Maybach Music (with a sample from Paul Wall)

if the rich want payment, they can get in line—

i’m always going to pay myself first

& second. forgive me, i’ve been broke.

i’ve been rent due & payday missing.

that never stopped me from dancing,

hands in the air bouncing to the bass

of my favorite rapper’s favorite lies.

let me take that back, i don’t know

who lies & who tells the truth,

but on my tongue every rap is a lie.

still i skip the corner store toilet paper

for the triple-ply deluxe rolls. the rich

believe only they deserve soft asses.

i was born past due. born in collections.

Paul Wall says open up my mouth & sunlight

illuminates the dark
. i mouth along, but know this:

from my mouth only darkness follows darkness.

 

Excerpted from PROMISES OF GOLD by José Olivarez. Published by Henry Holt and Company. Copyright © 2023 by José Olivarez. Translation Copyright © 2023 by David Ruano González. All rights reserved.