Module 2: Multicultural Poetry

Module 2: Multicultural Poetry

Dizzy in Your Eyes

Ivana Marmolejo

Bibliography

Mora, Pat. Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems about Love. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 

Summary

Dizzy in Your Eyes is a collection of poems by Pat Mora. Mora (2010) explains her love for “the intensity of the teen years,” which prompted her to write this book of poetry. She mentioned that the book has “four movements” beginning with “love’s initial rush and confusion, to love’s challenges, heartaches, and quiet sadness; to external solace that eases the pain, necessary healing; and finally, yes, to falling in love again” (Mora 2010).

The poems are written in free verse, along with more challenging poetry styles, such as sonnets, haikus, and clerihews. The book has figurative language beautifully woven into the passionate lines and stanzas of love, despair, and hope. 

Readers will enjoy poems that include Spanish because they can immerse themselves in the culture while realizing that they will see themselves in much of the same experiences.

Analysis

This book can be enjoyed by all people and age groups. Teenagers will connect deeply to this book as it mirrors what they may not be able to verbalize. It covers topics of initial crushes, love, questions about love being reciprocated, and more. Like teenagers, the book meanders through many emotions. 

One poem, called Conversation, is about an exchange between a boy who speaks English and a girl who speaks Spanish. It is an emotional poem for any teen, and really anyone, who is experiencing the first flush of love. The boy is attempting to use his limited vocabulary from his Spanish class to engage in conversation with a girl named Morena, “Morena bonita” (Mora 2010). In this poem, the reader will feel the struggle as the two bounce and bump between understanding each other’s language. The spark between them is evident, and the reader will sense their connection. Toward the poem's end, the reader will feel an explosion of excitement as the pretty girl smiles at the boy, “Slowly, like the sun rising” (Mora 2010). What teenager cannot relate to this poem?

The poem Old Love touches on loss. An uncle has lost his wife, and a simile is used to describe his grief, “my uncle raised his hands/ like a prophet in the Bible./ ‘I’ve lost my girl,’ he said,/ ‘I’ve lost my girl,’ over and over,/ shaking his head.” The narrator further describes the uncle’s grief using another simile, saying he was “sighing like a tree alone at night” (Mora 2010). Readers will appreciate the use of figurative language throughout the book.

Poem and Use

There were so many quality poems to choose from, but I would use this poem with my middle schoolers. I liked that the poem is called, Doubts and that it is composed of questions teens wonder about. 

I would ask students why they think each line was spaced out differently. They would conclude that it is because each question represents a different teenager speaking. I would assign each question to a different student, and then we would read aloud the poem. Students would be encouraged to preread their lines to match their voices to the tone of each question.

After reading it together, we would write our own poem of doubts. Students could discuss and brainstorm their questions with their peers before crafting a class poem. Students could print out the poems, go around campus sharing the poem, and even add questions from any listeners who wanted to contribute with their input.