I am a child of the Americas
A light-skinned
mestiza (Mischling) of the Caribbean ,
A child of many
diaspora (verstreute Völker), born
into this continent at a crossroads.
I am a U.S.
5 A product of the
ghettos of New York
An immigrant and the
daughter and granddaughter of immigrants.
I speak English with
passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness,
A flashing knife blade
(Klinge) of cristal, my tool, my craft.
I am
Caribeña (aus der Karibik), island
grown. Spanish
is my flesh,
10 Ripples (fließen) from my tongue, lodges (wörtl.
logieren, wohnen) in my hips:
The language of garlic
(Knoblauch) and mangoes,
The singing of poetry,
the flying gestures of my hands.
I am of Latinoamerica,
rooted in the history of my continent:
I speak from that
body.
15 I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return.
I am not taína (Name eines Indianerstammes). Taíno is in
me, but there is no way back.
I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home there.
I am new. History made
me. My first language was spanglish.
I was born at the
crossroads
20 And I am whole.
After reading the poem, decide what the tone of the poem is. Cite specific words that support your response. How does the speaker describe herself? Why does Morales introduce the characteristics in the order that she does? Speak about the structure of the poem. And finally, what is the argument that Morales makes?
After an analysis, write a poem about yourself that mimics this poem, its structure and its tone. It does not need be about your nationality, but that is okay too, but I want to encourage you to be creative! Have fun with it.
The poem is reflective and unifying, she is “whole” despite being composed of countless ethnicities. The author isn’t any particular demographic, she isn’t any particular person - she is a person, a person with a very extensive heritage but, still, merely a person. The basic argument is that ethnicity is meaningless, people cannot “return” to their native land, people must simply pursue a life based on the accumulation merit, not based on pre-existing qualities that are, more often than not, used for one’s own selfish gain under the guise of “discrimination” and, most significantly, emotion.
ReplyDeletePoem:
Life is like a raindrop and very, very wet
And it does not necessarily reflect
There are many varying ethnicities
But does this create discrepancies?
Like the raindrop, it is very, very wet
Vibes??
DeleteThe main tone Aurora Levins Morales uses within her poem Child of the Americas is a proud, defensive tone in my opinion. She begins almost every line with “I am” which sounds as though she is defending her self but is proud of what she is. Line twenty also shows this sort of proudness when we ends the poem with the line “and I am whole.” The speaker describes herself as made by history, born at the crossroads, and raised as a person with Spanish heritage in an English culture. She introduces the poem in the order it is because she sets her poem at the beginning saying that she uses English as a very powerful tool, soon after she states she is of Spanish heritage. The structure of the poem begins with what she is, and what she is not, and finally with what the world has made her into. The argument she develops is that she is unique and “new” based on how history played out.
ReplyDeleteI am raised off Center Street,
A neighborhood built out of kindness.
Where the party and fire burns endlessly in the backyard,
And the wiffleball games under those blue July skies never stop.
A place where I learned to become the person I am today.
I would not want to live anywhere else,
I lived on Maple Street for the first month of my life.
My parents looked at many houses on many different streets,
But there was something special about this one.
From the large yard to play to the treehouse out back,
There was much to do.
Center Street means a lot to me,
It is the small community where I was raised.
The place that I call home.
In this poem about the diversity and real ness of what America has become today, Aurora Levins Morales, puts the image of an American immigrant in our minds. By speaking in such a strong and passionate tone, she can get her point across with authority and zest. She uses the phrase “I am”. By using this phrase, Morales leaves us no single thought to think of her anything else than of what she is. She describes herself as many things, a race, a person, an immigrant, and a diverse part of America. She introduces herself as what she is in our lives and what he is to herself. She is arguing that although she is made of different things, she still is a whole person.
ReplyDeleteI am part of this school,
A student of Elk County Catholic School system,
A person in many different clubs and activities.
I am a devout catholic,
A student and a teacher of the faith.
A modest, strong, and kind person is what I strive to be.
I praise God, my creator, when all seems lost.
The hand of God, my strength when all else fails.
I’m am loved,
And to love is what I try to do.
Through God and my Family,
I am whole as well.
I come from a family oriented household
ReplyDeleteA mix between Irish and Italian
I am a second generation American
But my ethnicity peeks threw
I am a hydrid of people far away
But I am American all the same.
In this poem the author shows how mixed America is. We are all American but we are also all our own version. Some are white others are black. Some are Jewish some are Catholic. Some are German others Irish but we are all American and the author shows you that in the poem.
Delete