Humberto Rivera
speaks in broken english
crawls through the language
of Big Macs and Coca-Cola
with a club foot accent
and manages to tell his boss--
how much he needs the extra hours.
Humberto Rivera
misses his first two periods
every day
because he doesn't get home from
work until 2am
even Dave and Leno don't wait up
for Humberto Rivera
much less the pedagogy of
oppression
known as the American
Public School System
Humberto Rivera
Mexican National
Illegal Alien
Wetback
Gang Type
At Risk
LEP/NEP student
Border Brother
Chilango
Roquero
Chavo
Beaner
Spic
Fuckin' Mexican
Mijo
Hermano
Joven
Humberto Rivera
feared by his teachers
ridiculed by his peers
ignored by society.
Humberto waits in line
for his subsidized lunch
waits along side 200
bronze children
ancestors of Guatemoc,
sons of Texcatilpoca
daughters of la Malinche
waiting for lunch
waiting for papers
waiting for a better future
waiting...
While outside at Burger King
and Taco Bell
uppity Chicanos and Gavacho
kids who can afford it scarf down
beefy nachos and whoppers and
learn the perks of social stratification.
Humberto Rivera
misspells the word Mayflower on his test;
but he couldn't care less about the pilgrims
and the cherry tree
as he struggles to understand
how he is related to the founding fathers.
He puts these thoughts aside and focuses
on holding out 'til the end of the year
on just making it through the end of this day.
Humberto Rivera
does not have time to wonder
why the other kids look forward to
summer "vacation"
and on the 4th of July
he catches a glimpse of the fireworks
from the 23rd floor of the empty
high rise and behind the hum
of his vacuum cleaner
he hears the crowd
outside cheering for independence
and freedom.
And while the band plays
God Bless America
Humberto Rivera
scrubs the shit from
corporate toilets
and ponders if he is
thankful for being in
America
--Marc David Pinate
