Exchange of Values

Exchange of Values
acrylic on board 48'X96'

"Structure of Color Perception"

"Structure of Color Perception"
48'X96' acrylic on board

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Acrylic on board 24" X 34"  1981

Bound for Glory: A Children’s Jubilee poem.

Leviticus 25: 23. The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, 
for the land is Mine; you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.  

Jesus is coming to america

By caravan and convoy
Singing peasant songs
And hip-hop psalms
Jesus loves the little children
Abiding in this dangerous land
Jesus riding on top of the bus
Doing magic tricks
And telling stories
Eating papusas and cold tamales  
Speaking good news to the poor
Stretching out his arms
His body swaying with the motion of the bus
Jesus shouts into the wind
I am the good shepherd
Follow me all who are weary and heavy laden
Core, Core, niños, y vuela!’

And then after many days
They all saw it
*THE GREAT WALL*
IT was GIGANTESTICO!
From a thousand miles away they saw the Wall
From a hundred miles away they saw the Wall
From ten miles away they saw the Wall 
The Great Wall reached to heaven
Workers still piled more stone upon stone
More twisted steel and barbed wire
More broken glass
Cameras
Guns 

But on the seventh Sabbath of Sabbath years
On the seventh day of the seventh month at the
Seventh hour of the seventh day
Jesus stood before the Great Wall
Blowing a mighty Shofar
‘FEAR NOT!’
Jesus assured the children
‘Today is the event of Jubilee’
‘Fear not’
Jesus told the border guards, ‘freedom is at hand’  
‘Fear not’
Jesus shouted to the fearful prisoners trapped behind the Wall
Let your hearts be filled with joy
I am good news for the poor
I set prisoners free
I Send the rich away empty
I cause the blind to see and the lame to walk
Everyone’s debts will be forgiven
No more banks or usury
Homes and lands will be returned to
Their first peoples
Widows and orphans will have a favored portion
Rejoice! Rejoice!’

Th poor and the sick began praising God
The widows began praising God
The children began praising God
Mariachi bands began praising God
Street vendors selling chicharrones began praising God
Prostitutes began praising God
Truck drivers began praising God
Drug addicts began praising God
The rocks began praising God
Cockroaches began praising God
Police dogs began praising God
But the border guards did not praise god
And the gate stayed shut 

The guards growled at the children
You can not cross the Wall
Your papers are not in order
Your skins are too brown
Your language is foreign
Your customs are strange
Your laughter is painful to our ears
Your songs are not our songs
Your foods are unfamiliar
Your needs are too great
Your god is not our god
Our god is fat
Your god is skinny
Our god is rich
Your god is poor
Our god is strong
Your god is weak
Our god is plush
Your god is wretched
Our god blesses and protects us
Your god abandons and despises you
Our god is a mighty warrior
Your god is a helpless victim

Then Jesus got pissed

And as he looked up into the surveillance cameras
The Spirit came upon him and he opened his bible
Prophesying from the book of Ezeckiel:
“The day of the Lord has come
Not one stone of this wall will rest upon another
All shall be stuck down
With great vengeance and furious anger
For the rule of the proud and selfish 
The tyranny of evil men is finished
Though the path of the righteous is beset with tribulations 
Your deliverer comes in the name of charity and good will
A protector of the innocent and the finder of lost children
Shepherding the lost through the valleys of darkness
And when all of your walls have been torn down
Then you will know
The kingdom of God is among you”

But the border guards murmured among themselves saying:
Who does this Hayzoos think that he is?
Is he not the son of Juan and Concheta
Is he not the son of Pilar and Agipito
Is he not the son of Ofelia and Guillermo
Is he not the son of Pedro and Evita
Is he not the son of Gabriella and Xavier 
Is he not the son of Fatima and Rafael
Is he not the son of Ximena and Esteban
Is he not the son of Jose and Maria
How then does this coyote call himself
*Mesias*

The guards tweeted their sergeants for instructions
The sergeants tweeted the captains for instructions
The captains tweeted their generals for instructions
The generals tweeted their president for instructions
Their president tweeted the other PRESIDENT 
KEEP THE GATES CLOSED, the president tweeted the president
Keep the gates closed the president tweeted the generals
Keep the gates closed the generals tweeted the captains
Keep the gates closed the captains tweeted the sergeants
Keep the gates closed the sergeants tweeted the guards
The gates stay closed, the guards told Jesus

Jesus wept.

And because of their unbelief
He could do no more miracles there
So he drove himself into the desert to fast and pray
All the children followed behind him
Pacing the wall as it cut the earth
They walked West for 40 days in the hot sun
Feet blistered, skin burned, lips cracked,
They encountered wild beasts and manifold temptations
Many were close to despair
When they came to the place
Where the wall ended at the deep sea  

‘Mira!’ said Jesus
The great wall is ended
Only the sea blocked their path
Jesus stood silently praying on the shore
The children murmured among themselves
Will Jesus turn and go back?
Will he part the sea?
Will he cause the ocean to run dry?
Will a boats miraculously appear?
Will angels come to carry us across?
Will he walk over the water?

Jesus heard his children’s questions
His heart was filled with compassion for them
He blessed their courage innocence and faithfulness
‘Today you shall be with me in paradise’ he promised them
Then Jesus took one great step forward
His foot hovered over the brooding water
He leaned forward into the wind
As his toes just pierced the surface
The children gasped as they prayed

But
The sea did not part
No boats appeared
No angels came
His foot sank into the soft sand
Ooze squished between his toes 
Jesus turned with a big smile and said to the children:
SIGUEME!
(Follow me!)

And they all did.