i mean

 I mean like what are you

Like you know what I mean

where are you like from

No like where are you really from

I mean like what is your race

I mean you look Arab, like 

I mean like how do you know Spanish

I mean like the world is big so who really knows who's what 

I mean you must've like converted, right 

I mean like you don't look Jewish 

I mean like who are you to tell me I'm wrong 

I mean I've never heard of anything like you before 

I mean like are you mixed

I mean you aren't real like

I mean like you can't be real 

Because like it's hard to hate a person as much I do now 

I mean I'm not like antisemitic 

But like how are you Jewish, Arab, and Hispanic 

I mean I'm like not racist 

But like can you teach me Spanish

I mean I'm not saying you look like an Arab but like 

Free Palestine 

I mean like isn't that contradictory

I mean like you aren't pro-Hamas 

I mean like wait that doesn't make sense 

Like aren't you Arab

I mean aren't you like disgusted with yourself 

I mean like where do you fit than 

Wait, so you're like a zionist 

but like how 

I mean you also like must know how to dance 

Like I mean your food must be bomb 

oops I didn't mean like bomb bomb 

I mean 

Wait, so like you're telling me you've never had bacon before?


Comments

  1. Professor MillerFebruary 15, 2022 at 11:39 AM

    I love the idea of building a poem out of things that people say about race, ethnicity, and other hot button issues. I like how the poem is focused on language and not the self. I also like how the poem is fearlessly political, something that very few poets at Stern are willing or confident enough to do.

    It's a bit hard to edit the poem, since it is so purposefully casual in its diction and tone. In this sense, it takes what could be a flaw and makes it into a strength. "Chattiness" in a poem seldom works, but I think it is working here.

    I will offer this criticism: the poem still should progress in some way. We want it to have a sense of movement--to make some kind of meaningful gesture and not just be an assemblage of lines. To that end, I recommend trying to weave more of a sense of connected meaning into the poem. It could be narrative or thematic, or it could make some kind of more definite political statement, for example, though there are other possibilities.

    I want to talk about this one in class.

    By the way, while I love that you are apparently writing so many poems, it is a bit difficult on us to have so many so fast. I just chose the topmost poem for comments, because I will be commenting on one poem per week. Perhaps you should also limit your self-publication to one per week, so we know which poem to focus on. Or else, you could tell which one to focus on. Students are only expected to comment upon one per week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcela HomsanyFebruary 15, 2022 at 1:16 PM

      Sounds good! Thank you- yes, I dont expect comments on each poem its more of a therapeutic form of relief posting theses poems- that's why there are so many. I think it's a great idea for people to comment on the most recent poems. I will make everyone aware of that upon the next revision of (my) poems. Thank you.

      Delete
  2. Liana HanokaeeFebruary 15, 2022 at 6:38 PM

    I loved this poem. It felt free. It gave me an inside look into conversations you have had with people and reminded me of all the categories people try to box us into. I initially thought that all the bolded words would spell something out, so that could be something you can do. I was looking forward to reading it just with the bolded words so I was kind of let down, but either way it was cool.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElianaFebruary 15, 2022 at 9:05 PM

    I love this poem! It was so cool how you used bolding to make me add force to certain words as I was reading it. As a reader, it almost made me physically halt when I came up to it and forced me to focus on the word which is really cool because I feel like this is the experience when people are having a normal conversation and then suddenly someone will say something problematic and to the person those words become the focus. I also really liked how you worded it casually like a conversation. It's really subtle but to me it highlighted how carelessly people throw around these types of stereotypes in normal conversation. By not giving them any special phrasing, you demonstrate how mundane people view these kinds of harmful assumptions, which is so powerful! I really loved it and don't have anything that I would change. Maybe it would be cool it it rhymed but for sure doesn't need it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yael SpodekFebruary 16, 2022 at 5:36 PM

    I really enjoyed reading this poem. I think the way in which you made it political but personal added a lot of power and strength. I love the "I mean" in the beginning of most lines, it really conveys that while the speaker is not trying to be or come across as racist, they are. I thought all the bold words were gonna create some sort of mini poem or phrase, think that could be cool. Nonetheless, this poem was so creative and enjoyable to read.

    ReplyDelete

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