Hello Poetry
Submit your work and get some sparkles! Create free account
"dominican" poems
I am from VapoRub, From Goya And morisoñando. I am from the traffic And loud horns, From the Caribbean heat, And the city lights, From the buildings And the towers. I am from the palm trees And the coconut trees, Dancing bachata And merengue In the beach, From yaniqueque Y plátano, From tostones And fish. I am from Sunday gatherings And loud family members, From Jose, Maria, and Primos, And the hardworking Payamps clan. I am from the Madera’s baseball team, From Canó, Sosa, y Ortiz, From the long summer rides To ***** Cana And Samana’s beach. From “work hard Cause life is not easy” And “family before friends.” From Christianity And Saturday morning sermons, From God is good And He brings joy. I am from Santo Domingo And Monción, From Santiago And Spanish ancestors, From mangú con salami, From rice and beans. From the grandpa Who owns the village Surrounded by Chickens, cows, and bulls, From the business owner And the well known uncles In my hometown. I am from the only flag With a bible. From the red, blue And white. From the most beautiful Island in the Caribbean, From Quisqueya y Libertad. I am from the Dominican Republic, The country that holds The people I love and Miss the most. I am from the Little Paris box I keep next to my bed, Filled with precious Gifts and letters That make me feel A little closer To them.
0
Aug 18, 2017
Aug 18, 2017 at 11:54 AM UTC
"Where I'm From"
Afghanistan needs hellopoetry Albania needs hellopoetry Algeria needs hellopoetry Andorra needs hellopoetry Angola needs hellopoetry Antigua and Barbuda needs hellopoetry Argentina needs hellopoetry Armenia needs hellopoetry Australia needs hellopoetry Austria needs hellopoetry Azerbaijan needs hellopoetry The Bahamas needs hellopoetry Bahrain needs hellopoetry Bangladesh needs hellopoetry Barbados needs hellopoetry Belarus needs hellopoetry Belgium needs hellopoetry Belize needs hellopoetry Benin needs hellopoetry Bhutan needs hellopoetry Bolivia needs hellopoetry Bosnia and Herzegovina needs hellopoetry Botswana needs hellopoetry Brazil needs hellopoetry Brunei needs hellopoetry Bulgaria needs hellopoetry Burkina Faso needs hellopoetry Burundi needs hellopoetry Cabo Verde needs hellopoetry Cambodia needs hellopoetry Cameroon needs hellopoetry Canada needs hellopoetry Central African Republic needs hellopoetry Chad needs hellopoetry Chile needs hellopoetry China needs hellopoetry Colombia needs hellopoetry Comoros needs hellopoetry Congo, Democratic Republic is in need of hellopoetry Congo, Republic is in need of hellopoetry   Costa Rica needs hellopoetry Côte d’Ivoire needs hellopoetry Croatia needs hellopoetry Cuba needs hellopoetry Cyprus needs hellopoetry Czech Republic needs hellopoetry Denmark needs hellopoetry   Djibouti needs hellopoetry Dominica needs hellopoetry Dominican Republic needs hellopoetry East Timor (Timor-Leste) needs hellopoetry Ecuador needs hellopoetry Egypt needs hellopoetry   El Salvador needs hellopoetry Equatorial Guinea needs hellopoetry Eritrea needs hellopoetry Estonia needs hellopoetry Eswatini needs hellopoetry Ethiopia needs hellopoetry Fiji needs hellopoetry Finland needs hellopoetry France needs hellopoetry Gabon needs hellopoetry The Gambia needs hellopoetry Georgia needs hellopoetry Germany needs hellopoetry Ghana needs hellopoetry Greece needs hellopoetry Grenada needs hellopoetry Guatemala needs hellopoetry Guinea needs hellopoetry Guinea-Bissau needs hellopoetry Guyana needs hellopoetry Haiti needs hellopoetry Honduras needs hellopoetry Hungary needs hellopoetry Iceland needs hellopoetry India needs hellopoetry Indonesia needs hellopoetry Iran needs hellopoetry Iraq needs hellopoetry Ireland needs hellopoetry Israel needs hellopoetry Italy needs hellopoetry Jamaica needs hellopoetry Japan needs hellopoetry Jordan needs hellopoetry Kazakhstan needs hellopoetry Kenya needs hellopoetry Kiribati needs hellopoetry Korea, North needs hellopoetry Korea, South needs hellopoetry Kosovo needs hellopoetry Kuwait needs hellopoetry Kyrgyzstan needs hellopoetry Laos needs hellopoetry Latvia needs hellopoetry Lebanon needs hellopoetry Lesotho needs hellopoetry Liberia needs hellopoetry Libya needs hellopoetry Liechtenstein needs hellopoetry Lithuania needs hellopoetry Luxembourg needs hellopoetry Madagascar needs hellopoetry Malawi needs hellopoetry Malaysia needs hellopoetry Maldives needs hellopoetry Mali needs hellopoetry Malta needs hellopoetry Marshall Islands needs hellopoetry Mauritania needs hellopoetry Mauritius needs hellopoetry Mexico needs hellopoetry Micronesia, Federated States is in need of hellopoetry Moldova needs hellopoetry Monaco needs hellopoetry Mongolia needs hellopoetry Montenegro needs hellopoetry Morocco needs hellopoetry Mozambique needs hellopoetry Myanmar (Burma) needs hellopoetry Namibia needs hellopoetry Nauru needs hellopoetry Nepal needs hellopoetry Netherlands needs hellopoetry New Zealand needs hellopoetry Nicaragua needs hellopoetry Niger needs hellopoetry Nigeria needs hellopoetry North Macedonia needs hellopoetry Norway needs hellopoetry Oman needs hellopoetry Pakistan needs hellopoetry Palau needs hellopoetry Panama needs hellopoetry Papua New Guinea needs hellopoetry Paraguay needs hellopoetry Peru needs hellopoetry Philippines needs hellopoetry Poland needs hellopoetry Portugal needs hellopoetry Qatar needs hellopoetry Romania needs hellopoetry Russia needs hellopoetry Rwanda needs hellopoetry Saint Kitts and Nevis needs hellopoetry Saint Lucia needs hellopoetry Saint Vincent and the Grenadines needs hellopoetry Samoa needs hellopoetry San Marino needs hellopoetry Sao Tome and Principe needs hellopoetry Saudi Arabia needs hellopoetry Senegal needs hellopoetry Serbia needs hellopoetry Seychelles needs hellopoetry Sierra Leone needs hellopoetry Singapore needs hellopoetry Slovakia needs hellopoetry Slovenia needs hellopoetry Solomon Islands needs hellopoetry Somalia needs hellopoetry South Africa needs hellopoetry Spain needs hellopoetry Sri Lanka needs hellopoetry Sudan needs hellopoetry Sudan, South needs hellopoetry Suriname needs hellopoetry Sweden needs hellopoetry Switzerland needs hellopoetry Syria needs hellopoetry Taiwan needs hellopoetry Tajikistan needs hellopoetry Tanzania needs hellopoetry Thailand needs hellopoetry Togo needs hellopoetry Tonga needs hellopoetry Trinidad and Tobago needs hellopoetry Tunisia needs hellopoetry Turkey needs hellopoetry Turkmenistan needs hellopoetry Tuvalu needs hellopoetry Uganda needs hellopoetry Ukraine needs hellopoetry United Arab Emirates needs hellopoetry United Kingdom needs hellopoetry United States needs hellopoetry Uruguay needs hellopoetry Uzbekistan needs hellopoetry Vanuatu needs hellopoetry Vatican City needs hellopoetry Venezuela needs hellopoetry Vietnam needs hellopoetry Yemen needs hellopoetry Zambia needs hellopoetry Zimbabwe needs hellopoetry
0
Dec 21, 2019
Dec 21, 2019 at 11:08 AM UTC
The World NEEDS HelloPoetry (Please Make A Contribution.)
