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Subject: HISPANIC AMERICANS
Matches Found: 203

UPDATE command denied to user 'poetryex_users'@'localhost' for table `poetryex_poems`.`subcnt` ABANDONED, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Gladys, where did you go?
Last Line: To recall you to your creation
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


ADIOCITO, MOTHER SNOW, by COLETTE INEZ    Poem Text                    
First Line: Vamos. Enough
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Snow; Latinos


ADMIRAL AND THE SNAKE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On the island of the snake
Last Line: Monuments to a riot of sailors %and obscene songs about the admiral
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


ADOLFO AND LUCIA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Lucia's eyes %are a city at night
Last Line: Managua from the sky
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


AFTER THE FLOOD IN CHINANDEGA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Nicaragua %is a young brown girl
Last Line: Grinning at the way %her green bird %balances himself %on her head
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


AGAIN THE MERCENARIES: ATLANTIC COAST OF NICARAGUA, 4TH OF JULY 1982, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The rio sucio drags the reaching brown hand of branches
Last Line: And approaching three unknown men swaggering machetes
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


ANATOMY LESSON, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: We are sitting in bed, my legs on your lap
Last Line: Nor I yet touched down upon from %my high expectations
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


ARM, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A man pushing
Last Line: Sneering at their own jok, %no one knows
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


ARTHUR BRYANT'S, KANSAS CITY, MO- OR, CUBAN POET GORGES HIMSELF...., by VIRGIL SUAREZ    Poem Source         Poet Analysis             Poet's Biography
First Line: Entropy is the daily topic here, how sauces ooze off plastic trays
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Restaurants; Food & Eating; Kansas City, Missoufri; Latinos


ASHES AND DONUTS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Discovering a day-old harvest
Last Line: They slept on the beach that night, %without the romance of tourists
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


AT HIS BODEGA, LEO SELLS EVERYTHING, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: His own hands fall limp at his sides, then plunge deep into his pockets
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


AUDITION, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Porfirio drove mami and me
Last Line: Abruptly, her singing stopped
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


BEGINNING AGAIN, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night
Last Line: The grasses bending, the car pointing %towards the horizon I'll call home
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


BETWEEN DOMINICA AND ECUADOR, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: The earphoned guardians click off %the dominican republic
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


BILINGUAL SESTINA, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source     Poem Explanation                 Poet's Biography
First Line: Some things I have to say aren't getting said
Last Line: Heart beating, beating inside what I say en ingles
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Literary Form; Travel; Women


BLACK TRAIN THROUGH THE ANCIENT EMPIRE OF CHICAGO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Everywhere an ancient empire
Last Line: Wary of vandals at night, %unemployed in the city
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


BLACKBALLED BY THE RAINBOW GIRLS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The rainbow girls, daughters of the masons
Last Line: No god of the grandfather's face %handed her a nickel %for the truth
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


BOCA'S MAYOR CALLS MIKE OVER, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: We've signed out in his death notebook in unerasable ink!
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


BOOKMAKING, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At the pierpont morgan I go up and down
Last Line: And the handing down to the generations to come %the world's body loved by our passionate arts
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


BOOT CAMP INCANTATION, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: What does a marine feel
Last Line: The recoil of his m-16
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


BOROFELS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In brooklyn, the mice were crazy
Last Line: The could yell now %like banned poets %back from exile
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


BROKEN WINDOW OF ROSA RAMOS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Rosa ramos could spread her palm
Last Line: Get out. Get out. Get out
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


BULLY, by MARTIN ESPADA                        Poet's Biography
First Line: In the school auditorium / the theodore roosevelt statue
Subject(s): Education; Ethnic Groups - United States; Hispanic Americans; Minorities - United States; Schools; United States - Race Relations; Latinos; Students


BULLY, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the school auditorium %the theodore roosevelt statue
Last Line: Across the victorian mustache %and monocle
Subject(s): Education; Ethnic Groups - United States; Hispanic Americans; Minorities - United States; Schools; U.s. - Race Relations


