While reading the poetry of witness collection there were many things wondering throughout my mind while trying to interpret the meanings for people to write such creative words. One of the pieces that i was able to connect the most with was entitled "Immigrants in Our Own Land" written by Jimmy Baca. It starts out with a positive first line which i believed is what grabbed me right away We are born with dreams in our hearts, (Line 1 Baca) At first when reading this poem i thought it was in regards to maybe a Concentration camp due to the lines stating we are given overalls like mechanics wear. We are given shots and doctors ask questions(Line 5 & 6 Baca) . It goes on further to discuss the new land that they live in. It was not until the second grouping that it became clear this was no concentration camp this was prison. The dead give away was the segregation of race. This poem has accurately described the harsh world of incarceration. i myself have not been incarcerated, but have heard many stories from my family members of what it is like. This poem depicts what the life of a person living in a rough neighborhood may experience by saying
- We came here to get away from false promises, from dictators in our neighborhoods, who wore blue suits and broke our doors down when they wanted, arrested us when they felt like, swinging clubs and shooting guns as they pleased (Line 33-37 Baca).
This is a clear depiction of the ghetto and a day to day experience that people who lived in this area witnessed. The closure of the poem is as well a very accurate description of what happens if you are released and how the person who entered that gate many moons ago is not the same when they depart.
- Some will make it out of here with hate in their eyes, but so very few make it out of here as human as they came in, they leave wondering what good they are now as they look at their hands so long away from their tools, as they look at themselves, so long gone from their families, so long gone from life itself, so many things have changed (Line65-70 Baca).
Here is a link from Wikipedia that gives a generalization of incarceration and the statistics that are involved
The second poem that was touching to me was "Compendium of Lost Objects" by Nicole Cooley. This poem was a clear vision of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that left many people without a place to call home. It was emotional to read because it discussed what was felt from the heart right away. The starting line is Not the butterfly wing, the semiprecious stones, the shard of mirror (Line 1 & 2 Cooley). I interrupted that the author was not concerned about the materialistic items in life but the memories that were now washed away by water and winds. The visualization that was given was excellent. I was able to close my eyes and see what the author was describing just by the power of words. Katerina was something that did not effect my family on a personal level, but the trauma that it caused was enough to make anyone feel that the people who suffered were family. The line that states ...a kitchen clock stopped at the time the hurricane hit (Line 20 Cooley). allowed me to create a picture in my mind of a family sitting around the table eating lunch unaware of what was coming, then to have their belongings and memories swept away without a moments notice. This poem touched me because if something were to happen to myself or loved one words would never be able to be put on paper for others to read because my heart would not be able to tell the story of what happened. This author was amazing at depicting the tragedy of this hurricane and i commend them on their ability to express so simple the event that occurred.
Image of Katrinas devastation found @ http://evanstextbook.wikispaces.com/Hurricane+Katrina
