nurture / nature

a boy plays on the street
he is maybe six years old

it seems too late for him to be out
in my humble opinion
unsupervised
dancing with his young sisters
to a cell phone ringtone
as i walk my dog before bed

he is spanish
small
and has a megawatt grin
that lights up to the thrill of his music

i think to myself that this boy
even more than his sisters
holds such an innocence about him
that his spirit is nearly indescribable

whether its the smallness of his frame
or the freedom with which he moves through his surroundings
this child has been cared for
loved
made to feel he has a place in the world

and then he starts his dancing
a rap song comes on
that he proudly yet nervously plays for me
while his sisters scream and coo over my pomeranian

i don't know the song
i don't know the rapper
it's nothing that i've heard before
but this kid knows all the words
and he starts his dance
immediately

popping
locking
i don't know what it was called

but the boy's pants are suddenly huge and sagging
his earned childhood has somehow taken on an aggressively adult undertone
instantly and bizarrely he seems dangerous
as his new exterior-front is revealed

this kid's mother and relatives arrive soon after
perhaps from the laundromat two doors down
and i'm certain that they will set him straight
but
along with these women walks a group of grown men
in similarly oversized baggy pants and XXXL t-shirts
and with these new men
the boy is all gang signs and symbols
kiddie slang and attitude

he is no longer the child listening to his music
he is no longer the megawatt grin
he is the boy-man attempting to prove his worth
through both anger and quasi-lewd gestures

the family eggs him on
and his smile returns at the pleasure of their approval

i move home towards the apartment
i turn back only briefly

not my place to judge
their family
their culture

not my place to decide what's right
for their son
or his sisters

dance is an expression
rap is often an art form
family is what life is all about

it's only the violence that angers me
or rather the connotation of violence
but it's
not my place to judge
their family
their culture
their lives



photo taken on the last Sunday in June
Gay Pride, 2005
this photo sums up "pride" to me
what our love is all about
for others it may only conjure anger and disgust
but it's
not their place to judge
our family
our culture
or
our lives
either