Side 19

The Empire State Building
Is on 63rd Street
Ramon wanted to bet Manolo
Manolo said impossible
The Empire State Building 
Is on 72nd Street
They made a ten dollar bet
And borrowed Cheo's car
And headed towards Brooklin
When they came back
Late that night
All that Manolo wanted to know
Was
If Gloria cooked

From Tropicalization: Poems by Victor Hernandez Cruz. Copyright © 1976 by Victor Hernandez Cruz. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.