Vintage Colorado Poetry / National Poetry Month / Poems of Protest / Poem of the Week / April 10, 2006
"Who are these people?" the poet asks. In this final section,
the poet depicts an America -- people and economy -- turned
inward and fearful.
Louis Lucero's "America's Wrath Upon the New Brown-Faced
People" was published in the Urban Spectrum (Denver) in May
2005 and reprinted by permission of the publisher. It originally
appeared in the November 2004 Denver Voice newspaper.
Parts I & II, please click
America's Wrath Upon the New Brown-Faced People
by
Louis Lucero
III
But we, "Americans" big business-corporate crime bosses
sanctioned by yours truly -- American politicians
are the people who lure the brown-faced people into this country
who stigmatize them like banditos and cockroaches, when the lights go on
as they both scatter and run every which way, hide from "La Migra"
glistening in the night like dissolute souls
as they disperse into the shadows like nocturnal fiends
they steal the innocence of our nation's bounty
looking to embezzle America's pride
like hoodlums and vagabonds, as they drift in through America's back alleys
sliding into kitchens and franchises across America, like Taco Bell and McDonald's
Burger King and Wendy's, Kentucky Fried chicken houses
and Mom and Pop eateries across America
conjuring up tasteful white Anglicized-Mexican dishes
with a dash of silent rancor
to awaken and soothe the pleasure-seeking Yankee appetite
and relish America's cravings for spicy indifference
south of the border watered-down style
prepared for the forked tongue, like tacos and burritos
with spicy hot rudiments, boldly to cleanse all the lies and trickery
the White House has imposed upon the brown-faced people
mindful to divide and conquer the American workingman
implement the illegal alien as the scapegoat, for the wrongs made upon America
manifested upon the Southwest in days of yesteryear
as white-faced merchants froth with folly
putting susceptible brown-faced people at the till
at the price of undercutting middle class America
with false promises and indentured pacts
as they sought to quiet their souls to spoil them with artificial things
swapped over for worthy sweat
for the anonymous always on pins and needles
at the expense of America's downtrodden
in exchange for substandard workmanship, yes, the new slave
the superfluous undocumented Mexican brown-faced people
is cursed once again by its neighbor to the north, null and void and held hostage
as America opens its gates in a cunning way
to make right for the corporate fat cats, exploitation at its best to gnaw at the bait
set aside for the dejected new brown-faced people
with phony promises and easy access, condoned by Bush and loathsome Fox
as shady corporate fat cats line their pockets with hard cash
selling out the American people, protracting and deriding it own citizenry
empowering these new-brown-faced people to enter through America's back door.
Copyright (c) 2004, 2005, Louis Lucero.
Vintage Colorado Poetry would welcome hearing from the poet.