CADA PUERCO TIENE SU SABADO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Cada puerco tiene su sabado
Variant Title(s): Cada Puerco Tiene Su Sabad
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CARNIVAL LEAVES FOR THE NEXT TOWN, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: For you, the carnival meant
Last Line: In my sure hands %and flip it through a hoop
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CHEO SAW AN ANGEL ON DIVISION STREET, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Cheo was a latin king
Last Line: I am the sweat of your skin, %I am the one you will pray for, %I am the kiss of the cross
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CHOTA AND THE PATRON, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The tennis players flitted %with the ball's echo
Last Line: Where dark skin grows darker %in the poisonous heat
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CITY OF COUGHING AND DEAD RADIATORS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I cannot evict them
Last Line: A loud-faced man %trumpets from the gallery: %death to legal aid
Subject(s): Chelsea, Massachusetts; Hispanic Americans; Landlords And Tenants; Poverty


CLARIOL, THE YOUNGEST OF NANA'S GIRLS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: The next meal and the next child she doesn't want
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


CLEMENTE'S BULLETS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Half a century ago
Last Line: Across the plaza %with a barking of rifles, %and he will awaken %to a morning %in 1936
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


COCA-COLA AND COCO FRIO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On his first visit to puerto rico
Subject(s): Ethnic Groups - United States; Hispanic Americans; Minorities - United States; Popular Culture - United States; United States - Race Relations; Latinos


COCA-COLA AND COCO FRIO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On his first visit to puerto rico
Last Line: Sagged heavy with milk, swollen %and unsuckled
Subject(s): Ethnic Groups - United States; Hispanic Americans; Minorities - United States; Popular Culture - United States; U.s. - Race Relations


COCKROACHES OF LIBERATION, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Near the campus, every night
Last Line: Immune to the stink %of government fumigation
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


COLIBRI, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In jayuya, %the lizards scatter
Last Line: Where he disappears %into a paradise of sky, %a nightfall of singing frogs. %if only history %were l
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CONFESSION OF THE TENANT IN APARTMENT # 2, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The landlord's %beige fleetwood cadillac
Last Line: That my jumper cables %didn't work
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CORDILLERA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Far from beggars' hands
Last Line: For bread and sight %and salvation
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


COURTHOUSE GRAFFITI FOR TWO VOICES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Jimmy c. %greatest car theif alive
Last Line: Then what %are you doing %here?
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CROSS PLAINS, WISCONSIN, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Blue bandanna %across the forehead
Last Line: The fine for speeding %is exactly %sixty-seven dollars, %andhis car %will follow my car %out of town
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


CUSIN AND TATA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Cusin waits for the white cruise ship
Last Line: In the winter of 1965 %with another cup of cafe con leche
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


DAVID LEAVES THE SAINTS FOR PATERSON, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: David's arm hung near-paralyzed
Last Line: Who also pushes the medicine carts to impatient doctors %and cannot stop drinking
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


DAY OF THE DEAD ON WORTMAN AVENUE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Halloween in brooklyn
Last Line: For silence overhead, %growling threats at the ceiling
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


DIVORCE WORK, by ANNE WALDMAN    Poem Text         Poet Analysis             Poet's Biography
First Line: This is an energy crisis
Last Line: Distilling thru my eyes, tears for this whole world
Subject(s): Divorce; Hispanic Americans; Law & Lawyers; Unfaithfulness; Latinos; Infidelity; Adultery; Inconstancy


DON'T WORRY, SON, YOU'RE IN THE CARE OF MENTAL HEALTH..., by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I am the man
Last Line: For the shoes %he's already %wearing
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


DOWN THAT MOUNTAIN, MIKE AND I HIKE, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Where another country waits, %the one I came to discover
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


DRUGS IN THE FOREHEAD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Iron doors, windows sunken and repeating themselves
Last Line: A face with drugs in the forehead
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


DSS DREAMS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I dreamed %the department of social services
Last Line: The pig's ok?' I asked. %'the pig's ok,' they said
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


EIGHT HUNDRED A.D. ON THE WARD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: An observation patient %wailing through
Last Line: He visits in dreams
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


