Kofi

I can see why this poem holds so much importance to you. Even as an outsider, as merely a reader, I can see that this is the story of your life. You often told us about your mother and all the shit you were going through, back during the days in RTVW, and you managed to wrap all of that in just one poem, witch such honesty and directness. I know I wouldn't be able to do so, I couldn't trust myself to be so raw about my life-story, simply because perhaps I haven't faced it yet. And just because of that, I'm already admiring this piece of yours.

To me, the first half of the poem was quite serene, despite the obvious hurt within your words, I could find bits of hope.

"although I can
barely recall the
faces of my people.."
^ I took this in two ways. One being you were never really close to them, perhaps separated by distance. The other one being you never truly knew them, never knew what was going on within their minds although you saw them daily. I guess what made this line special to me, except that I can relate to it, is that you call them "my people". It sounds somewhat cold, but perhaps they do mean something to you, otherwise you would've said something like "those", instead of "my".

"I bloomed
in the garden of
acceptance,
and all there was for
me was wood
and hopelessness."
^ To me, this was a bit odd, to imagine you growing up in a place where acceptance is, since I recall you saying that Latinas are discriminated there. Perhaps it's all a facade, I can relate to that, living in this land that's so-called tolerant. It makes sense to me that all that you had were wood and hopelessness.

"chains of impotence
and a half chopped leg
kept me on the same place
for ages,"
^ Half chopped leg ... Surely your leg isn't gone but it being half-chopped is (to me) even more cruel, as if people are mocking you with that last piece of hope, and hurt. This image made it all for me, especially that it seems so logical that you've been kept on the same place due to a half-chopped leg, while at the same time when taken figuratively, it hits harder. Chained in that house of yours. But soon you'll be free, and flying to a land far far away. :) Who needs legs!

"I never saw the
price tag on my body.."
^ It feels like you've been telling me so much already. First about your land, then your home, and now your sexuality. So many things all put together and it just went so smoothly, I didn't even notice you were jumping from one subject to the other.
To me, this line is relevant because it tells me about your journey, at some point that you're growing up. Stepping away from your (previous) naive self and finally realizing things.

"for my skin
was a starless
night sky"
^ Having a bit of a problem with this stanza as it seems much more symbolical than the rest of the poem. Not sure what you're meaning here but perhaps you're depicting hopelessness, since there are no stars to wish upon. As if this hopelessness is carved into your skin, being a part of you.

"a fabricated,
humiliated and abused
piece of charcoal"
^ Bitter. That's all I can say. As I told you before (above), the poem seemed to go from serenity into something much stronger. Perhaps you've finally had enough, finally done pitying and now it's all just bitterness. Interesting that you're choosing charcoal, why charcoal? Perhaps relating to the "sketching"-part in your fourth stanza? It's a bit unclear but still it's strong, just imagine how easily one could crush charcoal.

"life will always be about choices,

but,

I don't remember
choosing slavery. "
^ Clever. I like the way you're bringing a life lesson everyone seems to tell us about (there's always a choice and bla bla), and then you bring it down. It makes the ending so much stronger, I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Sooooooo, that was me and my blabbering. =p I hope you'll caress this poem always, because if it can hit me, it probably brought you to tears. And sometimes, something that's so important to your life-story, already is a masterpiece. Not that it's lacking anything here qua poetic skills, just saying.

Keep running, you'll get there. :) *hugs*