you can call me vos

(tu in other parts)

I am Arturo Puro Corazon

a Latino trapped in a gringo’s  body

his legs too long for the taxis

in Managua

the knees crammed up to his eyeballs

his feet too large for any sandals

failing to keep the beat of

the chachas and merengues

his head so heavy

it falls on. his chest

after a mere two shots of rum

his voice singing besame mucho

like a barking seal

but his heart ah his heart

it is so filled with alegria

by his stunning  Latin wife

you could tie it at the base

and give it to a child

who watches in wide-eyed wonder

as it climbs up to the clouds

(orginally published in Sandy River Review)