Afghanistan needs hellopoetry Albania needs hellopoetry Algeria needs hellopoetry Andorra needs hellopoetry Angola needs hellopoetry Antigua and Barbuda needs hellopoetry Argentina needs hellopoetry Armenia needs hellopoetry Australia needs hellopoetry Austria needs hellopoetry Azerbaijan needs hellopoetry The Bahamas needs hellopoetry Bahrain needs hellopoetry Bangladesh needs hellopoetry Barbados needs hellopoetry Belarus needs hellopoetry Belgium needs hellopoetry Belize needs hellopoetry Benin needs hellopoetry Bhutan needs hellopoetry Bolivia needs hellopoetry Bosnia and Herzegovina needs hellopoetry Botswana needs hellopoetry Brazil needs hellopoetry Brunei needs hellopoetry Bulgaria needs hellopoetry Burkina Faso needs hellopoetry Burundi needs hellopoetry Cabo Verde needs hellopoetry Cambodia needs hellopoetry Cameroon needs hellopoetry Canada needs hellopoetry Central African Republic needs hellopoetry Chad needs hellopoetry Chile needs hellopoetry China needs hellopoetry Colombia needs hellopoetry Comoros needs hellopoetry Congo, Democratic Republic is in need of hellopoetry Congo, Republic is in need of hellopoetry   Costa Rica needs hellopoetry Côte d’Ivoire needs hellopoetry Croatia needs hellopoetry Cuba needs hellopoetry Cyprus needs hellopoetry Czech Republic needs hellopoetry Denmark needs hellopoetry   Djibouti needs hellopoetry Dominica needs hellopoetry Dominican Republic needs hellopoetry East Timor (Timor-Leste) needs hellopoetry Ecuador needs hellopoetry Egypt needs hellopoetry   El Salvador needs hellopoetry Equatorial Guinea needs hellopoetry Eritrea needs hellopoetry Estonia needs hellopoetry Eswatini needs hellopoetry Ethiopia needs hellopoetry Fiji needs hellopoetry Finland needs hellopoetry France needs hellopoetry Gabon needs hellopoetry The Gambia needs hellopoetry Georgia needs hellopoetry Germany needs hellopoetry Ghana needs hellopoetry Greece needs hellopoetry Grenada needs hellopoetry Guatemala needs hellopoetry Guinea needs hellopoetry Guinea-Bissau needs hellopoetry Guyana needs hellopoetry Haiti needs hellopoetry Honduras needs hellopoetry Hungary needs hellopoetry Iceland needs hellopoetry India needs hellopoetry Indonesia needs hellopoetry Iran needs hellopoetry Iraq needs hellopoetry Ireland needs hellopoetry Israel needs hellopoetry Italy needs hellopoetry Jamaica needs hellopoetry Japan needs hellopoetry Jordan needs hellopoetry Kazakhstan needs hellopoetry Kenya needs hellopoetry Kiribati needs hellopoetry Korea, North needs hellopoetry Korea, South needs hellopoetry Kosovo needs hellopoetry Kuwait needs hellopoetry Kyrgyzstan needs hellopoetry Laos needs hellopoetry Latvia needs hellopoetry Lebanon needs hellopoetry Lesotho needs hellopoetry Liberia needs hellopoetry Libya needs hellopoetry Liechtenstein needs hellopoetry Lithuania needs hellopoetry Luxembourg needs hellopoetry Madagascar needs hellopoetry Malawi needs hellopoetry Malaysia needs hellopoetry Maldives needs hellopoetry Mali needs hellopoetry Malta needs hellopoetry Marshall Islands needs hellopoetry Mauritania needs hellopoetry Mauritius needs hellopoetry Mexico needs hellopoetry Micronesia, Federated States is in need of hellopoetry Moldova needs hellopoetry Monaco needs hellopoetry Mongolia needs hellopoetry Montenegro needs hellopoetry Morocco needs hellopoetry Mozambique needs hellopoetry Myanmar (Burma) needs hellopoetry Namibia needs hellopoetry Nauru needs hellopoetry Nepal needs hellopoetry Netherlands needs hellopoetry New Zealand needs hellopoetry Nicaragua needs hellopoetry Niger needs hellopoetry Nigeria needs hellopoetry North Macedonia needs hellopoetry Norway needs hellopoetry Oman needs hellopoetry Pakistan needs hellopoetry Palau needs hellopoetry Panama needs hellopoetry Papua New Guinea needs hellopoetry Paraguay needs hellopoetry Peru needs hellopoetry Philippines needs hellopoetry Poland needs hellopoetry Portugal needs hellopoetry Qatar needs hellopoetry Romania needs hellopoetry Russia needs hellopoetry Rwanda needs hellopoetry Saint Kitts and Nevis needs hellopoetry Saint Lucia needs hellopoetry Saint Vincent and the Grenadines needs hellopoetry Samoa needs hellopoetry San Marino needs hellopoetry Sao Tome and Principe needs hellopoetry Saudi Arabia needs hellopoetry Senegal needs hellopoetry Serbia needs hellopoetry Seychelles needs hellopoetry Sierra Leone needs hellopoetry Singapore needs hellopoetry Slovakia needs hellopoetry Slovenia needs hellopoetry Solomon Islands needs hellopoetry Somalia needs hellopoetry South Africa needs hellopoetry Spain needs hellopoetry Sri Lanka needs hellopoetry Sudan needs hellopoetry Sudan, South needs hellopoetry Suriname needs hellopoetry Sweden needs hellopoetry Switzerland needs hellopoetry Syria needs hellopoetry Taiwan needs hellopoetry Tajikistan needs hellopoetry Tanzania needs hellopoetry Thailand needs hellopoetry Togo needs hellopoetry Tonga needs hellopoetry Trinidad and Tobago needs hellopoetry Tunisia needs hellopoetry Turkey needs hellopoetry Turkmenistan needs hellopoetry Tuvalu needs hellopoetry Uganda needs hellopoetry Ukraine needs hellopoetry United Arab Emirates needs hellopoetry United Kingdom needs hellopoetry United States needs hellopoetry Uruguay needs hellopoetry Uzbekistan needs hellopoetry Vanuatu needs hellopoetry Vatican City needs hellopoetry Venezuela needs hellopoetry Vietnam needs hellopoetry Yemen needs hellopoetry Zambia needs hellopoetry Zimbabwe needs hellopoetry
