To a Cholo Dying Young

& to think 
I could have been you
in another decade
in another neighborhood
in another bunch of friends
& you who they call yourself cholo
muy cool y muy smooth
con safos y qué
could have been me
could never have known
the joint, your pinto brothers blown 
away & the whole pinche enchilada.
but I am you, mano...neither of us escaped
the other, brother, though
we spit contempt with our
eyes like angry frogs because we know this to be true.
You are chained to me and I to you
only I never been in prison and you 
never been to school
& every needle you took from me
was an insult I took for you
You got high for my sins, ese
you who they call yourself cholo
& you will not die in a warm bed
& I will not die with the warm 
brown liquid heaven swimming in my head
& yet we will die together
like our grandfathers might have 
died together
in another country
 in another century
when they called it revolution
but neither of us will know
if we play this frojolier than thou
bullshit mas joaquin que la chingada
never pretend to never care
never admit that the other one's there
lurking under clothing and a cut of hair
my reality was never so hard
& my dreams you will never share
we are standing on either side 
of midnight the border 
between night and day
which is yet so close & only
heartbeats away
but neither of us is running up to the other 
shouting pleading demanding
won't you be my neighbor 
instead of won't you stay a stranger
because a cholo is a person in my neighborhood and
after all aren't we talking about dignity jack 
noone gave it to you and noone can give it back
here's a little secret I've got to tell:
no one goes to heaven and no one goes to hell
it takes more than cool to stay in school
& more than a teardrop to earn respect
sticks and stones and broken holmes
and names designed to keep you down
you who they call yourself cholo
before you leap you better look down
before you come out shooting you better look around
we are not the cowboys in this town
together we swim or together we drown
you are me and I am you 
and both of us are brown.