Hey,
With the intention of abandoning the hierarchies of capitalism—
The machinery of thought. Hey, with the desire of growing lilacs
In our community garden, bougainvillea running along the wall.
Hey, as we denounce the walls of isolation and marginalization.
No, to the elite. No, to centuries of settler colonialism,
Their insistence, we are immigrants on our own land.
Hey, at midnight, beneath the candle of the moon: our arms
Interlocked like laurels painted onto the rims of renaissance paintings.
Hey, I miss you. I never even met you: let’s take a deep dive
Into each other’s bookshelves, until we find oceans of imagery
And metaphors we can discuss, dissect, not for ego’s sake, but for love.
Copyright © 2023 by Jose Hernandez Diaz. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on March 1, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.
“This poem was inspired by a Twitter trend wherein folks playfully posted ‘Hey’ tweets in a sarcastic way, imagining they were talking to a crush or DMing said crush. Instead of being patient with their crush, folks were tweeting very forward messages that were sometimes desperately romantic, sometimes sardonic, sometimes both. For me, and perhaps for many, it was easy to relate to the comedic anxiety of the ‘forward hey’ tweets, especially in a time of a pandemic where we’ve become even more isolated and lonely. Also, there is room in this playful prompt for subversive themes, personas, and imagery.”
—Jose Hernandez Diaz
Jose Hernandez Diaz
Jose Hernandez Diaz is a Mexican American writer, editor, and teacher.