EL GRITO DE PEPABERTA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A hundred years ago
Last Line: Who kept their bladders full %till morning
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


EL PROFESOR JUAN BAUTISA, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: And snips with a pair of scissors seven times two kids free!
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


EL SENOR ESTA MUERTO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He was paco the gambler
Last Line: Against a white sky that almost rained
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


ESTEL, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Your name, esther, in your mother's shy campesino voice
Last Line: Beyond my reach, deep in the mute heart
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


EXILE, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The night we fled the country, papi
Last Line: Eager, afraid, not yet sure of the outcome
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


FEDERICO'S GHOST, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The story is / that whole families of fruitpickers
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Politics & Government; Latinos


FEDERICO'S GHOST, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The story is %that whole families of fruitpickers
Last Line: At the cropduster %that hummed like a mosquito %lost in his ear, %and kept his soul awake
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Politics


FIDEL IN OHIO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The bus driver tore my ticket
Last Line: The resemblance is amazing,' %the driver said, %and I agreed
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


FIRING SQUAD IS SINGING IN CHILE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: It was years ago, %at the moment of the coup
Last Line: With the furious chorus %of the firing squad
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


FIRST LOVE LETTER, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Dearest- %addressed by your hand the envelope seems
Last Line: Your common-sounding, no less cherished name- %joe
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


FLORIDA CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION RESPONDS TO A ..., by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: An orange, %squeezed on the hands
Last Line: Is an adequate substitute %for soap and water
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


FOR THE LANDLORD'S REPAIRMAN, SINCE HE ASKED, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Yes, %I am %one of those lawyers
Last Line: Who smuggles %sandinistas %into the country
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


FROM AN ISLAND YOU CANNOT NAME, by MARTIN ESPADA                        Poet's Biography
First Line: Thirty years ago, / your linen-gowned father stood
Subject(s): Ethnic Groups - United States; Hispanic Americans; Minorities - United States; United States - Race Relations; Latinos


FROM AN ISLAND YOU CANNOT NAME, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Thirty years ago, %your linen-gowned father stood
Last Line: That you're other, %that you're not
Subject(s): Ethnic Groups - United States; Hispanic Americans; Minorities - United States; U.s. - Race Relations


GLADYS SINGING, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Gladys sang as she worked
Last Line: Rooms sparkling like jewels %in a mummy's lonely tomb
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


GOING BACK TO SLEEP, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: After making love, I hear you in the bathroom
Last Line: All night we go back and forth, back and forth, %towards what we think we want
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


GRACE, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A soft rap at the door
Last Line: And the storm again begins
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


GREEN AND RED, VERDE Y ROJO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At night, when beacon hill
Last Line: And all the hours of the night %to picture the executioners
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Office Employees; Paintings And Painters


GRITO FOR NICARAGUA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: After years of land stripped brown and humiliated as a %slave's back
Last Line: For the curiosity of flies and children
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


HAIKU BAILANDO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Mambo merengue
Last Line: All words to say dance
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


HEART OF HUNGER, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Smuggled in boxcars through fields of dark morning
Last Line: To pull a fierce gasping life %from the polluted current
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


HIDALGO'S HAT AND A HAWK'S BELL OF GOLD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Columbus hallucinated gold
Last Line: Swinging in the hat %like a cannonball in a sack
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


HOME FIRES, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Our last full day together we pass a house
Last Line: As if we could combine our lives and blow %this ending out
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


I DROVE UP IN MAMI'S MERCEDES, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Waving the guard adios, I headed down the mountain
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


I HADN'T FIT INTO ANY OF THE STORIES, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Chiquita, I was on my way back to where I cam from!
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


I HEAR PAPITO CALLING, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: To the shore I've made up on the other side
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


I'VE MET EVERYONE IN BOCA, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: A happy ending to close at least one version of my story
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


IF YOU SEE ME IN L.A. IT'S BECAUSE I'M LOOKING FOR AIRPORT, by VICTOR HERNANDEZ CRUZ    Poem Source                    
First Line: Even without hollywood
Last Line: Beholding the distance %of the smog
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Los Angeles; Mexico City; Travel; West Indies


