Poem by Juan Felipe Herrera

Color Tense

• (a fracture of power & paradigm)                                              

i had a color > there is no color > i was bronze > we do not have bronze > i was golden sienna ochre > there are no siennas or golden siennas or ochres here > we had colors > we have no colors > we had faces with colors > there are no faces with colors > we stood up we danced all the colors > there is no standing the color dances are invisible now > we had colors on our hands and scarves >


                        i told you
                        no colors
                        no colors
                        no color shoes
                        or faces or noses
                        no illegal scarves >


we held up an ancient disk with the lost inscriptions
& stories of our colors our bronze >
                          we are burning 
                        that vessel those signs
                        those words those long
                        lines there are 
                        no colors now >


we dreamed our colors > it is not useful to dream >
we dreamed about our colors > it is not useful
                          there are no colors now >


we brought in a new time > this is the new time >
we wanted our mothers to bend their ears to the 
lost stories the burned stories the fettered 
stories the ones that rose up from the ancient 
disk > this is the new time this eye is the new
eye this voice is the new voice this chair with
the wing span upright is the new chair > the disc 
was soaked in blood > it is a new time > it was what
we called for > you have the wrong time > it was our 
song > you blood is wrong it is too small it
is filled with holes your songs are illegal colors
they are not useful your time is filled with holes
your blood is too small > i am walking away >
that is permissible > i am leaving you here > that
is practical > i do not want the disk > what
did you say what> the color is 
everywhere >


i do not see it >
golden sienna spins right through you > 
where> everywhere > your time is too small >  




                                    my time is now>


the time is now>>

​

Juan Felipe Herrera lived in the Mission District on and off since 1958, and the wider Bay — Bryant elementary school to Stanford University. A Co-founder of Poetasumanos, a writers collective in the Mission in 1981, TROKA, a Rhythm & Sign Spoken Word Ensemble in 1983 and publisher of Red Trapeze, a one-page magazine on Capp Street. In the same year he published his second poetry collection, Exiles of Desire. With thirty books in various genres, Herrera has gone on to be the California Poet Laureate and Poet Laureate of the USA. 

​Juan Felipe Herrera has thirty books published in various genres - including poetry, children picture books and young adult novels. He began to hone his spoken word craft in Los Angeles in the late 60’s while attending UCLA and forming his first multi-genre performance troupes, part of the Chicano Movimiento and performing with Jazz and percussion ensembles. Recently he has served as the California Poet Laureate and the Poet Laureate of the United States. His forthcoming book is Jabber Walking for middle grade readers.

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