The Poet X - Elizabeth Acevedo Page 0,19

my hero.

Because she barely spoke English

and wasn’t born here,

but she didn’t let that stop her

from defending herself

if she got cut in line at the grocery store,

or from fighting to get Twin into a genius school.

Because I’ve never seen her

ask my father for money

or complain about her job.

Because her hands will be scraped raw from work

but she still folds them to pray.

When I was little

Mami was my hero.

But then I grew breasts

and although she was always extra hard on me,

her attention became something else,

like she wanted to turn me

into the nun

she could never be.

Final Draft of Assignment 3 (What I Actually Turn In)

Xiomara Batista

Tuesday, November 6

Ms. Galiano

Describe Someone Misunderstood by Society, Final Draft

I’ve always found Nicki Minaj compelling. Although she gets a bad reputation for being “overly sexual” and making songs like “Anaconda,” I think the persona she portrays in her videos is really different from who she is in real life. So, the question should be, “Does society distinguish between who someone actually is and the alter ego they present to the public?” For example, Ms. Minaj may have lyrics that some people feel are a bad influence, but then she’s always tweeting people to stay in school.

I also think society puts a negative spin on her music by saying she’s allowing men to dictate how she raps, but a lot of her music shows a positive outlook on physical beauty. She is well developed and people always have a lot of negative things to say about her because of her body and how she talks about it and sex, but instead of being ashamed or writing something different, she celebrates her curves and what she wants.

And all that is besides the fact that she also GOT BARS . . . by which I mean to say, she is very artistically talented! She’s not just a great “female rapper,” she’s a great rapper, period. Ms. Minaj has held her own on tracks with some of the best rappers in the world. She is a woman in a male-dominated world making albums that go platinum. I know she’s not considered most women’s role model like Eleanor Roosevelt or Mother Teresa, or even Beyoncé, but I think she stands for girls who don’t fit into society’s cookie-cutter mold. Misunderstood? Perhaps by some. But those of us who can relate, we get her.

Wednesday, November 7

Announcements

At the end of class Ms. Galiano

brings in a student from her poetry club.

He’s a Puerto Rican kid I’ve seen around,

with glasses and a kind smile.

He says his name is Chris,

and he invites us to join the club.

Then he does a short poem

using his hands and his volume to grab our attention.

Ms. Galiano looks on like a proud mama bear,

and the class gives him halfhearted claps, and a dap or two.

Chris hands out flyers for the citywide slam

and personally invites everyone to come to a poetry club meeting.

The slam is three months away.

February 8.

Ms. Galiano says it’s open to the public.

And even if we don’t sign up

we should attend and support Chris, and our peers.

And I feel my face get hot.

I should be there.

I could compete.

Ice-Skating

When I was little, Mami would take Twin and me

ice-skating every year for our birthday, January 8.

She would work the holidays to make sure

she had the afternoon off. I always think of ice-skating as a gift.

And although Twin is super uncoordinated,

and I’ve always been a tank in tights,

we were real good at skating.

It was one thing we both did right.

We took to the ice, falling only a few times

before we streamed easily in the circular rink.

Mami would post up behind the glass,

never rented skates herself.

Just watched us turn in circle after circle.

This was a tradition for years.

Until one day it just wasn’t.

Until Twin and I stopped asking.

Until I forgot what it felt like to slice through the cold,

maybe like a knife, but mostly like a girl,

skating with her arms out, laughing with her brother

while her mother took pictures in the falling snow.

Until

I completely forgot about the skating adventures

we used to go on until Aman asks me to go skating.

I tell him I have to be home straight after school,

and half days won’t give us enough time.

“What about tomorrow, no school since teachers are grading exams.”

And I’m stuck. It is a day off

and one when Mami will be at work

so it’s not like she’ll know I’m not home.

I begin to shake my head,

and then I remember how free I felt on the ice,

how wonderful it was.

And I know I want Aman to see me feeling