Continue reading...
196
I met a man. No, not just a man. I met a gentle soul. I met a knight hidden in the tropics, I know he would fight for me if he could. He is a man of kind words and promises, He means what he says. His eyes are dark, They hide his beautiful heart. His love is sincere. His smile is fleeting in pictures, But it lights up the world. His voice is deep, It moves me like thunder. His intense gaze never makes me falter. Souls like his are few and far between. His words soothe my pain, But they also make me laugh and cry. He is a rock to support those he cares for. He never gives up on them. I met a man. I met a strong, dark knight. I met an incredible soul. I found a love. Or did I meet Eros in disguise?
0
Jun 23, 2020
Jun 23, 2020 at 10:18 AM UTC
Dominican Knight
i'm living on a solitary prayer vandalized my ego to make it rare with teeth stained with lies i've told and promises lost in the cold i tussle and taser to hide my lovers and all that i am - a mess or tastemaker sprinkling tersely on my mercy seat will make my season go complete? i pull the labrys & the throttle artefact-sprites in uranium soil declaring my truth atop of the flagpole i'm the custodian of haute culture a flotilla of judgment riding skyhigh like dido's love-lachrymose down demise they say "better rethink your useless vendetta" but first we'd better get out of their siberia where the masses doubt the angry fix "ignore the (g/h)aze above the pyramid if we only couldn't have any more locked in dominican ****** wards
0
Aug 7, 2013
Aug 7, 2013 at 6:21 PM UTC
custodian of haute culture
What's happening to hello poetry? I don't need to know when the next soccer game is And if I can watch for free. Only football I know is American like the pride that's in me. My blood doesn't boil the native sounds of my country. Since my  motherland is the Dominican But America my step motherland won custody and raised me, since the age of three. Don't forget is not who made you but who you fed you, who clothed you, who saw your first shot to a basket, who saw your first catch, who kept your body warm when you got another cold, and so on. This is "Breakfast for Champions" Just ask Kurt Vonnegut What's happening to hello Poetry? Show your art Get your due diligence Don't sell us your dreams don't broadcast your business unless is a story, book signing or deal. I don't need a spell to make a girl fall in love. I got these words For and to whom I might propose Love or an indecent occasion of lust. Let my words be the for front on this site but they're second to my actions. Since I don't speak much b'cause my Latin accent. What is happening to hello poetry? Private messages by strangers who don't write or speak words. Claim is urgent and as a poet You know kind hearted, love lost, And so on... You just might want to message their Hotmail. Sad story under prosecution Sad story the relation is abusive Mocking the painful truths of some of us artist. Just wanting a piece of the pie But when I order I even eat the crust and never leave crumbs. Take offense or not I just don't give a ****
0
Aug 12, 2015
Aug 12, 2015 at 7:44 AM UTC
***
What's happening to hello poetry? I don't need to know when the next soccer game is And if I can watch for free. Only football I know is American like the pride that's in me. My blood doesn't boil the native sounds of my country. Since my  motherland is the Dominican But America my step motherland won custody and raised me, since the age of three. Don't forget is not who made you but who you fed you, who clothed you, who saw your first shot to a basket, who saw your first catch, who kept your body warm when you got another cold, and so on. This is "Breakfast for Champions" Just ask Kurt Vonnegut What's happening to hello Poetry? Show your art Get your due diligence Don't sell us your dreams don't broadcast your business unless is a story, book signing or deal. I don't need a spell to make a girl fall in love. I got these words For and to whom I might propose Love or an indecent occasion of lust. Let my words be the for front on this site but they're second to my actions. Since I don't speak much b'cause my Latin accent. What is happening to hello poetry? Private messages by strangers who don't write or speak words. Claim is urgent and as a poet You know kind hearted, love lost, And so on... You just might want to message their Hotmail. Sad story under prosecution Sad story the relation is abusive Mocking the painful truths of some of us artist. Just wanting a piece of the pie But when I order I even eat the crust and never leave crumbs. Take offense or not I just don't give a ****
Continue reading...
