“Pride”
I am more than body
Beyond the rainbow flags and free condoms
The celebration of me is not found in parades
In a sea of half-naked men dancing to techno
The celebration for my spirit
Is not found in wet underwear contests
Random hook-ups
Over-sexualized drama
Or STDs
More than Dick I often think of spirit
And the fact that I’ve been broken
Through systems that keep me blind to my own self-actualization
Prevent me from seeing that I am Two-Spirit
Como sacred ceremonias
Mi cuerpo es elemento
Something powerful
Algo that goes beyond the flesh
And is manifested through these poems
I am not Gay
Yo soy voz del más allá
Bendición de Ometeolt
Las dos energías
Something that cannot be described through a simple three- Letter word
Like GAY
My sexuality does not define me
It is a simple intersection of my being
Because more then body, I am a complex identity
I am of energías flowing like rivers
Movements of our people pimping a system
Yo soy piel de tambores creando ritmos de corazones
This is who we are
No cuerpo solo espíritu
Voices of people not celebrated
In white capitalistic wannabe inclusive parades of individuals
Nosotros somos Two- Spirit
And their pride is not ours
Because as they celebrate pop stars
And liberate their bodies
We are still caged
In their system
Still silent
Not speaking about spirituality
And that fact that we need
A sacred space
To share Intersectionality
We need espacios
In which the focus is not getting laid
But empowering our spirits
Arming ourselves
With the truth
that we all must heal
Move pass this fake notion that we are liberated individuals
And finally state
That we are caged creatures
Poetry
“TRE (My Revolutionary)”
You tell me you don’t like the city
That these buildings, this concrete
Numbs the senses
Cages the spirit and baby
Your spirit was meant to be free
You my love
Were born to be revolutionary
Like the winds we felt sitting on top of the world
Free like the tobacco you offered me to blow blessings
Free like palabras sagradas que salen de tu boca
Y las rimas femeninas y masculinas that you bust on
stage
You are my revolutionary
Not a guerrero but a healer
Because in times of conflict
Mi rey you heal
And more then body I must agree with you that you are spirit
Because more then your flesh I am in love con el Corazon que tienes
You are the reason why I love men with noble hearts
The reason why I don’t mind sharing a bed with someone
For men like you I would ride a million BARTs
Get lost in Oakland
And find your house beneath the brightest star
Mi Vida
You come from tierra
Where the spirits of those who failed to cross over roam
You come from el desierto
But baby we all know you are not deserted
You got me and together we are 4 spirits
Like the 4 directions
You got the creator behind you
you are his creation
His masterpiece
And in this journey you are traveling you have managed to leave
Your footprints in my heart
I carry your breath in my hair
Your teachings in my two spirits
You are fluid
Como los Rios que nuestra gente a cruzado
You remind me that the only possessions we have in this world
Are our bodies and our voice
And the combination of the two must be used
To honor the spirits oflos antepasados
This life is a ritual
And in its sacredness
I am so glad that I am able to hug you
You are my revolutionary…
And as you make your transition back home
Into the arms of your mother
Into the lips of your father
I ask that you take this poem with you
Take a memory of me with you
Plant these
En la tierra que te vio nacer
En esa tierra que hacido bautizada
Con la sangre sagrada de nuestra gente
And I will assure you
that where ever you be
This love will sprout a new
Como el sol por las mananas this poem will shine on you.
Now go
to where ever home is
Knowing that in San Jose
You leave a brown boy
That has nothing but love and respect for you.
In the mean time,
I will stay here
in this cage, in this shitty city
Singing and singing
Till this system crumbles
Till borders break
Till the earth shakes
And our people become awake
I will be here
Singing and singing till the day
We are all free to return
HOME.