"Puerto Rican Obituary," by Pedro Pietri (1973)

"Puerto Rican Obituary" - read by poet Pedro Pietri, 1973
_____
They worked
They were always on time
They were never late
They never spoke back
when they were insulted
They worked
They never took days off
that were not on the calendar
They never went on strike
without permission
They worked
ten days a week
and were only paid for five
They worked
They worked
They worked
and they died
They died broke
They died owing
They died never knowing
what the front entrance
of the first national city bank looks like

Juan
Miguel
Milagros
Olga
Manuel
All died yesterday today
and will die again tomorrow
passing their bill collectors
on to the next of kin
All died
waiting for the garden of eden
to open up again
under a new management
All died
dreaming about america
waking them up in the middle of the night
screaming: Mira Mira
your name is on the winning lottery ticket
for one hundred thousand dollars
All died
hating the grocery stores
that sold them make-believe steak
and bullet-proof rice and beans
All died waiting dreaming and hating

Dead Puerto Ricans
Who never knew they were Puerto Ricans
Who never took a coffee break
from the ten commandments
to KILL KILL KILL
the landlords of their cracked skulls
and communicate with their latino souls

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[peaceonearthforu]

Pedro Pietri was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1944 and raised in Harlem. After high school, he was drafted into the U.S. army, served in Vietnam, and returned to the United States a fierce opponent of that war and the system that spawned it.

Puerto Rican Obituary was first read in 1969 at a rally in support of the Young Lords Party, an anti-imperialist Latino youth group in New York. Like the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords were community activists.

[MrFungud]

This is why my people never show up on time for work. Remember 9/11?

THANK GOD WE DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR WORK THAT DAY!! Is all I'm sayin'.

[Fremglerk]

"They worked They were always on time They were never late They never spoke back when they were insulted They worked They never took days off that were not on the calendar They never went on strike without permission They worked ten days a week and were only paid for five They worked They worked They worked and they died They died broke They died owing They died never knowing what the front entrance of the first national city bank looks like"

[fleckx]

Amazing. I'm so mad I've never heard this before.

[popopopopo159]

ME NEITHER GINGERSweetauiz. Me Neither. RIP.

[nexapa08]

I had Pedro read this in Nicaragua at the Dario Festival 1982, i had Ginsberg read Howl/

roberto Vargas

[outoforbit777]

masterpiece poem

[thewelfarepoets]

I wish the entire poem was here but am so grateful for this. The impact Pedro has had on The Welfare Poets is immeasurable. With his bold words, he gave us the permission to write. We miss him tremendously. I remember performing with him, hanging with him, but more, I remember his slanted look on a crooked world that gave us all peace of mind. He was not just one of our greatest Puerto Rican poet, but one of the greatest poets ever.