donato Martinez

it's a funky world

Oral tales

going way back into legendary time

of funkmaster heroes

spreading hereditary funk

funk lore

of funky gods and goddesses

and funky myths.

Soul Train funky rhythms

of fevered funkadelic nights

of early 80’s old school funk

after the strobe light dog days and nights of disco deejays

and be bop wops.

That funky groove

its funk-o-matic

doing the funky chicken

the Kentucky Fried Chicken

finger licking it,

funky delicious

funk dubious

the doobiest

the grooviest.

Little funky beats

and all that scratching is making me itch,

won’t Hang the DJ

if he plays that funky music white boy,

Doing the mo’ better funky

the nasty,

the freak.

with funky moves,

funky pelvic gyrations

trying to get the funky jiggy on,

like Dr. Funkenstein

funking this

funking that.

Everybody’s got the funk

everybody’s doing the funk

Just for the funk of it

one nation under a funky jam.

May the funk be with you

and whatever you do it’s got to be funky,

cause it’s a funky world,

and you got to funk

or be funked.

DONATO MARTINEZ teaches English composition, Literature, and Creative Writing at Santa Ana College. He hosts and curates a bi-annual afternoon of artistic expression with poetry, dance, and live music. These events generate large crowds and active participation. He is also a poet and writes about his barrio upbringing, his community, his culture, his bi-cultural and bilingual identities and other complexities of life. He is influenced by the sounds and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language. He has a self-published collection with three other Inland Empire poets, Tacos de Lengua. His work has been published by City Works, Eastside Rose, Acentos Review, and Ofrenda Magazine. Forthcoming publications will appear in La Raiz Magazine and The San Diego Poetry Annual. He loves the outdoors and is inspired by music, books, movies, and his children, Gabriel and Abigail.