Angely Mercado
Here’s our August installment of “Bushwick Bohemia Beat Poetry” curated by Bushwick-born poet, Emanuel Xavier. The series features poems by Bushwick residents. This month’s poem comes from Emanuel Xavier himself.
You’ve likely mistaken me for some old school native Latino. But gringo, I know how to read and I’m not just talking literature. Allow me to flip that crochet hat nestled upon your unwashed hair. Your beards, ironic tee shirts, Variety coffee cups and thrift shop hand-me-downs fail to
impress this anchor baby. Your legacy will end much like ours once the yuppie parents move into the nabe. Unaffordable rents and no regard for your cultural contributions will plague you too. You will know what it is like to be considered roaches that need to be pushed out.
Those roommates- friends-for-life- will think of you fondly like dead goldfish flushed down the toilet. Their parents will gladly take them back and listen to their stories of “struggle” in the hood. Their art possibly forgotten, their accents parodied, their fashion so two thousand and yesterday. You
will have to settle for being ignored, looked down upon, felt pity for by the new conquerors. This undesirable dismissal should actually be considered kindness. Perhaps embrace the circle of life. It’s nothing you can’t survive as you mature from insolence and nothing looking back at the
absurdity of man buns and skinny jeans won’t someday heal. You’ll soon realize it was never about talent or privilege but all about money in the end. Hopefully you saved some benjamins but it’s certain mommy and daddy will bail you out. It’s just the world we live in and things
change.
Bushwick’s celebrated poet Emanuel Xavier curates this monthly feature exclusively for Bushwick Daily featuring a poem by a local Bushwick resident and/or native. 2-3 poems (10 pages max) can be submitted to [email protected] with the subject “Bushwick Bohemia Beat Poetry Submission” by September 15.
Poems should be attached as Word documents, 10 point, Times New Roman font, double spaced and set up as they should appear on the site if selected. Poems can be about anything (not exclusive to Bushwick) but contributors must currently live within the Bushwick area or have been born and/or raised in the neighborhood.
Please include a brief 3-5 sentence bio and your personal relation to Bushwick with your current mailing address for verification. If submitting previously published work, please include appropriate publication credits. Only if one of your poems is selected for online publication will you receive an email.
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Cover image courtesy of Janaya Dasiuk