Poetry Connections The ‘Soldier of Mictlan”, “Elliptical”, and “Fencecs”

1.What does the speaker’s little sister in “Fences” do to cause her mother to react?

2.In “Fences” what is the speaker’s attitude, or tone, toward the turistas? What details lead you to this response?

3.What differences do you see between the actions of the turistas and those of the speaker’s brother?

4.What fences might the poem’s title refer to? Are those fences literal or figurative, or both?

Mouths full of laughter,
the turistas come to the tall hotel
with suitcases full of dollars.

Every morning my brother makes
the cool beach new for them.
With a wooden board he smooths
away all footprints.

I peek through the cactus fence
and watch the women rub oil
sweeter than honey into their arms and legs
while their children jump waves
or sip drinks from long straws,
coconut white, mango yellow.

Once my little sister
ran barefoot across the hot sand
for a taste.

My mother roared like the ocean,
“No. No. It’s their beach.
It’s their beach.”