by Edcel Javier Cintron Gonzalez
Loud music echoes through the room
People displaying strong gestural modes
Food slowly being processed for energy
Surrounding the dance floor
Changing the atmospheric mood
My person tries to join
Attempting to mimic the beat,
Sounds, rhythm, vibes,
And slick movement
As the winter cold
Which is now a natural feeling
Fades
As the bodies surrounding my person warms
My very being
As my body and heartfelt soul
For me to be able to
Integrate (boom boom boom)
Fuse (skit skit yeet)
In a pan filled with ethnical flavors
Beyond my knowledge of culinary arts
A euphoric sensation
I want to be a part of
As my mind processes the atmosphere
As the loud music makes its way into my eardrums
I formulate a grammatical representation
Of this experience
Boom boom boom
Of the track
Skit skit yeet
In the background
As neon lights compliment the sheet
Colored walls
To contrast the coffee grounds
Hidden in the corner
Evading the human presence of the embodied zombies
Constantly seeking a source of energy
To get by the grey skies
Shrouding our natural source of warm weather
That paints the town in bright citrus colors
Overflowing with synergy
As these zombies revive into humanity temporarily
To party the rest of the night
Boom boom boom
Skit skit yeet
Pound pound pound
La noche se pone intensa
Los cuerpos humanos se unen para combatir
La fuerza negativa de la semana
Para liberarse de la prisión mental
Que la institución nos impone
Como si fueran mascarillas para encubrir
Nuestra agonía
Nuestra falta de privilegio
Nuestra falta de alimento
Donde la lista mental
Que mi ser compone
En mi lengua materna
Dentro de este espacio secundario
Suddenly, as my Spanish self disappears
A lingering feeling emerges…
An image appears before me
An image I thought I erased from this earth
That triggers my existence
As memories of mental abuse
Blind me from the neon lights
Stop me from hearing the load music
And mute me from crying for help
The only words that escape my mouth
In whispers
As my breath escapes
“I guess… you followed me at the party…”