Welcome to N.Y.C.

by Gary Beck

They put me on a plane in Texas

to New York City.

I never flew before.

It was scary.

They took me to a hotel,

put me in a room

with two other men,

one slept all the time,

the other was nasty

and stole my food packets.

I try all day to find work,

but I don’t speak Inglés

and they don’t want me.

They told me to leave the hotel,

but I don’t know where to go.

I sleep at night in a park

by the big house of the Mayor

one night, three men beat me,

called me bad names,

kicked me unconscious.

In the morning, people in running suits

called the police.

They put me in a car,

take me to jail,

I try to explain:

“I just want to work,”

but they don’t speak Spanish.

Some animales want to do

bad things to me.

A big Mexican man say:

“Sit with me, kid.”

I don’t know what he wants,

but I know what they want,

so I’ll stay with him,

until they let me out of jail.