| Veteranos
Day Parade
Dr. Mario Padilla
Think of the number sacrificed, proud mexica
sons
on temple stones, in feathered robes for love and honor of the gods;
the ones with holes in their chests would know how glory is won.
The first to raise a hand to a Spanish
gun, the Creoles who chased
and hung Maximillian, would know how glory is won.
Think of the number sacrificed, proud mexica sons,
whose fathers witnessed tagged toes
for verification,
whose mothers were comforted by purple commendations,
the ones with holes in their chests would know how glory is won.
They are marching in East LA waving flags today, red, white,
some with blue, others green—los veteranos of American
wars.
Think of the number sacrificed, proud mexica sons,
twisting upright from sound of jungle
fire or swirling desert sands,
gurney'd half-bodies broken and splattered in blood-stinking vans;
the ones with holes in their chests would know how glory is won,
know body bags and the piles on which
they are slung,
as politicians claim immigrants destroy and only slay their own.
Think of the number they’ll sacrifice next time, proud mexica
sons;
the ones with holes in their chests will know how glory is won.
Mario Rene Padilla's poetry and
fiction have appeared in numerous periodicals, such as North American
Review, The Antioch Review, New Letters, Americas Review, Atlanta
Review, Visions International, Negative Capability, INKWELL Magazine,
Chiron Review, and Explorations 2000. Currently, he is working on
an ongoing collection of short stories entitled Journey to Tenochtitlan,
which focuses on the Mexican-American experience, the issues and
challenges of cross-cultural identity. Mr. Padilla recieved a B.S.
degree from the Ohio State University, M.A. in English from Loyola
Marymount, and a Ph. D. in Comparative Literature from the University
of Southern California. He is a full-time instructor of Creative
Writing, English and Latin American Literature at Santa Monica College.
To all the fallen Aztecs
Verònica Lòpez
All the brown pride mexica sons cut
short
Smelling of Tres Flores, hair slicked back, locs, white t-shirt,
baggy creased Dickies, and Nikes
The uniform of the Aztec Warriors of the barrios para varrios
Boast of the latest fallen rival mexica son
The first to pump up the “Warriors”
to grab a gun, jump in the Regal like knights men
To avenge revenge for Azteca “Speedy”
That was killed in front of his house, in front of his mexica
mother and youngest brother, while taking out the groceries from
his Monte
He never saw them coming, he wasn’t able to live up to his
nickname
If his mother had known that letting
him go to Sneakys to lift weights would have saved his life to see
another day
Would she have walked to the market and just pushed the purple basket
home?
She’ll never know.
Six mexica sons are carrying
out the casket to give Speedy his first and last ride in the hearse
The mexica familia dressed in dark colors grieving the
fallen mexica son
And the Warriors mourn the fallen Aztec
All for pride of territory that they
will never own
For colors no-one owns
For reasons forgotten with time
For not loving and embracing
all of the mexica tribe members
They who are stronger united then divided.
Verònica
Lòpez was born and raised in Santa Monica, California;
currently she is a sociology major at SMC and is involved with campus
activities such as EOPS, Pico Partnership program, Adelante program,
Black Collegians program, The Women’s College, and Disability
Center. Writing has been a source of therapy for the author.
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