IMAGINE THE ANGELS OF BREAD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: This is the year that squatters evict landlords
Last Line: Teeth like desecrated headstones, %fill with the angels of bread
Variant Title(s): Imagine The Angels Of Bread: 199
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


IMMIGRANT ICEBOY'S BOLERO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He caught lizards in the afternoon
Last Line: On 108th street, %staggering an iceboy's bolero
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


INMATE TORRES SINGS WAITING FOR THE PAROLE BOARD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: For inmate torres %the dominoes never matched
Last Line: Sings for a surprise
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


INTELLIGENCE OF SCAVENGERS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Three vultures walk the ground clumsily
Last Line: Patiently scouting the moment %to skin the dead, %to parade arrogantly %among the living
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


ISLANDIS, by VICTOR HERNANDEZ CRUZ    Poem Source                    
First Line: This is the taste of the
Last Line: Wearing crowns of %bird gone feathers
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Islands; Puerto Ricans - New York City; Travel


JEEP DRIVER, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I know everyone %in this country,' %he says
Last Line: Striking the wind, %sweeping the wind
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


JIM'S BLIND BLUES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: There are some things %doctors can't fix'
Last Line: Will not know %where to find him
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


JOB SEARCH GOT US DOWN, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the waiting room %I read the job ads
Last Line: Job search %got you down?
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


JORGE THE CHURCH JANITOR FINALLY QUITS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: No one asks / where I am from
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Janitors; Politics & Government; Latinos


JORGE THE CHURCH JANITOR FINALLY QUITS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: No one asks %where I am from
Last Line: Like a crazy squid %with stringy gray tentacles. %they will call it jorge
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Janitors; Politics


JULIO SIGNING HIS NAME, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Julio cheats %signing his name
Last Line: But julio's black hand %was schooled for lettuce-picking, %not lawsuits
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


JUSTO THE PAINTER AND THE CONQUEST OF LAWRENCE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Shaking hands with us
Last Line: Escort him by the elbow %for deportation. %let them. %justo the painter has conquered lawrence
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


KING OF BOOKS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The books traveled with camilo
Last Line: In el salvador, %a plague commanded %by camilo, %the king of books
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


LA CONDUCTORA DEL DESEO/CONDUIT, by VIRGIL SUAREZ    Poem Text         Poet Analysis             Poet's Biography
First Line: The woman, la conductora, at number 51, corner
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Women; Latinos


LA REVOLUCION AT ANTONIO'S MERCADO, by RICHARD BLANCO    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Para la santera, esperanza, who makes me open new boxes of candles so she can pick out the
Last Line: "who left a note addressed to me in spanish -- ""para mi amigo."
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Latinos


LA TORMENTA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: La muerte es una tormenta. %death is a storm'
Last Line: La tormenta %and the anthill scattering
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


LA TUMBA DE BUENAVENTURA ROIG, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Buenaventurea roig, / once peasants in the thousands
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Politics & Government; Latinos


LA TUMBA DE BUENAVENTURA ROIG, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Buenaventurea roig, %once peasants in the thousands
Last Line: Where the statue of san miguel %still chokes the devil with a chain
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Politics


LAST LOVE STORY, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: After you tell me %your last love story
Last Line: In spite of yourself %again becoming
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


LATIN MUSIC IN NEW YORK, by JESSICA TARAHATA HAGEDORN                        Poet's Biography
First Line: Made me dance with you
Alternate Author Name(s): Hagedorn, Jessica
Subject(s): Cities; Hispanic Americans; Urban Life; Latinos


LATIN MUSIC IN NEW YORK, by JESSICA TARAHATA HAGEDORN    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Made me dance with you
Last Line: You %and %you
Alternate Author Name(s): Hagedorn, Jessica
Subject(s): Cities; Hispanic Americans


LATIN NIGHT AT THE PAWNSHOP, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The apparition of a salsa band
Last Line: Like the city morgue ticket %on a dead man's toe
Subject(s): Cities; Hispanic Americans


