I really liked the poem of Francisco X. Alarcón’s makes me feel both sad and like a warm felling at the same time.It is about a boy and his grandmother from Mexico. She teaches him Spanish and shows him the small, beautiful things in life. Alarcón uses simple images that are easy to imagine. The grandmother “wore moons on her dress” and had “Mexico’s mountains” in her eyes. This shows that she carries her home country with her. She shares her culture with her grandson. She teaches him Spanish words like “mijito” and “niño barrigón.” She also shows him little things, like finding mint leaves in flowerpots. These details remind me of the Mexican culture.This makes the poem feel calm and gentle, like a memory.Alarcón also mixes English and Spanish. This shows that the boy lives between two cultures America and Mexico. The Spanish words feel warm and loving.The saddest part is when the grandmother dies. But the boy still feels her “whispering in my ear.” This shows that love and culture stay with us, even after someone is gone.
T