WhY dO YoU pEoPLe HeLp Me WiTh MaTh BuT NoT eNglIsH SoMeOnE hElP m
I wilL GiVe yOu LOvE iN ExChAngE

Annotate each stanza: For each stanza, make a note, summarizing what the stanza is about, and what the speaker is saying. What is the topic/subject? How is the author feeling?

Aurora Levins Morales “Child of the Americas”
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. Puerto Rican Jew,
5 A product of the ghettos of New York I have never known.
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.

Rodolfo Gonzales “I Am Joaquín”
I am Joaquin,
Lost in a world of confusion,
Caught up in a whirl (Wirbel, Strudel) of a gringo society,
Confused by the rules,
5 Scorned (verachten) by attitudes,
Suppressed by manipulations,
And destroyed by modern society.
My fathers have lost the economic battle
And won the struggle of cultural survival.
10 And now! I must choose between the paradox of
Victory of the spirit, despite physical hunger
Or to exist in the grasp (Umklammerung) of American social neurosis,
Sterilization of the soul, and a full stomach.
Yes. I have come a long way to nowhere,
15 Unwillingly dragged (zerren) by that
Monstrous, technical industrial giant called
Progress and Anglo success.
I look at myself. I watch my brothers.
I shed (vergießen) tears of sorrow.
20 I sow (säen) seeds of hate.
I withdraw (sich zurückziehen) to the safety within the
Circle of life …
MY OWN PEOPLE.

QUESTIONS

1. Compare what the two speakers say about their identity and how it has been shaped by society, geography and history.
2. Describe the role of language(s) in Morales’ poem and analyse her imagery.
3. Compare the speakers’ attitude towards American society.
4. Choose three relevant metaphors from Gonzales’ poem and explain how they work.
5. What is the tone of the first poem? How do you know this? Use evidence.
6. What is the mood of the first poem? How do you know this? Use evidence.
7. What is the tone of the second poem? How do you know this? Use evidence.
8. What is the mood of the second poem? How do you know this? Use evidence.