30
I hate my hips. I hate how the friction between my thighs makes me feel I hate how the fat on my stomach goes outwards and not inwards. those are the worst days. the ones when my skinny-fat-gangly body is an odyssey all on it's own and my mother's home cooked meals become saturated oceans of salt in my stomach and make me become this uncontrollable monster that eats everything without mercy and ravages my refrigerator until my self pity becomes obvious in the mirror as my skinny-fat hips become more apparent and until I am left by myself, surrounded by tears that taste like fries that are much too salty and chicken that tastes all too much like diabetes. I hate my hips. I hate how they don't move to the familiar beat of the Spanish songs that always play in my house I hate how they are not big enough to grab people's attention but not small enough to please my ideals of beauty. my hips remind me that I am an outsider in my own culture, a family where you see the women's *** before you see her face and they remind me that I am not socially acceptable. I hate my hips. I hate my face. I hate how my forehead is large enough to be a canvas for the world and how my eyebrows are as transparent as a Dominican ocean I hate how my nose stretches when I grin and how my ears stick out like something someone didn't mean to place. I hate my face. I hate how when people look at me, they do not see the shape of my lips or my cheek bones or anything I love about myself all they see is a girl with hips too small and with a forehead to large and with everything wrong. I hate how I look. being confident is not an option being happy is only a facade and when my father tells me I am beautiful it takes everything in me to not tell him to stop lying. insecurity is not something you simply get over or something you can hide it is the small voice in your head that tells you that you are a mistake it marches all over your mind and sets your self-esteem to ashes. whenever I wake up in the morning there is a pressing weight on my chest and the feeling that I should live alone because all people will ever see is my appearance and whenever I brush my teeth I try my hardest to avoid the mirror but when I do look in the mirror and I see my reflection the bitter resentment towards who I am strikes me so hard that it slaps me into reality. I am me. There is nothing I can change about my bone structure or the large canvas on my face and I will have to live like this every day until I die. how can insecurity not be a problem?
0
Dec 22, 2015
Dec 22, 2015 at 8:10 PM UTC
An Open Letter To People Who Think Insecurity Is Not A Real Problem
I hate my hips. I hate how the friction between my thighs makes me feel I hate how the fat on my stomach goes outwards and not inwards. those are the worst days. the ones when my skinny-fat-gangly body is an odyssey all on it's own and my mother's home cooked meals become saturated oceans of salt in my stomach and make me become this uncontrollable monster that eats everything without mercy and ravages my refrigerator until my self pity becomes obvious in the mirror as my skinny-fat hips become more apparent and until I am left by myself, surrounded by tears that taste like fries that are much too salty and chicken that tastes all too much like diabetes. I hate my hips. I hate how they don't move to the familiar beat of the Spanish songs that always play in my house I hate how they are not big enough to grab people's attention but not small enough to please my ideals of beauty. my hips remind me that I am an outsider in my own culture, a family where you see the women's *** before you see her face and they remind me that I am not socially acceptable. I hate my hips. I hate my face. I hate how my forehead is large enough to be a canvas for the world and how my eyebrows are as transparent as a Dominican ocean I hate how my nose stretches when I grin and how my ears stick out like something someone didn't mean to place. I hate my face. I hate how when people look at me, they do not see the shape of my lips or my cheek bones or anything I love about myself all they see is a girl with hips too small and with a forehead to large and with everything wrong. I hate how I look. being confident is not an option being happy is only a facade and when my father tells me I am beautiful it takes everything in me to not tell him to stop lying. insecurity is not something you simply get over or something you can hide it is the small voice in your head that tells you that you are a mistake it marches all over your mind and sets your self-esteem to ashes. whenever I wake up in the morning there is a pressing weight on my chest and the feeling that I should live alone because all people will ever see is my appearance and whenever I brush my teeth I try my hardest to avoid the mirror but when I do look in the mirror and I see my reflection the bitter resentment towards who I am strikes me so hard that it slaps me into reality. I am me. There is nothing I can change about my bone structure or the large canvas on my face and I will have to live like this every day until I die. how can insecurity not be a problem?
Continue reading...
39
She's been next door since my birth and you may wonder how that is even possible when I am four or five years older than her. I met her at a time in my life where my world changed, and in this change I tried to live-- to live for anything. In my futile attempts to find purpose to conquer the beasts of mental illness, she's been at my window to see this eternal struggle of mine. She's wonderful completely and utterly-- of course this doesn't mean she's perfect and even more of course she's far from it. But maybe it's that imperfection that has allowed her and I to have open windows, open hearts, and open conversations-- no matter the Time zones, languages, or illnesses we always come back understanding each other just a little bit more.
0
Nov 23, 2018
Nov 23, 2018 at 8:17 AM UTC
My Dominican Neighbor (Incomplete)
I still remember her pinay almond eyes and peanut butter smile even though she was a cracked nut. I still remember chewing on her whiskey-sponged lips her Koala cheeks and the Melbourne burn of her voice. I still remember her throwing fits and things at me we’ll chalk that up as the hazards of dating a Dominican woman. I still remember her Grand Canyonized Salma Hayek thighs as fat and meaty as her spicy Mexican tortas. I still remember the coca leaf nature of her walk and the precise coffee of her eyes that kept me up all night. I still remember her catracha scent when escaping her man just to lay the blue frosting of her clandestine mouth on mine. I still remember her swiftly poetic like a Chico Barque song the Brazilian beauty who netted in my heart a Pelé-size goal. I still remember them.
0
May 8, 2013
May 8, 2013 at 1:15 PM UTC
I Still Remember Them...
AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL? Were you aware that our nation opposed Haiti's revolution for democracy in the early 1800s; that our nation's war against Mexico that began in 1846 resulted in our taking half of Mexico for ourselves; that our nation defeated Spain ostensibly to liberate Cuba, but actually established a military base on the island and furtively gained de facto control of its puppet government; that our nation seized Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Guam; that our nation had fought a brutal war to subjugate the Phillipines; that our nation had opened Japan for trade with us with threats and gunboats; that our nation created an "Open Door" policy with China to exploit it economically; that our nation engineered a revolution against Colombia to create the nation of Panama so we could build the canal through it; that our nation sent 5,000 Marines in 1926 to Nicaragua to counter their democratic revolution; that our nation in 1916 intervened in the Dominican Republic for the fourth time; that our nation in 1915 intervened in Haiti for the second time, and so on. Imperialism, not democracy, steered our nation's decisions and movements. Did any of you learn about, let alone study extensively, any of these flagitious Ameican acts and policies as you sat and squirmed in your high school American history class? My surmise is that you did not. But I bet you were required in at least one of your classrooms sometime between 1st and 12th grade to stand at attention, as it were, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance as you saluted the flag in the corner. My riposte: What does it matter if our flags are waving, if our spirits are flagging? Epilogue: Most importantly, never forget that it was the two evils of slavery and genocide that propelled our nation into what once was the most influential nation on Earth. Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks
0
Jun 26, 2020
Jun 26, 2020 at 8:52 PM UTC
AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL?
AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL? Were you aware that our nation opposed Haiti's revolution for democracy in the early 1800s; that our nation's war against Mexico that began in 1846 resulted in our taking half of Mexico for ourselves; that our nation defeated Spain ostensibly to liberate Cuba, but actually established a military base on the island and furtively gained de facto control of its puppet government; that our nation seized Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Guam; that our nation had fought a brutal war to subjugate the Phillipines; that our nation had opened Japan for trade with us with threats and gunboats; that our nation created an "Open Door" policy with China to exploit it economically; that our nation engineered a revolution against Colombia to create the nation of Panama so we could build the canal through it; that our nation sent 5,000 Marines in 1926 to Nicaragua to counter their democratic revolution; that our nation in 1916 intervened in the Dominican Republic for the fourth time; that our nation in 1915 intervened in Haiti for the second time, and so on. Imperialism, not democracy, steered our nation's decisions and movements. Did any of you learn about, let alone study extensively, any of these flagitious Ameican acts and policies as you sat and squirmed in your high school American history class? My surmise is that you did not. But I bet you were required in at least one of your classrooms sometime between 1st and 12th grade to stand at attention, as it were, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance as you saluted the flag in the corner. My riposte: What does it matter if our flags are waving, if our spirits are flagging? Epilogue: Most importantly, never forget that it was the two evils of slavery and genocide that propelled our nation into what once was the most influential nation on Earth. Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks
Continue reading...
5
His first love should've been basketball and his second, girls because his name was Juan and he represented the white, red and blue bandera, *Dominicano puro cien porciento del capital entiendes compai?* understand homie? and that label meant that he threw empty beer bottles at abandoned houses and smoked second hand **** because he was too broke to buy from the good dealers and he hollered at girls with wide hips and short skirts that walked by (oye mama tu si eres linda ven aquí!) they would giggle and roll their eyes at him but of course because he was one of those light skinned boys, the type with light eyes and smooth brown hair that every girl dreamed about, they would holler at him back the very next day // His first love was basketball and his second, was not girls, his second love was words; it was the craziest ******* thing in the world, to be a boy and not be crazy over women is one thing, but to be Dominican and not in love with every muchacha en el Barrio es una cosa de los maricones! as his best friend would say as he shook his head disappointedly, muthafucka had the finest beauties the Caribbean had to offer swooning as he spoke, and he was in love with palabras de los gringos? but it didn’t matter, he loved words like the junkies loved drugs and like his best friend loved women, and while every other sin verguenza on his block would dance to the hypnotizing beat of merengue and bachata, he would watch by on the roof of the abandoned building nearby and he would write it all down: how the lights of the neighborhood had never seen more alive and how old man Victor looked youthful dancing next to the neighborhood ***** and how his mother looked happier than she had in a long time, swaying her body to the calming voice of the old music she hadn't head in a while and yes he was still the boy that threw beer bottles at abandoned windows and smoked second hand **** because he was too broke to afford the real stuff and he still hollered at girls who wore shirts too low but in the shadow of all the happiness up on the roof, he was not Juan, best basketball player on the team, Dominicano cien porciento y no te lo olvides, repping the white, red and blue bandera instead he was Juan, the light skinned boy who liked the palabras de los gringos because of the way they rolled off his tongue and he had decided that he liked it better that way (h.l.)
0
Sep 18, 2015
Sep 18, 2015 at 6:28 PM UTC
amor de pendejo (foolish love)
His first love should've been basketball and his second, girls because his name was Juan and he represented the white, red and blue bandera, *Dominicano puro cien porciento del capital entiendes compai?* understand homie? and that label meant that he threw empty beer bottles at abandoned houses and smoked second hand **** because he was too broke to buy from the good dealers and he hollered at girls with wide hips and short skirts that walked by (oye mama tu si eres linda ven aquí!) they would giggle and roll their eyes at him but of course because he was one of those light skinned boys, the type with light eyes and smooth brown hair that every girl dreamed about, they would holler at him back the very next day // His first love was basketball and his second, was not girls, his second love was words; it was the craziest ******* thing in the world, to be a boy and not be crazy over women is one thing, but to be Dominican and not in love with every muchacha en el Barrio es una cosa de los maricones! as his best friend would say as he shook his head disappointedly, muthafucka had the finest beauties the Caribbean had to offer swooning as he spoke, and he was in love with palabras de los gringos? but it didn’t matter, he loved words like the junkies loved drugs and like his best friend loved women, and while every other sin verguenza on his block would dance to the hypnotizing beat of merengue and bachata, he would watch by on the roof of the abandoned building nearby and he would write it all down: how the lights of the neighborhood had never seen more alive and how old man Victor looked youthful dancing next to the neighborhood ***** and how his mother looked happier than she had in a long time, swaying her body to the calming voice of the old music she hadn't head in a while and yes he was still the boy that threw beer bottles at abandoned windows and smoked second hand **** because he was too broke to afford the real stuff and he still hollered at girls who wore shirts too low but in the shadow of all the happiness up on the roof, he was not Juan, best basketball player on the team, Dominicano cien porciento y no te lo olvides, repping the white, red and blue bandera instead he was Juan, the light skinned boy who liked the palabras de los gringos because of the way they rolled off his tongue and he had decided that he liked it better that way (h.l.)
