my poem frustrated with fickle dudes
bum attitudes & shorty what’s your number?

Angelica Matias aka Muneca
talked & cried during lunch periods
Moms was grimy treated her like
used dishrag/used to talk about
haze bags/she thought she might be
butch/relationships she’s the wrong one
to push/cuidado chica
Don’t take on too much
too soon

Ivanna Jimenez cried when she,
honor roll student, class president
teacher helper, daughter of PTA president
got rejected from everyone
of her high school choices
as
Felix Vega, fatboy next level MC
classroom heckler
known to do nothing
jumped up & down
celebrating acceptance to G Dubbz
(George Washington High School)

Leo Sanchez was a ghetto Neruda
writing Love Poetry for crushes
& gospel poetry to unite the people
under GOD/walked with him
back to the crib/there was issues
in the crib/ he was almost cryin
like Morales times is hard
Times is hard



-Morales, copyright 2004