So I grew up with an ethos of resistance all around me.
Not surprisingly, I turned into a tenant lawyer.
And yes, I am indeed a poet lawyer.
I know that sounds like a creature out
of Greek mythology.
Has a body of a lawyer and the head of a poet.
But indeed, I went to Northeastern law school
in Boston.
And I got a degree there and I practiced tenant law
in the Latino community of greater Boston
for a number of years.
I saw and heard a lot of remarkable things,
acts of resistance, which I decided
to document in my poetry.
This next poem, which I just decided to read
is a very short bilingual poem.
And it's based on an actual exchange that took place
in a courtroom in Boston.
If you don't know Spanish, the only thing
you need to know to get the poem is
that there's a mistranslation smack in the middle.
And that makes perfect sense, since for Latinos,
the legal system is mostly a series
of missed translations anyway.
So here's the poem.
It's a fine poem.
All I did was come along and stick a title on top.
Lazy poet that I am.
This is called "Mariano Explains Yankee
Colonialism to Judge Collins."
[LAUGHTER]
Judge: Does the prisoner understand his rights?
Interpreter: ¿Entiende usted sus derechos?
Prisoner: ¡Pa'l carajo!
Interpreter: yes.
[LAUGHTER]
That's it.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]