What are we by Frankie Soto

wounded creatures snarling at a crooked sun,

panting in our pride of tired shoulders— uncomfortable asking

the ground to hold us. Wanting no witnesses to this sluggish crawl of

a misunderstood body that no longer responds to gritted teeth and threats.

Who are we but hairy chested, wing ordering at the bar— licking the hot

sauce off each finger, hand signaling another round of coronas,

hold the lime since

we are the type of men who need no assistance to

down

our problems.

Why are we

but the repetition of a failed sitcom airing the same plot until we

are buried too

deep

to recover.

The first time I heard the word pussy I thought it was a derogatory

term. It was the 5 letters that started the scrap outside the

block to protect your cred

cause Mama aint raise no ....

even if the tampons and maxi pads made mountains

underneath the bathroom sink.

even if I knew this sangre was holier than any bible resting on the coffee stand.

I started to question if there was a different thesaurus for man since the

one that made me always left me feeling not good enough while the one

who was raising me had a way of reminding me that I wasn’t his blood.

If I opened this book would the word

(pussy) also mean (scared) ?

In grade school Arthur called me this outside. each finger 14 bones of

fear—fist a reminder that being afraid hurts both of us.

This diss, or compliment, or I don’t know what

—made me feel soft in the places that aren’t allowed.

My teacher Greg told me a good writer

feels before he speaks & then thinks once he has written.

I swung, apologized

& now this poem is writing itself.

He never told me what makes a good man

or why our knuckles are just scared tongues

trying to feel when we can’t speak.

What are we but

wounded boys punching our way out of what we don’t understand.

Frankie A Soto is a 2x winner of the Multicultural Poet of the year award from the National Spoken Word Poetry Awards in Chicago. His (New York Times) performance called him an absolute force. He’s been featured on ABC news and has traveled all across the country featuring at over 130 Universities & Colleges actively touring/performing and running workshops. He’s been published worldwide for online and print publications.