My Poems
By Juan Colon
We seem to be familiar with the typical rhyme poem or stanza. These are some other styles that are fun and can add to one's creative writing.
Abecedarian poem is a poem is where the first letter of each line is in alphabetic order but the poem is still crafted where the
restrictions of the structure, does not hinder the beauty of the poem.
Cultural assimilation (abecedarian)
America drives dreams, so we leave the beautiful
Borinqueña Island with the desire to
chase the almighty dirty
dollar. We go from villas to slums, speaking Spanish to
exploring new language, that is neither English nor Spanish. But instead
formations of words that’s packaged and labeled Spanglish and given as
gifts to the next generation. The gift of ignorance. We allowed our
happiness to be tainted with greed of things we never needed. We
ignored the crying of the rain-forest and the calling of Old San
Juan. The new world came at a cost of heritage lost.
Knowledge of new urban ways gave shame to the once
loving phrase, the “jibaro” or
Mountain-dwelling peasants that are the heart of the island
Now I no longer speak my once beloved tongue. I surpassed those annoying
obstacles of unacceptance by simply disowning my
parents….But at night, between screams and sirens I hear a quiet
quiver. In the midst of unruly streets that never sleep I hear a
rallying cry. Sometimes I even detect the sultry
sound of the coqui-the native frog that never left. Together they
tell the tale of the Taíno tribe. The history of a people that were
unwelcomed in their own home. An entire race that simply
Vanished. We blame the wicket while we
whittle away history that can only be carried out with words of self-worth. Words become
xenon that add light to a past life. A past largely taken for granted in my
youth. If only I could summons the zodiac gods to realign the skies and bring me back to the
zeal I once had, when I was alive, in a heavenly place called, Puerto Rico.