LEGAL AID LAWYER HAS AN EPIPHANY, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When I bounce off the bus for work
Last Line: The sign on the door %offered a manicure %with every palm reading
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


LEO BLUE'S AND THE TIGER ROSE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Mitchell walked three miles %for cigarettes
Last Line: Old shoes unclaimed %near hunchback mattress
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


LESSON OF MY UNCLE'S NOSE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: My uncle promised many times
Last Line: Cartilage squashed %by a gritted wincing swing
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


LITTLE HOUSE IS CLOSED UP, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Fists posed to knock-we freeze. Are we ready for happiness?
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


LOS SURES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The bright-color portrait of jesus jumps
Last Line: Turning hips and heartbeat quick
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


LOVER OF A SUBVERSIVE IS ALSO A SUBVERSIVE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: For the sobbing to begin, %and she refused to sob
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MAJESKI PLAYS THE SAXOPHONE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He killed his parents
Last Line: And forced out the mouth, %jazz
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Insanity; Jazz; Music And Musicians; Saxophones


MAKING UP THE PAST, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: This never happened and yet I want the memory
Last Line: I will keep coming back to all my imagined life
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MAMI AND GAUGUIN, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Gauguin's barebreasted girls %hung above the sideboard
Last Line: Signing my name with the flourish %of an artist on her canvas
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MANGOS Y LIMONES (1), by PAT MORA    Poem Text         Poet Analysis             Poet's Biography
First Line: The story is about swellings and slick slidings
Last Line: Her mouth full of her own stories
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans' Mothers Daughters; Women


MANUEL IS QUIET SOMETIMES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He was quiet again, / driving east on 113
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; War; Latinos


MANUEL IS QUIET SOMETIMES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He was quiet again, %driving east on 113
Last Line: This is what he said: %'I never lied %to you, man'
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; War


MARIANO EXPLAINS YANQUI COLONIALISM TO JUDGE COLLINGS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Judge: does the prisoner understand his rights?
Last Line: Interpreter: yes
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AT THE VIET COFFEE HOUSE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When the memorial day parade
Last Line: That swoops and roars %but never leaves this sky
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MESA BLANCA (1), by VICTOR HERNANDEZ CRUZ    Poem Source                    
First Line: If I were writing on rock
Last Line: To lick the invisible %generations
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Language; Poetry And Poets; Puerto Ricans - New York City; Travel; U.s. - Immigration And Emigration


MI VIDA: WINGS OF FRIGHT, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The refugee's run
Last Line: Found himself %knelling on the floor %with a paper towel
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Loss; Moving And Movers; Refugees; U.s. - Immigration And Emigration


MIKE AND I HAVE OUR BEST TALKS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Down main the desperate strains of 'satisfaction' approaching
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MIKE AND I PRETEND WE'RE MARRIED, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Mike and I look at each other, his gaze is the first to falter
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MIKE AND I TOUR BOCA, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Men and women who died by the truths that they believed in
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MISSING MISSIVES, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In fellini's amarcord, the idiot
Last Line: Your heart, your lips, your loins %to me-or so you say
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MONKEY BUSINESS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: You send me to read the latest
Last Line: The monkey business of the human heart
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


MOON SHATTERS ON ALABAMA AVENUE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A wooden box rattled %with coins for the family
Last Line: Her hand dropped coins like seeds
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MOVING DAY IN THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The moving crew began at 8 a.M.
Last Line: Beyond the hands %like a silver cross %slapping sweat %underthe hard belly of a metal desk
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MRS. BAEZ SERVES COFFEE ON THE THIRD FLOOR, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: It hunches %with a brittle black spine
Last Line: Coffee the color %of a young girl's skin %in santo domingo
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MUSIC OF ASTRONOMY, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Every night %the ex-mental patient
Last Line: That this orchestra %will one night %give him music
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


MY LAST AFTERNOON IN BOCA, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Then ordering her home, he breaks my trance
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


NANDO MEETS PAPO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Nando was the one from legal aid
Last Line: At the landlord's wake, %conspiring union between beers, %welcomed back shorty
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


