There is a 20-foot fence between Jimena and her papi
There is a 20-year wall of barriers and discrimination
And the kid in the corner is dumb, I think.
But a hole!
A tiny chink in the fence for 5-year-old eyes
Jimena’s fingers twinkle
on the same side of the fence as her father
She waits for connection
Like the kid in the corner waits for the words to come
“What pretty hands you have”
And the 5-year-old princess gleams,
“Es lonche ya?” the kid inquires
And the glass shatters.
“That’s not English!”
“Tampoco es español!”
‘TUUPIIIID
And the princess grows too tall to see the hole
And the princess will forget.
And the red writing on the wall begs for legal reform
The kid has
no father.
So he sprays his hope on the fences in red
There is espanish hate
And the kids speak English.
And the kids speak English.
I really liked how you used line breaks to implement your message
ReplyDeleteI love this poem! I really like how you start out with a sort of 'cute' atmosphere in the poem that suddenly dissolves into tension. My favorite part is probably, "and the princess grows too tall to see the hole". I really like your use of enjambment in the poem because it further emphasizes the stress and tension.
ReplyDeleteI think the dialog really makes the poem come to life! The concept of "Espanish" was really cool.
ReplyDelete