It's amazing how so much emotion can be packed into so few words. That's why I love poetry. It is a way I can express my feelings comfortably without having to write a lot. I've been writing since the third grade, poetry that is, and when I read a poem like this I feel something powerful. I feel respect, and I feel a likeness with the writer. Sometimes poets write about personal experience, but sometimes they just write, and the speaker is the one going through the experience. I think that Cervantes was speaking for herself, but until I know for sure I will just use the term speaker.
This poem was a mixture of beautiful agony. It's is agonizing because of the pain she feels, but it is beautiful because of the language. The Spanglish used makes it very authentic. It makes you feel what she is feeling, even without a translation. This poem is a strong one.
The speaker of this poem feels so alone, because she does not feel 100% Mexican or American. She wants to find her roots, but she has been in America so long she doesn't know who she is. The native Mexicans call her a whore because she was "Americanized" and she says it isn't her fault. She didn't ask for this. But none of us ask for anything. We just have to deal with the cards we got dealt.
In a situation like this, it would be very hard to find someone to accept you. To find a place where you belong. But I think that she (the speaker) could find her way with other Mexican Americans that feel the same way. An important thing to remember is that no matter how bad you feel, there is someone out there that feels the same way. I love the language Cervantes uses though. The similes, metaphors, the way she describes things, it's all really amazing. I hope we have a class discussion about this poem so I can follow up on it because I really enjoyed reading it.
Until next time,
Keri Jo
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