WHOP YOUR
JAW
Whop your
jaw, brah,
cause da
tortoise wen catch up wit you.
You
taught da buggah
wuz out
of da race
but he
wen slide by
wen you
wuz taking
wun
selfie of yourself.
Out of sight
and out
of mind
just like
he wuz way out deah
on da Galapagos
Islands
all by
himself
dreaming
of pictures
and
passages to different oceans.
Looks
like he wen evolve
all
togettah differently.
So now
you stay
all jealous
or upset
and like
trow rocks at him
but his
shell is too hard
and everyting going bounce off.
Funny
bunny money
and
hogging da limelight and press
no mean
nutting
to da
patient traveler
wit wun
belly plate on his chest.
Blue
ribbon is fine wit him
if you
share da joy wit da win.
But if
you like frown
like wun
unhappy clown
and get
all negative
and
dismissive
den moa
bettah yet
whop your
jaw, brah!
© Joe Balaz
Bio:
Joe Balaz writes in Hawaiian Islands Pidgin (HawaiÕi Creole English) and American English. He
is the author of Pidgin Eye, a book of poetry. The book was featured in 2019
by NBC News for Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month, as one of the best new books to
be written by a Pacific Islander.
In July, 2020, he was given the Elliot Cades
Award for Literature as an Established Writer. It is the most prestigious
literary award given in HawaiÕi.
Balaz presently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.