by Raul R. Salinas

Beside maquiladora madness
in hovels
dies la poblacion
mientras profits soar skyward
in classic coca-cola/nizacion
anti-obrero/ anti-gente
those takers not makers
of jobs.
Mobs of politicos map out
vicious vendettas emerge
on the verge of sneaking peeks
into the oval room
reeking of global mono-polios
Medio Ambiente in crisis.

Smokestacks spew
fuming and farting
belching river runs red
      dead fish & human
bodies/ banks lined w/ bilge
all incorporados devorados
by that monstruo multinacional
animales transnacionales
create sluch funds flushed
across that Rio Bravo
infecting/ affecting
deep into
Coahuiltecan/ Mexica lands
grandstanding good ol'
yankee doodle boyz
strong-arm twisting politics of no choice
in backrooms, under the table
heavy duty bulldoggin'
green belt & rust belt
turning yellow

strange fellows!
los funcionaros,
jump in & out
of political beds
dead inside this
treaty dishonoring colony
clinton carrot sticks it
hard and soft/ buy & sell
high panics on the hill
squel as a 3 dollar bill
cranks out de velop meant
bank which quickly sank
ranked by the media hype
type of pork-barrel publicity
stunt!

Grunting and groanin'
billy be moanin'
boning up on de facts
fast-talking walk-it-throughs
downsizing the dignity
of la humanidad
held hostage.
pero por seguro
in the southeastern mountains
en un nuevo amanecer
militant mayan
guerrilla bands
are waiting/
patient/ vigilant/
& calm.

[Raul Salinas is the voice of poetry and politics, of struggle and song. In the new millennium, in the era of interactive CD-Rom, Raul Salinas leads crews of digital warriors, a new crop literalocos who surf cyberspace with a resilient Chicanismo and an ear to the ground. Raul was born in the streets of San Antonio and raised on the streets of East Austin.

He's blazed through dungeons, carried banners as a cultural worker alongside students and demonstrators, toured the world as an emissary of the native community and all the while heaved stunningly poetic words to the wind. Schooled in streetspeak, jazz and blues, Raul's legendary poetry collection, Un Trip through the Mind Jail y Otras Excursions, has been re-issued by Arte Publico Press and is a Chicano literary classic. Raul has traveled the world as a member of the International Indian Treaty Council on behalf of American Indian Move-ment activist Leonard Peltier.]