The mentor text is titled "Abuelito Who."
Abuelito means grandpa. Notice how the poet uses anaphora by repeating
Abuelito who...
who...
who...
who...
Mentor Text: “Abuelito Who” by Sandra Cisneros
Abuelito who throws coins like rain
and asks who loves him
who is dough and feathers
who is a watch and glass of water
whose hair is made of fur
is too sad to come downstairs today
who tells me in Spanish you are my diamond
who tells me in English you are my sky
whose little eyes are string
can’t come out to play
sleeps in his little room all night and day
who used to laugh like the letter k
is sick
is a doorknob tied to a sour stick
is tired shut the door
doesn’t live here anymore
is hiding underneath the bed
who talks to me inside my head
is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes
who snores up and down up and down up and down again
is the rain on the room that falls like coins
asking who loves him
who loves him who?
-------------------------------
Judy Who
Judy who cackled like firecrackers
in the halls during class,
drawing wrath from teachers
demanding silence bell to bell:
no laughter
should compete
with lectures drear.
Judy who counseled
our most fragile and volatile
students toward
something resembling
warmth,
resembling survival.
Judy who after her divorce
built a country home with
a long driveway
and a 10-foot chicken sculpture
in the yard.
In the house, a suit of armor
and a porcelain phrenology head
she brought home from New Orleans
as her Delta carry-on.
Judy whose coral nails
and heavy Danish silver
defined her style:
sparkling eyes
great hair
faint breath of whiskey
under quality perfume.
Judy who tagged me
as a friend,
hosted raucous parties
culminating in hysterics
as we took turns shooting pumpkins
in her garden
with her varmint .22
Judy, Judy
who late on that blizardly February night
too drunk to be driving
made it home
but missed the driveway.
Stuck in a drift
she hoofed the hundred yards
toward her steel chicken
and what the previous fall had been
the pumpkin patch.
Judy who
did not survive
the trek
to warmth of hearth
whose body was was found
next morning
by her brother who
lived a mile across the section
and raised chickens for Campbell’s Soup.
Judy who
radiated warmth
died in
alcohol’s frozen embrace.
Hudson who.
ReplyDeleteHudson who is full of energy
at home or on the go
Hudson who's energy sometimes annoys me
drawing my wrath when I'm doing a task at hand
but is a positive energy my brother uses within himself
Hudson who is the most creative
person I have ever known
Hudson whose room is equal to a landfill
full of junk, little things, and his little creations
that litter the floor
Ah! I really liked the "room is equal to a landfill" line.
ReplyDeleteDonovan who was the original
ReplyDeleteMy only full blood
Who is cheese and bread
Who is solicitous and effortless
Whose hair is so undefined
Just a mirror of myself
Who is developing
Who is researching
Whose bright heart shines in the sky
Can’t go without a hug
Whose laugh I know as my own
Is hiding true pain
Is always locked away
Is what I look for
Is my biggest competitor
Is my biggest love
Who expands his friends
To the best of their abilities.
Is why I feel bad
Is my biggest failure
Is told
“Nobody wants you”
But in reality
I want you
Dante, "whose laugh I know as my own" is such a powerful line. You have painted a complex, beautiful image of your brother.
DeleteHe who throws caution into the wind
ReplyDeleteAnd smiles despite his pain
He who keeps faith in others,
Who never fails to help those around him
She who keeps to herself
Who would rather read a book then hang out with others
She who would not, could not, will not,
Let others turn her into the image they want her to be
They who have no name, no label
And keeps fighting for what they believe in
They who will not give up
Though their hardships are tougher than stone
He who keeps on believing,
She who keeps on fighting,
They who keep on going,
Giving it everything they got
Because in the end,
It doesn’t matter if he, she, or they
Were smart, popular, outgoing
Or dumb, outcasted, antisocial
All that matters is
That they didn’t give up
Addie, This is a powerful poem of inclusion. Your "he, she, they" are at once "everyone" and very specific people. I hear a strong message of hope. Thank you.
DeleteAllison who.
ReplyDeleteAllison who gets frustrated easily,
who makes sure everything is fair.
Allison who can be my best friend,
but become an enemy in one wrong move.
Allison who has things so organized,
yet so cluttered.
Allison who has always seemed to surprise me,
watching her grow up beside me.
Allison who keeps trying,
even if she is told to stop.
Allison who may be stranger at times,
is still my one and only sister.
Nicole, I love the enemy/best friend echoed in the stranger/sister at the end. I hope you share this with her. Nice work with the anaphora.
ReplyDelete