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Chelsea Guevara, performing at WoWPS 2020 in Dallas, TX.
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Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.
We seek to showcase the power and diversity of voices in our community. By encouraging and broadcasting the best and brightest performance poets of today, we hope to broaden poetry’s audience, to expand its reach and develop a greater level of cultural appreciation for the art form.
English and spanish Two-syllable seven-letter words are Turned outstretched hands the day i was Born They molded my diction guided my tongue To take its first steps towards it but Once i got older Held tattoo needles instead use the ink To etch their letters on my taste buds And though the flavors are differentes They are shaped the same and my mouth is A bowl of alphabet soup The same letters float to the surface of My lips rearranging themselves in ways That always confuse one side of my Curtura but Also communicate with the other Therefore english and spanish will find Themselves living next to each other in Each of my sentences my bilingualism The universities and esteemed employers They tell me it is an Asset that a mixed mouthful holds magic Words to opening new doors Is a rosetta stepping stone on a path to Greater opportunity but If i'm salting french fries on the Weekend or waiting to take their order Then some expect the alphabet soup to be Segregated expect me to pick out los Partes they don't like it most often It's the ones with flavors they've never Even tried They jump to remind us latinos that this
Is america and we speak english here but At the same moment turn to their Children Encouraging them to take foreign Language classes really they mean praise European language classes because I can ask frances and be admired but if I want to know si vosadas espanol that Admiration Turned silver spoons not used to enjoy The meal of dialects set before them but To be locked up in the cabinet Not used for our mouthful so our plates Only ever meet their gaze Their narrow eyelids and sharpen stairs Looks that can't quite kill But at the very least we'll be shot at Our tongues in hopes of severing las Palabras straight from our palettes They do this not due to the rhythm the Words dance on their eardrums but the Colors that swim in front of their eyes When they hear it spoken That's how i know that languages like French are thought of only as cream Pure and white and expensive Holds the sound of a choir is it Waterfalls from the mouth and they stand In awe because it's seen and heard as Beautiful As it should be espanol spanish is dark Brown coffee beans comes from the field And doesn't cost a pretty penny when it Falls from our mouths and scatters on
The floor i know all they hear Is a cacophony but to me it is a Symphony it's a sign of song notes put Straight from the mouths of guitarists Singing about all kinds of love in place Into our living rooms on late nights the Lyrics crowd the laughter and the voices Of me familia while we crowd Around pandurse and cups of conversation Smiling mouths full Of coffee beans so to those who don't Like la manera and que hablo the way That my bees and bees all blend together Or how the ours roll off my tongue the Way that i love the flavor of a language That's them So far from here let me tell you there Are those opportunities i'm finding Along the way They're asking for my alphabet soup to Be brought to the potluck But still i can't make you hear how Beautiful it is Or make you understand it but it is here To stay So i'm willing to share the recipe with You if you'd only give me the Opportunity [Applause] You
