It is time to gain some understanding about what it means to be an immigrant. Through the eyes of an immigrant we are able to see inside of their family before things brought them to leave their home while also analyzing the assumptions of those who stand far away but yet in judgement of them. Senses is a poem that talks about how much a person from Mexico remembers their land and what it means to them. Using a series of images that poetically revolves around our five senses. What does your life look like through your sense of: smell, sight, taste, touch and the things we hear? It is a beautiful reflection of a life that we don’t understand because we haven’t seen it but through the story it is clear that these memories are fond, and heart felt. On the other side is the poem No More Boats. This poem is a harsh and honest reality check about the obstacles that people go through to get to leave their homeland and to get here. Using satire, it addresses and makes fun of the thoughts that people have, believe or voice about immigrants. In the end it brings us back to the reality that being an immigrant isn’t easy and often it is a choice that was difficult to make. A poem that makes you sit back and reflect on your thoughts of immigrants, immigration in America and the challenges that they experience to get close to the dream that they believe lives here.
Stories of Immigration
Standing on top looking down
Looking over all the things
Trees cover the base of what is really there
The things that you would call home.
Seeing home.
The comfort of all of the things that home represents.
Senses kick in as the wind blows softly through
Crossing my face
What is that that I smell?
Smell. Holding on to the burnt sting
Of my tio Jose as he once again fails at
Recreating my abuelas’ carnitas
“los condimentos no significan enrollados en sal”
I laugh as I quietly remind him that, “She’s right! Jose, seasoning
does not mean to roll it in salt over and over and over again.”