NAVIDAD, ST. NICHOLAS AVE., by ALFRED DEWITT CORN    Poem Source         Poet Analysis             Poet's Biography
First Line: An infant quirk of a pine
Last Line: Todo el mundo back to his side
Subject(s): Harlem (new York City); Hispanic Americans


NEW BATHROOM POLICY AT ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The boys chatter spanish in the bathroom
Last Line: So he decides %to ban spanish %in the bathrooms %now he can relax
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Schools


NEW WORLD, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Tia ana and tia fofi worked at la factoria. Tia
Last Line: Tia fofi rose as if they also agreed with what %had become of me
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


NIGGERLIPS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Niggerlips was the high school name
Last Line: And all you have, douglas, %is that unloaded gun
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


NIGHT WATCHMAN'S INDENTURED SERVITUDE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Sleep is a lover %who promised to be here %hours ago
Last Line: The night %has appointed %a night watchman
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


OLD MAN SLEEPS LIKE THE DEAD, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Come down, fisher of men, see if you can catch us again!'
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


ON NOT SHOPLIFTING LOUISE BOGAN'S THE BLUE ESTUARIES, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source     Poem Explanation                 Poet's Biography
First Line: Your book surprised me on the bookstore shelf
Last Line: And I put the book back
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


ONE OF LOS MUCHOS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Accusing with his silence, %wanting, finding me wanting
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


ONE-NIGHT STAND IN THE MILK OF AN INDUSTRIAL MOON, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The touch of unspoken mouths, %hair and teeth
Last Line: By the sentimental placard %on the wall
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


OPERATION BOOTSTRAP: SAN JUAN, 1985, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Man with one crutch
Last Line: Begging coins %for the other crutch
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


OTHER ALAMO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the crockett hotel dining room
Last Line: Of the alamo %in black streaks of fire
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


OUR BRIEF TRIP TO THE CAPITAL, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: But passing the scene of our fight, all I longed for was happiness
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


PAPI WORKING, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The long day spent listening %to homesick hearts
Last Line: They came to hear him say %nada in their mother tongue
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


PINBALL BETWEEN MADHOUSES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Slum building in blurred sun
Last Line: And did not talk
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


POLICEMAN'S BALL, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: It was
Last Line: Snap his fingers
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


PORTRAIT OF A REAL HIJO DE PUTA, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Not the obscenity
Last Line: Who steals cheese and crackers %from the office %where the door is deliberately %left open
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


POWER, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Crazyman %arms up
Last Line: Was red %anyway
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


PRAYER FOR THE BROTHER BURGLAR, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He was once the adolescent junkie
Last Line: To better grip the bullhorn %or the boss's collar
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


PROOF, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Papi brought home a puppy
Last Line: Right under our very noses
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


PUERTO RICAN AUTOPSY, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Winter-corpsed
Last Line: And found %a rain forest
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


QUEENS, 1963, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Everyone seemed more american
Last Line: Before the first foreigners owned %any of this free country
Subject(s): Americans; Baby Boom Generation; Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; United States; Women


REBELLION IS THE CIRCLE OF A LOVER'S HANDS (PELLIN AND NINA), by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The marchers gathered, nationalists
Last Line: But rebellion %is the circle of a lover's hands, %that must keep moving, %always weaving
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


RED BUZZARD OF LIGHT CIRCLING IN THE 25TH PRECINCT, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The festival is over
Last Line: And the fbi is following julio
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


REVOLUTIONARY SPANISH LESSON, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Whenever my name
Last Line: For the bilingual swat team %to helicopter overhead, %begging me %to be reasonable
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


RIFLE IN MY HANDS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Four dollar an hour bouncer
Last Line: And hid my purple heart %in white bandages
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


RIGHT HAND OF A MEXICAN FARMWORKER, SOMERSET COUNTY, MD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A rosary tattoo %betwen thumb
Last Line: Means that christ %had hard hands %too
Subject(s): Farm Life; Hispanic Americans


SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL FOOD PANTRY STOMP, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Waiting for the carton of food
Last Line: Named in his honor %by a maraca shaker %in the salsa band %of the unemployed
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


SAVIOR IS ABDUCTED IN PUERTO RICO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At a place in the mountains
Last Line: Without a guide %on the mountain roads %of the underworld
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


SECRET OF THE LEGAL SECRETARY'S CIGARETTE SMOKE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Cubicled women %pecking at computers
Last Line: The senior partner's name %is a spat breath of cigarette smoke, %and even the quiet %religious woman
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


SHAKING HANDS WITH MONGO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Mongo's open hands:
Last Line: Who shot his life away %for a bag of tecata %in a harlem bar%forty years ago
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Jazz; Music And Musicians; Santamaria, Mongo (b. 1922)


SHY SCHOOLGIRL IN PIGTAILS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Just waiting for luz to say the magic word
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN OF THE MANGO, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The woman spoke %with the tranquillity of shock
Last Line: Are found without heads %in el salvador
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


SOPHIIE'S AMULET, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Kansas is a whitewashed trailer
Last Line: The shawl's wing, the drum's quake, hard feet %not yet bones for the anthropologist
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


SOUND BITES: EL ROUND UP, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Those hard days now called a background!
Last Line: From one language to another
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SOUND BITES: FIRST DAYS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Nueva york, el hotel beverly
Last Line: What else didn't you tell us?
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SOUND BITES: FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Ay, mami, what a shame
Last Line: Wears a little pillbox hat
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SOUND BITES: I SIZE UP LA SITUATION, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Translate yourself, nina
Last Line: From the united states of america
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SOUND BITES: MAMI'S ADVICE, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Keep your voices down, girls
Last Line: I dont want to hear another word
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SOUND BITES: TALKING BACK TO MAMI (YEARS LATER), by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I had to cut myself out
Last Line: Not who you really are
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SPANISH OF OUR OUT-LOUD DREAMS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: You took your father %from the bronx hospital
Last Line: The vigil of your shimmering gaze
Subject(s): Cancer (disease); Fathers; Hispanic Americans


STAYING UP ALONE, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: After a week apart we sit face to face
Last Line: In this locality-a grown woman
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


SUBWAY DANSE MACABRE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The subway train clatters like a rusty saber in the dark
Last Line: To door's iron burial tin cup empty in the hot ether breath %of lobotomy row
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TASTE FOR SILK AND BLACK SERVANTS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Your taste %for delicate desserts, silk
Last Line: Flashed on the television news %and you stepped wordlessly %from the room
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TATO HATES THE NEW YORK YANKEES, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: It was 1947, %tato was getting a tryout
Last Line: And he hates the new york yankees
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TELL ME,' I ASK MIGUEL ANGEL, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: As I take the reins into my trembling hands
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


THE RIGHT HAND OF A MEXICAN FARMWORKER, SOMERSET COUNTY, MD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A rosary tattoo / betwen thumb
Subject(s): Farm Life; Hispanic Americans; Agriculture; Farmers; Latinos


THE SPANISH OF OUR OUT-LOUD DREAMS, by MARTIN ESPADA                        Poet's Biography
First Line: You took your father / from the bronx hospital
Subject(s): Cancer (disease); Fathers; Hispanic Americans; Latinos


TIBURON, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Text                     Poet's Biography
First Line: East 116th
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Latinos


TIBURON, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: East 116th
Last Line: To his lucky station
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TIRES STACKED IN THE HALLWAYS OF CIVILIZATION, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Yes, your honor, there are rodents
Last Line: From the hallways of civilization, %and allowed to keep the cat
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TO KAIRI, by VICTOR HERNANDEZ CRUZ    Poem Source                    
First Line: Are you speaking spanish
Last Line: The voice is yourself
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Puerto Rico; South America


TO SKIN THE HANDS OF GOD, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The road that flattens
Last Line: So that he wakes %too early for work, startled %at the hour of milking
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TONY WENT TO THE BODEGA BUT HE DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Tony's father left the family
Last Line: Today tony lives on tremont street %above the bodega
Subject(s): Cities; Hispanic Americans