Continue reading...
42
I remember I was sixteen, and it was raining. My father told me he was going to take me somewhere I'd never been before, and I knew immediately where it was we were headed. As we drove past used car dealerships all claiming to have the lowest rates, and Dominican and Cuban restaurants painted in their vivid reds and whites and blues, their reflections painted the roads in murky puddles of summer rain and gasoline. Turning into the cemetery we were unsure of where to look for my grandfather's grave as Jewish names cascaded by us; and there it was. It was thundering then, so we waited for the weather to calm a bit and then we hopped out of the car. We walked over to my grandfather's tombstone, and placed our respective rocks atop it. Then my dad and I stepped back, looking at my grandfather's grave. And while smiling in the way that is appropriate in cemeteries, when recalling a fond moment with a loved one, the sun began to shine on our backs.
0
Sep 23, 2013
Sep 23, 2013 at 8:44 PM UTC
On Visiting Grandfather's Grave
Here in the west borough, down three or four blocks from the epicenter, the shocks come to you in tides — little, electric, delightful in some alien way. Even the sounds of instant decay ring pleasant. The concrete, the bricks, the mortar, the Corinthian columns, the suspended ceiling tiles, the florescent bulbs, the coffee cups, the desktops, the family portraits all fall from their stations, screaming toward the cool pavement. It’s a temperate Thursday in January and the weathermen continue to talk in stunted disbelief. A car catches fire on Malcom X Boulevard, and weather is the wrong word, you think, for this phenomenon. It’s rage. It’s bitter. The violence of the sun-catching glass smacks of vengeance and this whole thing is man-made or, at the very least, god-made but not anything so indiscriminate as weather. There’s still the pleasure of it though. The collapse of the old world. And there’s nothing but rubble on the corner of 9th and Dominican, and for the life of you, you can’t remember what stood there before. In your evergreen bones you know one thing: whatever anodyne brick institution reigned will be replaced by that glorious glass and that glorious steel, 100 towers impaling the sky. The future is now. A tremor. A cloud of dust. For about ten seconds the windshield is worthless yet you speed up, hurling yourself through the fog of destruction into a **** world, feeling essential and brilliant and and and.
0
Mar 1, 2016
Mar 1, 2016 at 11:59 PM UTC
What Had Been Until Yesterday
I never really knew what kind of man could find my heart. I never really knew what kind of man could ****** my soul. Make me start to dream. What kind of dream they would have that would inspire me. Until I met him. An aspiring rapper. From Pennsylvania. Dominican and Puerto Rican. Four years. Long-distance. Music was not my calling, but it had awakened me. To writing. Lies had broken us. Nearly 2 years later I fell for the next one. An aspiring rapper. Producer. Jamaican. From Pennsylvania. Close three years. Complicated as **** Music was there again. And although it was not my calling and it wasn't as important to me as it was to the fellas I fell for, it was there. Linking people to me.
0
Mar 1, 2017
Mar 1, 2017 at 11:50 PM UTC
Music.
jan from the corner store doesn't understand me, I told her I wasn't mixed; my parents are just different shades of the same color but she doesn't believe me, and the man behind the counter silently agrees. the old white lady that always takes the 5 train stares at me curiously, her eyes say they don't trust me and I don't understand why. I never thought I had to explain myself to strangers or that my race was the most interesting thing about me but that's always the first question everybody asks. my aunt told me the other day that I was jabao, in other words, nobody knows what to do with me. I am unidentifiable. my skin screams the sun and stars too small to recognize; it says I am the product of a collision between the blackest sea and the whitest sand. some parts of my body sing a ballad so dark only certain people would ever want to listen to. maybe these are the parts that the old white lady on the five train is scared to listen to. maybe the curls I tried so hard to straighten are what terrifies her, maybe the black in my kneecaps keeps her up at night, maybe the sound of boisterous music in a language she could never understand makes her skin jump, sends shivers down her spine makes her think twice about who I am. jan from the corner store doesn't understand me, I told her I was jabao, a mix of summer glow and muted winter skin. but she doesn't believe me; says she has never met a Dominican like me, that in some ways I must be a mixed breed. and the man behind the counter silently agrees. (h.l.)
0
Aug 6, 2016
Aug 6, 2016 at 9:03 PM UTC
mixed breed (jabao)
jan from the corner store doesn't understand me, I told her I wasn't mixed; my parents are just different shades of the same color but she doesn't believe me, and the man behind the counter silently agrees. the old white lady that always takes the 5 train stares at me curiously, her eyes say they don't trust me and I don't understand why. I never thought I had to explain myself to strangers or that my race was the most interesting thing about me but that's always the first question everybody asks. my aunt told me the other day that I was jabao, in other words, nobody knows what to do with me. I am unidentifiable. my skin screams the sun and stars too small to recognize; it says I am the product of a collision between the blackest sea and the whitest sand. some parts of my body sing a ballad so dark only certain people would ever want to listen to. maybe these are the parts that the old white lady on the five train is scared to listen to. maybe the curls I tried so hard to straighten are what terrifies her, maybe the black in my kneecaps keeps her up at night, maybe the sound of boisterous music in a language she could never understand makes her skin jump, sends shivers down her spine makes her think twice about who I am. jan from the corner store doesn't understand me, I told her I was jabao, a mix of summer glow and muted winter skin. but she doesn't believe me; says she has never met a Dominican like me, that in some ways I must be a mixed breed. and the man behind the counter silently agrees. (h.l.)
Continue reading...
31
She used to write poetry, what would make Morrissey cry? The one who left with all his depth, the holiest ghost to ever stick around his bed. What would you give to me? French press, Japanese guitar, Dominican cigar spark? Hearts can grow colder as they try to feel, try to push it out. Black haired Italian marble, darling, we are nothing to nobody now.
