What the Dwarf Said to the Gigantona

by Arthur Heifetz

(a street performance in Leon, Nicaragua)

it hurts to lift

my enormous head

planted as it is

on my diminutive frame

and yet I gaze in awe

at your towering stature

your Castillian beauty

your undulating hair

your rainbow-colored dress

as you gracefully dance

on the streets of Leon

I've composed a dozen verses

in your honor

but times have changed

it's we mestizos

who call the shots now

when El Tamborilero

stops his drumming

and your dancing ends.

when El Coplero

runs out of poetry

you're nothing but the product

of an overactive gland

and the worship of white skin.

my next love I assure you

will be a hometown girl

of my own size and color

with a head large enough

to think for herself.