Take a stroll...

¡Hola! Everybody...
Well, well, well... I was waiting for it to happen. Yesterday, Arizona’s governor signed SB 1070 into law, making it legal to racially profile in the state. It's a law written by a known white supremacist and enacted by a conservative administration. Essentially, you could be pulled over for no other reason than that you are brown-skinned or speak Spanish. As an American citizen of Latino/a descent, I feel Arizona does not deserve economic support from the rest of the country. Tourism is a huge industry in that state -- bringing in $18 billion last year. With the passage of SB 1070, I pledged not spend my dollars in a place where racial profiling is legal.

If immigrants were perceived as white and blond, you would not be reading this today. Arizona is the shame of our nation.

If you feel the same way, please consider signing the petition (click here).

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Nows [XVI]

Note: A dear friend of the family -- a sister, I can say -- sent me a sheaf of papers of some writings I had left with her over 20 years ago. I used to carry legal pads with me back then, and write my poems and stories in longhand. In this pile of papers were some poems, snatches of an essay on the short story form, and fragments of an uncompleted short story. The following was one of the poems I found in the group.

Take a stroll outside of yourself tonight
and gaze over your shoulder.

You will see yourself
taller than yesterday,
smiling more,
and quieter
than in those early years.

Watch your hands
as they touch me
everywhere.

It all happened behind your back.

A smug comfort settled in
that says you need me less
but want me more.

Take a giant step back
and see yourself
as others do,
for you must someday
learn the delicate art
of viewing your reflection
in all those eyes
your beauty has moistened.

-- Eddie