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61 " What's the point of God giving me life, if I can't live it as my own? "
― Elizabeth Acevedo , The Poet X
62 " My brother was birthed 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. "
63 " 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. "
64 " This year, Mami has filled out the forms, signed me up, and marched me to church before I can tell her that Jesus feels like a friend I’ve had my whole childhood who has suddenly become brand-new; who invites himself over too often, who texts me too much. A friend I just don’t think I need anymore. (I know, I know . . . even writing that is blasphemous.) But I don’t know how to tell Mami that this year, it’s not about feeling unready, it’s about knowing that this doubt has already been confirmed. "
65 " She would smile and say I was her premio for hard work, I was her premio for patience. And I loved being her reward. The golden trophy of her life. I just don’t know when I got too big for the appointed pedestal. "
66 " It was just a poem, Xiomara, I think.But it felt more like a gift. "
67 " She tell me words give people permissionto be their fullest self. "
68 " Just because your father’s present doesn’t mean he isn’t absent. "
69 " This was supposed to be a question. Not a poem confession or whatever it's become. I just want to know if you would listen with me to the sound of our heartbeats. "
70 " It is ungrateful to feel like a burden. It is ungrateful to resent my own birth. I know that Twin and I are miracles. Aren’t we reminded every single day? "
71 " Except. I once heard a rumor that goldfish have an evolutionary gene where they’ll only develop as big as the tank they’re put into. They need space to stretch. And I wonder if Twin and I are keeping each other small. Taking up the space that would have let the other grow. "
72 " That my poetry has become something I'm proud of. The way the words say what I mean,how they twist and turn language, how they connect with people. How they build a community. "
73 " It almost feel likethe more I bruise the pagethe quicker something inside me heals.(p. 283) "
74 " while I watch her hands, and face,feeling like she's talking directly to me.She's saying the thoughts I didn't know anyone else had.We're different, this poet and I. In looks, in body,in background. But I don't feel so differentwhen I listen to her. I feel heard.-Xiomara "
75 " The world's been waiting for your genius a long time. "
76 " Every day I searched for new songs,and it was like applying for asylum. "
77 " Maybe, the only thing that has to make senseabout being somebody's friendis that you help them to be their best selfon any given day. That you give them a homewhen they don't want to be in their own.-Xiomara "
78 " That love can be a band: tears if you pull it too hard, but also flexible enough to stretch around the most chaotic mass. "
79 " If my body was a Country Club soda bottle, it's one that has been shaken and dropped and at any moment it's gonna pop open and surprise the whole damn world. "
80 " And even that young I learned music can become a bridge between you and a total stranger. "