Every Friday I fly south, my ranch by the border line Rosa’s got the comal going, salsa roja matured in time She sends me back with jars and sacks — corn ground between two stones Nixtamal masa, real cheese, beans that grew on their own No dough conditioner, no mystery gum, no petroleum in my bread Just wheat, and water, salt, and time — the way the old ones said
Still alive, on my plate tonight No conditioner, no chemical disguise Sin veneno — nothing but the real Still alive is how it’s supposed to feel
Don Emilio came to me one evening, hat in hand, kind of shy Said “Boss, maybe we quit the peppers and tomatoes, let ’em go by — Tío Jorge and his wife down the road, that’s the only thing they grow They need the break more than we need the extra row” So now we buy from him instead, and everybody eats Turns out sharing the harvest tastes better than competing for the receipts
Still alive, on my plate tonight No conditioner, no chemical disguise Sin veneno — nothing but the real Still alive is how it’s supposed to feel
Now I know the numbers don’t add up the way Wall Street wants ’em to Hormone-free eggs cost more, stone-ground flour ain’t cheap to buy from you But I did the math on a different sheet — put my body in the columns too Turns out cheap food’s got a hidden price, and someone’s always paying who My privilege buys the choice — not everybody can But if you got room to choose even once, honey, take a stand ‘Cause food that’s still alive, it feeds you twice Once at the table, once when you don’t pay the price That’s just Wayist math — simple, but it’s true You reckon different, once your body’s counting too
Nixtamal. Manteca. Frijol de la olla, masa, harina and piloncillo Not “enriched,” not “natural flavor,” not some chemist’s formula Just corn, and lime, and time, and hands that know the way Real names for real food — that’s what I eat today ‘Cause when you can’t pronounce what’s on the label Maybe that’s the food talking — telling you it’s unstable
Still alive, on my plate tonight No conditioner, no chemical disguise Sin veneno — nothing but the real Still alive is how it’s supposed to feel Still alive — and so am I
Rosa’s carne guisada on the stove Tío Jorge sold out by nine Don Emilio just planted squash where the peppers used to be Still alive. Every bit of it
(alive is good)