Poetry

Coming into this class at the beginning of the semester, I had never heard of The Poet X. I knew it was a book and assumed it was just like any regular other novel. It wasn't until last week that I realized it was a book of poems when I went out to buy it. I'm going to be completely honest, I have a...complicated relationship with poetry and tend to shy away from it from past experiences.

I took a poetry class at CCRI, and the professor assigned us some poems that even after she told us what it meant, I still had no idea. Like, the whole class made absolutely zero sense and I struggled really bad. Before this class, throughout my public education, there had been numerous poetry units that always ended in writing my own poem, which I always felt awful at. It's definitely not my most skilled writing area, and after this college course I sort of just said to myself, "If this is what poetry is like, I'm all set!"

Obviously, I've had to read poetry in other college courses as an English major and I just kind of turned off my engagement switch and settled for a simple, "It's complicated and I don't get it." (Again, I'm being completely honest here). I blame it on myself mostly when I look back for not trying harder, but the way it was taught I think also may have been an issue. EITHER WAY, the point I'm trying to get at is, The Poet X has given me a new appreciation for poetry.

It's not just because it's an easy read. I love that all the poems are connected to each other and tell a story, but its easy for me to see a single poem standing on it's own and telling it's own story too. I haven't read further than Part I but the theme of identity is really prominent and made me think of myself when I was in middle school and high school, struggling to find my identity. I see myself in X in terms of gender and struggling with femininity and a developing body. I see my best friend Salma in the hispanic heritage aspect of X's life when she says she isn't allowed to date or even use a tampon for her period. My family never grew up religiously, however I can still relate to X's experience in the sense that she was forced to do things she didn't want to because its what her mother expected of her.

The structure of having the poems act like chapters is something that entices my interest and I (honestly) can't wait to have time to read more. I know that all poetry isn't written in the same format, but Acevedo has made me rethink my dislike for poetry - that being said I still don't feel comfortable writing poetry, but for the first time, I feel comfortable reading it, and that's really big for me.

Staying on the poetry wave, the link in the syllabus we were asked to read sent chills down my spine. "Forgotten Items" is an all too real reality that I've watched my great grandmother experience because she had dementia and forgot who her husband was. The last lines,

So I linger. 

Somewhat in search of vitamins,

but mostly because I can’t have this woman

standing all alone, 

in this great big store

because she has been forgotten—like a gallon 

of orange juice—

by the one she loves most.

pack such a huge punch, right in the stomach. Obviously her husband wouldn't forget about her if he had a choice, but old age rots the brain and it set forth a very scary truth. This is another example of a poem I had no trouble reading, and actually enjoyed.

Maybe I've just been taking the wrong classes this whole time, but I've been opened up this week into enjoying poetry again, and I'm glad that my negative feelings about it have been disproved. Tying this into myself as a future educator, I genuinely hope I'm given the chance to have my future students read The Poet X, among other poetry and I hope that they find it helpful in their own ways. Whether it's finding themselves in X's character or finding a new love for reading poetry.