The Poet X Reaction

Fab or drab? Fab

Rating: 8/10

I recently read The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, a book about a Dominican-American girl navigating adolescence. Given that the novel is written completely in verse, I composed my reaction as a poem. Here is Seen.

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Seen

The first page is the front door to my home.

The pages are introduced by scribbled dates

exactly like the ones written in the diaries

I’ve kept since kindergarten.

I hold up a mirror to my face.

A teenage, Catholic, Latina firecracker

with a passion for writing and creative expression

just trying to make sense of the world.

My heart swells with pride

seeing Spanish words written

without looped, slanted letters.

Ingrained into the pages

without interrupting the narrative.

American and Hispanic cultures coexisting.

I see myself in Confirmation classes

questioning what I’m meant to confirm.

Feeling guilty for questioning,

and resenting my guilt.

Refreshed knowing someone else

has experienced this cycle.

Flipping the pages sends sparks through my fingers.

Jolts of electricity when X performs on stage,

memories of my performances

charging my passion for the creative.

Shocks of power knowing I, too,

can use my writing and perspective

to light the world.

Xiomara and Fabiana.

Two names that are difficult to pronounce.

Two people who aren’t afraid to use their voice.

Make them say it right.

I may not be Dominican,

I may not have grown up in New York,

I may not have a gay twin brother,

I may not have a troubled family.

But in these pages, I feel seen.