TOOLMAKER UNEMPLOYED, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The toolmaker %is sixty years old
Last Line: Sometimes %he stares down %into his walllet
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TOQUE DE QUEDA: CURFEW IN LAWRENCE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Now the archbishop comes to lawrence
Last Line: They're collecting money for bail
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TOUCHSTONE, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At la guardia's touch-tone, charge-a-call phone
Last Line: Imagined bodies %genuinely touching
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


TRANSIENT HOTEL SKY AT THE HOUR OF SLEEP, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On the late shift, front desk
Last Line: By the desk, then leered %at the jabbering smokers
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Hotels; Popular Culture - United States


TRANSIENT HOTEL WEREWOLF, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At the desk he asked
Last Line: Only the chemicals %baying in his brain
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TRUMPETS FROM THE ISLANDS OF THEIR EVICTION, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At the bar two blocks away
Last Line: Darting between the corals
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


TWO MEXICANOS LYNCHED IN SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA MAY 3, 1877, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: More than the moment when forty gringos vigilantes
Last Line: From the shade of bowler hats, but all %crowding into the photograph
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans; Lynching; Vigilantes


UNFINISHED BUSINESS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He died
Last Line: With his eyes %open
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


VATOS, by LUIS ALBERTO URREA    Poem Source                    
First Line: All the vatos sleeping in the hillsides
Last Line: All you vatos, you are not forgotten
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


VOODOO CUCUMBERS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He was haitian too
Last Line: Cellophaned at supermarkets %sold for salad
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WAITING FOR THE COPS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In front %of the pubic %housing project
Last Line: Waiting for the cops
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WATCH ME SWING, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I was the fifth man hired
Last Line: Yelling, 'watch me swing, boss, %watch me swing'
Subject(s): Baseball; Hispanic Americans; Sports; Welfare


WATER, WHITE COTTON, AND THE RICH MAN, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Rosa's body stopped growing
Last Line: Feels it scratching every time %her throat is dry
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WE ALSO DIED,' SAYS NANA, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: Bare as nana's palms lined only with her bad fortune
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


WE LIVE BY WHAT WE SEE AT NIGHT, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When the mountains of puerto rico
Last Line: Living by what I saw at night, %with my eyes closed
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WHEN SONGS BECOME WATER, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Where dubbed commercials
Last Line: Will cool the sweat in their hair %and begin to think
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WHERE THE DISAPPEARED WOULD DANCE, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The shoeshine man squats at the hotel door
Last Line: And the leaves of norivivi %are closing
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WHITE BIRCH, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Two decades ago rye whiskey
Last Line: Fanning across your back to flame, and felt only the grace of birches
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WHO BURNS FOR THE PERFECTION OF PAPER, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At sixteen, I worked after high school hours
Last Line: That every open lawbook %was a pair of hands %upturned and burning
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WHO YOU LOVE? WHO YOU LOVE?, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
Last Line: How even what I loved belongs to me
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


WILLIE FINGERS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He was born %without fingers
Last Line: Where's willie?,' %the hustlers %in east harlem %always said, %'he's out %growin' fingers.'
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


WORD MADE FLESH, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I looked up the words
Last Line: In his corazon and my body
Subject(s): Baby Boom Generation; Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women


WORDS OF THE MUTE ARE LIKE SILVER DOLLARS, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Scrubbing cars for the factory showroom:
Last Line: Brought from hiding, %they flash. %'ed,' I said, 'how else %you get seconds %in america?'
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


YEAR I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A SACRILEGIOUS HEART, by MARTIN ESPADA    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: At twelve, I quit reciting
Last Line: Could be stacked by team %in a plastic locker
Subject(s): Hispanic Americans


YOU REMEMBER THE DEFINITIONS, NOT THE WORDS, by JULIA ALVAREZ    Poem Source                     Poet's Biography
First Line: After the first grand month of passion %and wild hope
Last Line: The poems of our trying %to talk ourselves in love
Subject(s): Dominican Republic; Hispanic Americans; Travel; Women