We are Acup Bcup DOUBLE Ds
our chants of LOS CUEROS...DECENTES
were always heard from our DWC ‘99 softball team
from the dugout we would scream
‘Hagan una bulla EH Hagan una bulla EH Dos bullas EH EH’
We are Acup Bcup DOUBLE Ds
after the Bronx Championship victory
we chanted, sang and danced all the way
home like cueros on the street
our voices carried across blocks as we screamed
‘Por ahi pasó, forma, forma, el pitcher quiere palo,
y vamo’ a darle palo por donde, por el culo, por donde,
por el culo...’ our voices shaped by the confidence of
hip hop and merengue songs of the 90s
como cueros decentes hicimos el baile del perrito
at the corner and el baile del beeper
while we waited at the corner of the armory
to cross the street
We are Acup Bcup DOUBLE Ds los cueros decentes are We
our tight white softball pants had
our bubble butts bursting out of the seams
we stomped syllables out of toes buffered by cleats
concrete cracked by our joy as we rounded the corner
like we did third base we overheard someone say
‘let them celebrate now but soon you will see’
this is what a cuero looks like the guys said loudly
then Bcup approached him and looked him straight in the eye
as he echoed what Poet X’s mom had said
he claimed you’ll “carry a diploma in your belly but never a degree”
We are Acup Bcup DOUBLE Ds los cueros decentes are We
Acup later that month got a full ride to Harlem’s Ivy league
followed years later by an MBA from MIT
Bcup and DOUBLE Ds also of course went on to live life fully
and still can be heard singing:
‘Hagan una bulla EH Hagan una bulla EH Dos bullas EH EH...Por ahi pasó, forma… por ahi paso, mira donde va’, el pitcher, ta’ loca, primera, ta’ loca, el short, ta’ loca, tercera, ta’ loca...’
We are. We are. We are Los CUEROS… DECENTES…We are what a cuero looks like.
As published in Ritmo Que Late: An Anthology of Submissions during 2018 NAPOWRIMO by DWA Press.
Available for purchase at DWAPress.com