0
Jun 2, 2013
Jun 2, 2013 at 11:36 PM UTC
Hearts Hold Water and Heal
In my head I am the Russian Roulatte In a tee *** I beg for trust When poured out The foam becomes of your mouth I do buisness in China Shipped to Pueto Rico Make tongues flip as sharp as a Nurican Dominican Jitter till hearts stop beating on top of Italian pool tables I steal breathes from science who believe in what is not in the Bible I am your Russian Roulette Make a feline spray a *** spot in here ****** Make a King errect New Your late night star lights when they stu'n Change the tune in your song from spittin rap versus to singing to God that you was wrong I beat the drugs Put a end to your habbit So when you feel you cant utter a verse I'll let you howl like a suffering rabbit Because no one knows how to use me right I am the only bullet tucked in to take away your life As soon as I leap forward to your attention you will be adoment to a pension Stire clear I am here No intentions but to terminate erosions Respect what I may Careful when you choose to play You must reconsider the outcome I am The Russian Roulette. © the Russian Roulette S.T. Rebel of Eden
0
Sep 29, 2014
Sep 29, 2014 at 6:58 AM UTC
THE RUSSIAN ROULETTE: hard street style poetry
A no-strings-attached thing is easy to arrange It sounds exciting too, seems very straightforward But sometimes you get caught up in things you don’t expect Before you know it, you start caring You develop feelings You learn things about the other person Her middle name, her favourite music, food Her pet peeves, ambitions You learn her innermost thoughts Her insecurities, her ****** proclivities, The little birthmark just above her mons ***** The one that she says looks like a map of the Dominican Republic You lie in bed with her all day She teaches you how to swear in Farsi. You **** her every day. One day she sees you making out with this random ****** and she flips You say, but we said no strings attached or did we not? It’s not as simple as that though, it never is But this girl, she believes in you She’s a paragon of patience She sits you down and tells you to listen to her carefully She explains to you that now you are sleeping with her on the regular Your body is somehow her body too, partly, and vice versa Says she understands that you are not together officially But intimacy usually comes with an implied exclusiveness. You say, Ok, I've heard you. And I understand where you’re coming from. Then you tell her to **** off. Time passes You begin to miss her. But you’re pride won’t let you call her. You have *** three times with two different girls in one weekend One of those girls has a boyfriend, you **** her in a night club restroom. The other one on the beach a day after Then a few hours later in her bedroom. In the morning her room is all sandy, Going home you begin reflecting on things You've learnt one thing for sure: However much top-shelf ***** you get, it doesn't compare to the love of a good girl So it doesn't matter how many lovers you have in this world If none of them give you the world. You swallow your pride and call her She can’t make it, she says. But she comes the next day in the evening. You explain everything, How it felt like she was tethering you to her How you took it all too lightly. You’re not too good at it, talking about your feelings You say that what she’d told you that day had gone through one ear, out the other So you had to learn it all by yourself, you had to go through it Finally, you apologise. You’re very sincere. She asks you, so is this closure? You don’t want it to be, but you don’t know if you actually deserve her **** you don’t know if she’d even take you back. If she does, you've still got a lot to prove. You’ll be in luck, but you’ll be starting on nothing. If she doesn't then you knew and blew a good thing.
0
Nov 3, 2013
Nov 3, 2013 at 4:54 PM UTC
The Love of a Good Girl
A no-strings-attached thing is easy to arrange It sounds exciting too, seems very straightforward But sometimes you get caught up in things you don’t expect Before you know it, you start caring You develop feelings You learn things about the other person Her middle name, her favourite music, food Her pet peeves, ambitions You learn her innermost thoughts Her insecurities, her ****** proclivities, The little birthmark just above her mons ***** The one that she says looks like a map of the Dominican Republic You lie in bed with her all day She teaches you how to swear in Farsi. You **** her every day. One day she sees you making out with this random ****** and she flips You say, but we said no strings attached or did we not? It’s not as simple as that though, it never is But this girl, she believes in you She’s a paragon of patience She sits you down and tells you to listen to her carefully She explains to you that now you are sleeping with her on the regular Your body is somehow her body too, partly, and vice versa Says she understands that you are not together officially But intimacy usually comes with an implied exclusiveness. You say, Ok, I've heard you. And I understand where you’re coming from. Then you tell her to **** off. Time passes You begin to miss her. But you’re pride won’t let you call her. You have *** three times with two different girls in one weekend One of those girls has a boyfriend, you **** her in a night club restroom. The other one on the beach a day after Then a few hours later in her bedroom. In the morning her room is all sandy, Going home you begin reflecting on things You've learnt one thing for sure: However much top-shelf ***** you get, it doesn't compare to the love of a good girl So it doesn't matter how many lovers you have in this world If none of them give you the world. You swallow your pride and call her She can’t make it, she says. But she comes the next day in the evening. You explain everything, How it felt like she was tethering you to her How you took it all too lightly. You’re not too good at it, talking about your feelings You say that what she’d told you that day had gone through one ear, out the other So you had to learn it all by yourself, you had to go through it Finally, you apologise. You’re very sincere. She asks you, so is this closure? You don’t want it to be, but you don’t know if you actually deserve her **** you don’t know if she’d even take you back. If she does, you've still got a lot to prove. You’ll be in luck, but you’ll be starting on nothing. If she doesn't then you knew and blew a good thing.
Continue reading...
57
I left the plantains you sent me on the counter. Wiped around them on cleaning days. Eyed them as they sat there, expectant and unwanted, for hours into weeks. Let them blacken and soften until they resembled the dental records of a corpse. Were they lifted from the soil of your Dominican hometown? Did you farm them yourself? The bruises speckled on its skin, were they hand-picked? You always had great aim with that sort of branding. I'm awake at the birth of morning, early enough to see dawn's rosy sun crack onto the horizon like egg yolk. From my bedroom window, I can also see a garbage truck craning its rusty claw towards the pile I set out last night. Talk about a metaphor.
