Hot embers seemed to lick her skin<\/span> Instead, the forgotten details symbolized The situation repeated itself, with variations in the intonation When others made condescending jokes about each state She would never again discount a trifling As part of a month-long event co-sponsored by the Smith College Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, “30 Poems in November<\/a>” includes student-penned poems for the purpose of raising money (and awareness) about The Center For New Americans<\/a>.\u00a0This literacy center provide immigrants (as well as refugees) with the resources needed for them to learn how to read in English.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hot embers seemed to lick her skin Each time her acquaintance proposed the question \u201cRemind me, where are you from?\u201d Repeated as if it were an anthem To indicate disinterest in the prospect of friendship. Instead, the forgotten details symbolized … Continue reading
\nEach time her acquaintance proposed the question
\n\u201cRemind me, where are you from?\u201d
\nRepeated as if it were an anthem
\nTo indicate disinterest in the prospect of friendship.<\/p>\n
\nHer willingness not to judge based
\nUpon insignificant fragments of a past
\nThat involved emotions, stories and adventures, instead of facts,
\nWhich do not convey compassion or sympathy.<\/p>\n
\nDepending on her travels and the new speaker\u2019s location.
\nSuch was the case when questioned in Spanish,
\nYet the woman\u2019s courteous reply, demonstrating curiosity, banished
\nThe fear that every negative connotation of her hometown would be scrutinized.<\/p>\n
\nWhere she had lived, this new acquaintance would never underrate
\nAny country, or mistake it for a state of mind.
\nDispelling all insignificant questions, the two would find
\nThat they had the same humor and shared design to continue to write.<\/p>\n
\nSlip of memory or foreign pronunciation of an American name.
\nIt would be petty to return the gifts of a companion
\nIn exchange for insincere scrawled notes of names and personal interests;
\nPerhaps some have exchanged their appreciation of friends
\nFor lifeless questions and utterly esoteric answers.<\/p>\n
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