For Miguel Algarín

(1941-2020)

muchas gracias
mi hermano
is not
good
enough
for
you
señor miguel algarín
so I say
yo te amo—
and
may god, her
the ancestors, them
the universe, it
shovel
the heavy sigh
from your nuyorican gold
and decree to us/to you
there
where
you are
now
that
puerto rico is
not only gentrified
land
but also
the 
original melting pot people that gave us you
y tainos
y africans
y spaniards
y roberto clemente
y salsa
y young lords
y hip-hop—
that you are
congas and tongue-tied verses
arroz con pollo and shakespeare
the boogaloo and the lower east side
papi
you are/were/are
a boricua poet laureate
with a voice like that
of an old school lion-god
atop a freedom train
they call words and feelings
you are/were/are
spanish and english
ping-ponging 
mikey pinero
and nancy mercado
and me me me
si, es la verdad: poor folks like me me me
slamming off the walls of the nuyorican poets café—
racism could not stop you
homophobia could not stop you
el sida could not stop you
being kicked off the board could not stop you
cultural colonizers could not stop you
because
mi amigo
your flesh may be of fire and wind and earth now
but your last breath
just like your first
will forever be
our rican and our soul—

Kevin Powell is a poet, journalist, civil and human rights activist, public speaker, writer of an upcoming biography of Tupac Shakur, and author of 14 books, including WHEN WE FREE THE WORLD, a short essay collection PLUS one poem about the past, present, and future of America. Kevin is also working on both his first documentary film, as director, and his first theater piece, as playwright. A native son of Jersey City, New Jersey, Kevin  is a long-time resident of Brooklyn, New York.