0
Nov 17, 2014
Nov 17, 2014 at 10:45 AM UTC
Spotted Fruit
In the last year of Trujillo’s reign, the Dictator decided to eliminate three sisters and then plausibly deny it. Patria, Maria and Minerva were the victims of the plot. Once the three were dead and gone, He‘d make sure folks forgot. On a lonely country road, they were ambushed by his men. They forced the sisters off the road. That’s how it began. The girls must not seem martyrs; Trujillo had made it plain- nothing quick and merciful, like a bullet to the brain. The men used bats to knock them down and smashed their faces in so they could not be recognized by their own next of kin. They placed the bodies in the car and pushed it off the road. “The butterflies are free!” they mocked; “Those girls reaped what they sowed.” In the Dominican Republic, the wheel, if slowly, turned. Trujillo met a ****** end and freedom was regained. The truth was slowly brought to light, the murderers were named. The Maribels were honored and their martyrdom proclaimed. h
0
Nov 26, 2014
Nov 26, 2014 at 9:55 PM UTC
Las Mariposas (the Butterflies)
As if on cue, on my second step out, one bell rang; that of the sorbetero's cart and on my sixteenth, that of the bell by Dominican. I sighed "yes, I know, I'm going." I appreciate the practice. I appreciate the background music.
0
Jul 17, 2019
Jul 17, 2019 at 5:24 AM UTC
Two Bells Near The Two Castles
I read a spanish word and teared up because I knew I was feeling a feeling my mom felt when she was twenty. I mean-- she went to the dominican republic and she studied a foreign language in college. She was curious and I am curious. When people show me unexpected kindnesses, it makes me tear up.   What did I do to deserve this? and then I remember a little bit.   I wrote down a few notes for a paper: the setting implies the corruptibility of female bodies. I walked down the packed streets at night and applied that rough thesis and it felt sad to be in what Steven calls a world of abstraction and even now I sound like a liberal-arts university program ***** (I’m not). I heard and just missed something fall from a tall tree. I caught the tail end of the leaf debris, and wondered while I read Ali Smith’s Hotel World, how many squirrels died in freak uppermost tree branch falling incidents, and if it made a noticeable difference.   The scene, the scene is happening through temporality and that makes it seem empty Sitting outside alone it is okay I am not the most important person in the universe Now I’m working on holding all my adolescent memories in a loving embrace. My ears also perk up at the sound of little kid voices.
0
Oct 17, 2015
Oct 17, 2015 at 12:39 PM UTC
What's New?
The atmosphere with your eyes, Their dreams, the space, the color, The picture shows words. Traffic jam, Disappearances, smoke and society; service. Lightweight musical instruments Diesel and submarine speak Favorite and small script Help. Cornelius is the largest Add the Brazilian Robin's clothes Build Brazil again. the future Learn about La Lorra from Galicia Latest address, Jesse's advantage It will be the Dominican Republic was gone. Bernard, in other cases, She has no connection with her. Your first page is easy to grow. Who Germany has been arrested. It's always like blood. The first two? The director acts. Dance. Black Life can be a mistake. When you see lions like lions, Lion number is the perfect place, Appearance, from the opposite side, Still available. He killed his brother; His weapons were in the washing machines, Dress, and dress should be worn. The groom is listening to our ears Society and our light. New Sandy Favorite game And small screens Cornelius is the biggest woman Roberts heart touches Brettina's City. Few futures - Jesse in Hollywood Love; Hollywood census information was lost; system. If you do, then you speak. The first page of development is easy. PRIVATE MARKETING ACTIVITIES Should he give the cherubim? Lakes, rocks, Blood to Germany and law Application. The first two? It contains Caulkerer that may be wrong. Dark in the dark; First I decided (one) [As Eli was already a polygamist, if not a bigamist, it wasn't a problem for him to marry Chuckie; Becky aware of the arrangement, he'd lost a second wife somewhere, never quite sure where she'd been misplaced. He even asked Leonard, who nodded & grunted telling Eli nothing; Leonard knew Chuckie, her name in fact unpronounceable to the Western ear. He congratulated Eli on getting himself a real Russian girl. Chuckie was born in Siberia & had made it to St. Petersburg on her back. The Unknowns gave her good reason to stay that way, then Eli came along. Tom had literally thrown her at the diffident painter, who gladly took the bony ***** in hand & under his watchful eye, she never choked on her own ***** & neither did he; it was a match made on the floor ...
0
Nov 20, 2018
Nov 20, 2018 at 5:14 PM UTC
Eli ❤ Chuckie Simple
The atmosphere with your eyes, Their dreams, the space, the color, The picture shows words. Traffic jam, Disappearances, smoke and society; service. Lightweight musical instruments Diesel and submarine speak Favorite and small script Help. Cornelius is the largest Add the Brazilian Robin's clothes Build Brazil again. the future Learn about La Lorra from Galicia Latest address, Jesse's advantage It will be the Dominican Republic was gone. Bernard, in other cases, She has no connection with her. Your first page is easy to grow. Who Germany has been arrested. It's always like blood. The first two? The director acts. Dance. Black Life can be a mistake. When you see lions like lions, Lion number is the perfect place, Appearance, from the opposite side, Still available. He killed his brother; His weapons were in the washing machines, Dress, and dress should be worn. The groom is listening to our ears Society and our light. New Sandy Favorite game And small screens Cornelius is the biggest woman Roberts heart touches Brettina's City. Few futures - Jesse in Hollywood Love; Hollywood census information was lost; system. If you do, then you speak. The first page of development is easy. PRIVATE MARKETING ACTIVITIES Should he give the cherubim? Lakes, rocks, Blood to Germany and law Application. The first two? It contains Caulkerer that may be wrong. Dark in the dark; First I decided (one) [As Eli was already a polygamist, if not a bigamist, it wasn't a problem for him to marry Chuckie; Becky aware of the arrangement, he'd lost a second wife somewhere, never quite sure where she'd been misplaced. He even asked Leonard, who nodded & grunted telling Eli nothing; Leonard knew Chuckie, her name in fact unpronounceable to the Western ear. He congratulated Eli on getting himself a real Russian girl. Chuckie was born in Siberia & had made it to St. Petersburg on her back. The Unknowns gave her good reason to stay that way, then Eli came along. Tom had literally thrown her at the diffident painter, who gladly took the bony ***** in hand & under his watchful eye, she never choked on her own ***** & neither did he; it was a match made on the floor ...
Continue reading...
67