South Side Shorty Gabriel Ibarra A reflection of what South Side Chicago life meant for the poet. South Side Shorty, don’t forget your rice and beans. Little Village memories don’t fade away. Garfield Ridge scars can leave traces. Where you are is not where you will be Or where the color of your skin will allow you to be, To be free enough to pass a visual glance— A glance at your last name can be the last Thing an employer sees before giving you the boot. But before that, what happened When you rooted for each other, Rode for each other, Harked for one another before becoming separate of each other? South Side Shawty, with that North Side swag, Mexican roots with American branches, Do we read in Spanish at home and shun each other’s use of native tongues at the store? Have you learned not to forget your rice and beans, Not to forget your crappy knees, And to keep holding your keen sensibilities? South Side love story that crossed state lines every weekend To keep the family legacy or start a new prophecy, Mantener un orgullo mexicano and be proud of your queerness, You’re forgetting that these can work if you put in the work. Westside melodies call back to South Side lyrics, Feelings of home for the destitute To look down upon, I bring my smiles, yell to my friends “c’mon!”
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