The Real Man (Stalks in the Streets of New York)

Nick Carbo (1964- ) is a Filipino-American poet who was born in the Philippines and was adopted by Spanish and Greek parents. He migrated to America and wrote poems which were mostly influenced by his experiences and struggles in assimilating to the American culture. The poem speaks of such difficulty in the pretense of being able to adjust to the culture and reveals as an underlying statement, the hypocrisy of why pretense in the face of a certain level of discrimination exists. It poses a question to us Filipinos’ tendency of looking down upon ourselves.

In recent times, the Philippines is growing more and more westernized, patronizing imported goods over local ones (i.e. Hapee vs. Colgate). We can indeed expect no progress if the nation continues to go on like this. This poem serves as rhetoric for us to reflect on what should be done to avoid our “inferior” and “incapable” frame of mind, and instead recognize our “potential” as “innovative” individuals.

Wanda Madarang

THE REAL MAN (STALKS IN THE STREETS OF NEW YORK)
Nick Carbo

The real man stalks in the streets of New York
Looking to harvest what makes him happy.
The AA meetings have thrown
him into iconoclastic jousts with Titans
and Gorgons with glowing snake eyes
and leather pants. This is life
without the Filipino bottle,
without the star fruit boogie,
without the "bomba" films. He wears black
Dr. Martens boots because slippers
would expose his "provinciano" feet
to the snow. He wants to ride
the back of a caribou and bolt
up Madison Avenue screaming
like Tandang Sora or shout
"hala-bira! hala-bira! hala-bira!"
like his Isneg cousins in Aklan.
"Ay, susmaryosep!" Such bad behavior
from the "true male" of Filipino
advertising. He looks at his reflectionon
a book store window, notices
that his hair has grown shoulder-length
like Tonto in the Lone Ranger
he would watch on TV. He turns to the right,
his profile now looks like the young Bruce Lee
as Kato in the Green Hornet. Yes,
he realizes it will always be the face
of a supporting character. Rejected
from the Absolut Vodka magazine ads,
he decides to change his name
for an upcoming afternoon audition
for a Preparation H commercial - "Al Moranas",
American but with a Filipino flare.

Source: http://eths.sfsu.edu/aas206s2004/nickcarbo/Biography.htm
http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poem=0&poet=9003&num=2