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The Poet X QUOTES

The Poet X QUOTES

1 " I only know that learning to believe in the power of my own words has been the most freeing experience of my life. It has brought me the most light. And isn't that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

2 " Just because your father's present, doesn't mean he isn't absent. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

3 " Every time I think about Aman
poems build inside me
like I've been gifted a box of metaphor Legos
that I stack and stack and stack.
I keep waiting for someone to knock them over.
But no one at home cares about my scribbling. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

4 " And as she recites Scripture words tumble out of my mouth too, all of the poems and stanzas I've memorized spill out, getting louder and louder, all out of order, until I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, heaving the words like weapons from my chest... "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

5 " But maybe my silence.
Just made him feel more alone.
Maybe my silence.
Condones the ugly things people think. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

6 " I only know that learning to believe in the power of my own words has been the most freeing experience of my life.
It has brought me the most light.
And isn't that what a poem is?
A lantern glowing in the dark. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

7 " If I were on fire
who could I count on
to water me down?

If I were a pile of ashes
who could I count on
to gather me in a pretty urn?

If I were nothing but dust
would anyone chase the wind
trying to piece me back together? "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

8 " If Medusa was Dominican
and had a daughter, I think I'd be her.
I look and feel like a myth.
A story distorted, waiting for others to stop
and stare. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

9 " The weird thing about the bible is that almost everything in it is a metaphor.

So it seems to me that when the bible describes church as a place where two or more people discuss God, they don’t mean just the cathedral like churches. I don’t know what, who or where God is; but if everything is a metaphor, I think he or she is a comparison to us. I think we are like, or as God. I think when we get together, and talk about ourselves, about being human, about what hurts us; we are also talking about God.

So that’s also church, right?

I know this might seem blasphemous, but my priest tells me its okay to ask questions, even if they seem bizarre. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

10 " And I think about all the things we could be
if we were never told our bodies were not built for them. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

11 " The world is almost peaceful when you stop trying to understand it. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

12 " Burn it! Burn it. This is where the poems are,” I say, thumping a fist against my chest. “Will you burn me? Will you burn me, too? "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

13 " Maybe, the only thing that has to make sense
about being somebody's friend
is that you help them be their best self
on any given day. That you give them a home
when they don't want to be in their own. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

14 " Late into the night I write and the pages of my notebook swell from all the words I’ve pressed onto them.
It almost feels like the more I bruise the page the quicker something inside me heals. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

15 " I will never let anyone see my full heart and destroy it. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

16 " My brother was born a soft whistle:
quiet, barely stirring the air, a gentle sound.
But I was born all the hurricane he needed
to lift - and drop- those that hurt him to the ground. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

17 " Pero, tú no eres fácil.”
You sure ain’t an easy one. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

18 " My parents probably wanted a girl who would sit in the pews wearing pretty florals and a soft smile. They got combat boots and a mouth silent until it’s sharp as an island machete. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

19 " Their gazes and words
are heavy with all the things
they want you to be. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X

20 " After It happens when I’m at bodegas. It happens when I’m at school. It happens when I’m on the train. It happens when I’m standing on the platform. It happens when I’m sitting on the stoop. It happens when I’m turning the corner. It happens when I forget to be on guard. It happens all the time. I should be used to it. I shouldn’t get so angry when boys—and sometimes grown-ass men— talk to me however they want, think they can grab themselves or rub against me or make all kinds of offers. But I’m never used to it. And it always makes my hands shake. Always makes my throat tight. The only thing that calms me down after Twin and I get home is to put my headphones on. To listen to Drake. To grab my notebook, and write, and write, and write all the things I wish I could have said. Make poems from the sharp feelings inside, that feel like they could carve me wide open. It happens when I wear shorts. It happens when I wear jeans. It happens when I stare at the ground. It happens when I stare ahead. It happens when I’m walking. It happens when I’m sitting. It happens when I’m on my phone. It simply never stops. "

― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X