“Speaking in Tongues”

This weekend I went to Corpus Christi, Texas for a regional poetry slam. While there, I was able to see Joaquín Zihuatanejo perform a few of his pieces. One piece that touched me the most was called "Speaking in Tongues". As lovers of language, I'm sure all of you would appreciate this poem.
___________________________________________________________________
"Speaking in Tongues"

Sientate y portate bien mija, mientras que Papí te amarra la cienta

Sit down and behave my little one while daddy ties your shoe

These words were meant for my daughter and not for you
So as you roll your eyes and speak in a voice loud enough for her to hear
If they can’t speak our language they don’t belong here
Know this… Your contempt for the language my grandfather prayed in
Is the least of my worries, it’s the least of my fears
What you should have contempt for is how simple you are
Simple… which comes from the Spanish simple
Derived from the Latin simplus meaning stupid
Because you see people living in adobe houses should not throw stones
Because adobe is a word my people have been using a long time for home
Even the most American words
Like The Alamo, barbeque, burrito
They all come from my people
But even a fool could realize
That just because you take something
Doesn’t mean you plagiarize
Oh and by the way plagiado is the Spanish word from which plagiarize derives
You see, we give them willingly
So when you attack my language you attack your own
And that makes you a cannibal
From the Spanish caníbal which comes to us from the Latin canibalis
And maybe you could grasp this
If you ever had a different tongue so enveloped with your own
That you couldn’t tell where hers ends and yours begins
You see, this is the way tongues were meant to be
This is the way we were meant to be
Unido
Which is Spanish for united
Which comes from the Latin unite
Meaning inseparable
But yet you still have the nerve to demand that I speak with your tongue
Don’t you see,
I already do
Your tongue is my grandfather eating un burrito con huevos y chorizo
Your tongue is she, and he, and we
Your tongue is everyone
Your tongue is a blending of all accents, all colors, all things
And if you listen closely to the Hip Hop lyrics being sung by your son
You’ll realize that your tongue is new variations on old themes
Like gospel becoming blues becoming rock becoming rap
Your tongue is as black
As Elvis Presley’s lyrics
I saw a black woman carry a white child away from Katrina
With my very own eyes
You can feel it in the spirits
That paid with their lives
Lincoln and Douglass
Kennedy and King
They had everything in common
They all shared the same dream
But after all this, you still push me away
You still think I’m different from you
Just because I say zapato sometimes instead of shoe
And though the man in me says pendejo is the word in Spanish for you
The poet in me knows that this-
Is not true
As much as we hate to admit it
You are me
And I am you
So I guess hermanos is the word for us in Spanish
And like all brothers we sometimes don’t get along
And sometimes we get what’s right confused with what’s wrong
But we shouldn’t be so simple that we choose not to see
That you and I…
That we…
Are impenetrable
Which comes from the Spanish impenetrable
Derived from the Latin impenetrabilis which means
Two standing as one
Look… I have a brown daughter,
You have a white son
Don’t let language be a barrier between them
Let them dance a salsa meringue together to the music of Johnny Cash
Let them eat arroz con pollo with a side of mac and cheese
Please…
Let them be a blending of all accents, all colors, all things
Let them be new variations of old themes
Let them be better than you and me
Maybe it’s time we embrace our differences like they were our children and just
Let them be