10.15.2002
y cuando me levantose fue la noche,
la calle ha despertado antes que yo,
a su trabajo
van las muchachas pobres, los pescadores vuelven
del océano
los mineros
van con zapatos nuevos
entrando en la mina,
todo vive,
todos pasan,
andan apresurados,
y yo tengo apenas tiempo
para vestirme,
yo tengo que correr:
ninguno puede
pasar sin que yo sepa
adónde va, qué cosa le ha sucedido.
from EL HOMBRE INVISIBLE
tengo rato que no escribo en mi diario. he estado muy ocupado. leyendo poesía. escribiendo poesía.
I have re-discovered Pablo Neruda, el poeta del pueblo. It was in high school when I first encounter this xingón poet; mainly through his love poems. I did not know he was a communist heavily involved with worker struggles through out Latino America. Most of the stuff that was anthologize of him were love poems, nothing as political as El Hombre Invisible or his poems dedicated to the Cuban revolution.
This censorship also happens to other great poets of the people, such as Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman and José Martí. Other poets don't even get into "great poets" anthologies, such as Leonel Rugama and Nicolas Guillen. (this people are must for those interested in writing xingón poetry that speaks of resistance and love for the common people). I also see this trend of selective censorship with muralist. As a mexicano, I always heard of the murals of Diego Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros; but seldom were any of their radical politics mentioned. ¿Por qué?
i'll been thinking a lot about getting an MFA (Masters in Fine Arts) in writing. Poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. But I'm a little bit hesitant since I don't know what kind of people I will encounter in grad school. What if I find a pinche güey that believes that art must be abstract to be good art? What if he/she says that the politics in my poetry sond more like propaganda than poetry? I know what the answer to all of this is: fuck you. Pero pa' qué me meto en todo esto. I should just get a Masters in Ethnic Studies and keep writing along. That also sounds like a good idea. Haber que pasa.
by the way, life's good to me right now. my daughter is big and beautiful y cada vez más despierta. Quetzalli is asleep right now, so i'm taking the chance to write.
every tuesday and thursday i take her to day care. i take care of her while alejandra is at school. (she's studying art: paint, draw, etc) y pues i'm exercising my responsibility as a papá.
here are some pictures of Quetzal birds:
these are taken from other websites. i have never met one of these beautiful colorful creatures. Quetzal birds are sacred birds for Mayan and Mexica people. Their feathers are really valuable. Quetzalli, my daughter, takes her name after them. I hope that she grows up to be a free spirit. (Celeste Quetzalli).
here's one more foto:
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