Carmela Was the Only Mean Old Lady

Crash! Crinkle, crinkle.

“Oh! Dios mio!”
My mother shouted
As she grabbed my
Little brothers off the floor.
“What was that?!”
I yelled as I jumped up
From playing with my cars
On the living room floor.
A rock had crashed through
Our front room window.
A rubber band held
A white paper
Around that rock.
I read the note.

“Fuck you!
Wetbacks go home!
We don’t want
Mexicans living here.
Fuck you!”

Fright burned our mom’s eyes
And made her cry.

My mother’s fright
Grabbed my gut
Making me want to cry, too.
“What is wetback, Mom?”

“I don’t know.
I think it’s us.”

“What is fuck?”

“Sh! Cochino!
Don’t ever say that.
It is a very bad word.”

“Why don’t they want us

Here,

Mom?”

She pulled me close,
Hugging me tightly,
Without answering.
She kissed my forehead
And then shook her head.
“Bring me the broom and the trashcan.
And then go tell the landlord,
“Mister Rudy,
Someone broke
Our front room window.”

A few months later
Mister Rudy told us
We had to move.
He sold the house to Carmela
Who lived two doors down.

Carmela was the only
Mean old lady
On the block.
Mister Rudy told us
Mister Krutchner’s tiny,
600 square foot house,
Was available for rent.
It was right next door.

We moved into
Mister Krutcner’s tiny house
Which was turned out
To be right next door
To Carmela.

A short time later,
Mister Krutchner sold

His tiny house
To us.
Carmela had tried
To buy it.
But Mister Krtuchner
Didn’t like Carmela,
Who was the only
Mean old lady
On the block.

Eight years after
Someone threw a rock
Through our window
Telling us we weren’t
Wanted in the neighborhood,
My father sold
Our tiny house
To an “undisclosed” buyer.
That buyer was Carmela.
She finally got rid of us.

Eighteen years later,
My brother rented Carmela’s
Old house.
“Why did you rent to me?
When you spent so much
Time and effort
To get us out
Of the neighborhood?”

Without a hint of shame,
Carmela replied,
“At least you aren’t Black.”
Carmela was the only
Mean old lady
On the block.