Aliso Villager ~~a haibun & Cherita

under Aztec skiesa California sushi rollrocks I was born in Boyle Heights, California, Aliso Village Housing Projects. Aliso Village: 1942 – demolished in 1999 one of the most impoverished areas of Los Angeles – and considered one of the last remaining slums. Wikipedia (shrugs shoulders) We didn’t have computers and couldn’t afford a television. SoContinue reading “Aliso Villager ~~a haibun & Cherita”

Orale Pues~~Tanka

born in ELA barriosI live in a world of dualitiesin my tight skirt and sweaterI can cha cha ‘n hully gully downbut I don’t know who I amI peroxide my black hair redrat it high, rat it highpierce my ears with catholic crossorale pues-sanseiBuddha- head become a wannabe cholahomeroom teachersends me to the back ofContinue reading “Orale Pues~~Tanka”

this is…

this is my hoodwhere concrete meets the skyneon lights twinklehumanity in your faceborn here, loved here, die here I was born in East L.A., Boyle Heights, CA USA in the Japanese American Hospital, May 15, 1948. Racists in America often refused to care or treat Japanese Americans, so we built our own hospital in BoyleContinue reading “this is…”