Fort Apache, The Bronx
Gabriella “Goya” Montalvo
all this mess you read about me
i know or at least i was or better
forgive me who we were when were
when we are nothing just ash and movie stars
rubble tonight hold us
there is smoke in your gaze
a man on duty getting closer
he sees watch
all us dance
dark and lovely
for him we yelp and holler
an opportunity we are a handful
it happened everywhere
one of us has a gun
feel it hot on your waistband ten paces then
more rubble
this place will never be clean again
Artist Bio
Gabriella “Goya” Montalvo (CC ’25) is an Ecuadorian-Puerto Rican from Queens studying Ethnicity & Race at Columbia College. She is interested in the colonial residues which persist in modern urban settings. In her free time, she writes poetry, collages, and plays guitar. She is honored to be a member of the Roots family