Words from Imposter Syndrome
that boy’s too trapped in his bedsheets / re-reading ancient texts / to answer a
text message / that boy’s a codex / that boy’s been old and coiled with dust /
since one sunrise / he ate so much acid / his pupils stayed dilated / that boy’s
eyes are black holes / don’t get so close / or he’ll lose you too / like the phone
chargers / he never returned / or the compliments / about his white accent /
that boy looks just like his father / absent / that boy’s not with the molotovs and
razor blades / like his poems might have you think / he’s had a brick engraved
with his name in gold at the precinct since fifth grade / for best pro pig essay /
that esé’s a snake in saint’s rags / he ain’t got fangs / just slippery gums / that
boy was raised around spanish and english but now speaks none / that boy’s
such a love maker he’s a virgin / that boy’s such a drinker you don’t hear him
breathe / that boy used to do keg stands so all his white friends would laugh /
boy / we laughed / that boy doesn’t make our pockets vibrate anymore / that
boy ain’t with that ‘from two worlds’ stuff we used to clap for / that boy won’t
write a thing for / from / about the so-called ‘white supremacist’ perspective at
all / that boy’s done with this poem / for life /
Julián Martinez (he/him) is a Chicano poet and journalist from Waukegan, IL. His work has been published in Juked, Matchbox Magazine and La Cascada. He currently serves as the Managing Editor of Pueblo at 14 East, a bilingual student magazine at DePaul University. He is the son of Mexican immigrants.
