Summary: Part III: The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness [Longest Week — Assignment 5—First and Final Draft]

The week after Christmas feels long with no school. Xiomara reads poems to Twin and begins to memorize them, even reciting them in her sleep. She looks forward to the next poetry club. On her birthday the next week, she and Twin exchange gifts. He gives her a new notebook. Caridad leaves Xiomara voicemails singing to her, and Aman leaves her tickets to an apple farm in her biology book. Xiomara feels truly happy.

She realizes that she’s left her poetry notebook on the table at home, but she’s able to recite a poem from memory during poetry club. Xiomara leaves in a hurry to get to church so Mami won’t figure out that she’s been skipping confirmation. Meanwhile, she gets a call from Mami telling her to meet her at home. At home, Mami is sitting on Xiomara’s bed holding the notebook. Mami is small but seems large while Xiomara shrinks. Mami yells at Xiomara for the things she’s written. She holds a match to the notebook while Xiomara tries to explain that the poems are her private thoughts. Mami lights the match and prays as she lights the notebook on fire. As Xiomara tries to grab the notebook, Mami slaps her, and her baby bracelet breaks. Xiomara begins to recite her poems out loud and asks if Mami will burn her too. Twin tries to get the notebook, but Mami pushes him too. Finally, Papi gets the notebook from Mami.

Xiomara thinks about who would put her out if she caught on fire and who might collect her ashes after she burned. She thinks she’ll never write poetry again. Xiomara leaves, and Twin keeps Mami from chasing her. She texts Aman and asks to meet him. Caridad calls again and stops singing “Happy Birthday” when she hears Xiomara crying. Caridad says that she will always be there for her friend.

Xiomara takes a train to Aman and walks in the snow, which she feels is healing. Aman arrives and holds her hand. She realizes he’s cold and suggests they go to his house. She tells him about her notebook burning but feels safe in his arms. They kiss and start to undress, but Xiomara asks to stop, even though she likes the feelings. Xiomara braces for Aman to throw her out, but Aman uses his shirt to wipe away her tears. She feels like a necklace that’s impossible to put away, guilty. As they watch the Winter Games, she thinks about the firsts she had today, as well as those she chose not to have. She spends the night.

The next day at school, Ms. Galiano tells her she called Xiomara’s home to check in on her. Xiomara confesses everything that’s going on. She tells her she hates her mother. Ms. Galiano tells her she’s free to make her own choices, and she thinks that no one has ever said that to her. Mami expects her to be a lady, Papi wants her to be quiet, Twin and Caridad just want her to be good, and she has to prove her worth to God. Ms. Galiano encourages Xiomara to talk to her family. She leaves Xiomara her cell phone number.

At the end of school, Caridad and Twin are waiting when Xiomara leaves school with Aman. Twin cries, and he and Xiomara hug. Xiomara stops to talk to Father Sean and then goes home. Mami is at the sink with red eyes. She looks small. Xiomara wonders how she can be both mother and monster. She and Mami hug, and she thinks that love is like a band. It can tear but also hold people together. They don’t say, “I love you.”

Xiomara learns about erosion in biology—tiny streams of water can break mountains over time. She and Mami begin going to counseling with Father Sean, and sometimes the whole family attends. Papi likes to talk and is funny, but he also listens as they tell him how he’s hurt them. Twin remains quiet. Mami gives Xiomara back the baby bracelet she’s had repaired. Father Sean asks about the poetry slam and inquires whether they can all come.

Xiomara worries about which poem to recite, and Ms. Galiano guides her and helps her understand the rules of the poetry slam. She practices by reciting her poem for her family. Before the slam, Aman reads Xiomara a poem he’s written for her. It isn’t good, but Xiomara is touched. He promises to support and protect her. Xiomara performs her poem in front of her family and friends. Her parents are proud, and her words are powerful. After, they host a party; Papi asks Xiomara to dance, saying that it’s a good way to show people you love them.

In Xiomara’s final English assignment, she writes about her favorite quote from the Book of Psalms: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” She shares her conclusion that the Bible is a metaphor, which means that church is community and the people in it. She also feels that the verse, with its “unfolding of words,” describes how language can create that community.

Analysis: Part III: The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness [Longest Week — Assignment 5—First and Final Draft]

Xiomara’s birthday represents the new community she’s made. Poetry has brought her not only friends but deep connections with people who share in her well-being. When she reaches out to Aman, she learns that not all men are as Mami has told her. He allows her to make her own decisions and set her own boundaries. Ms. Galiano and Father Sean are transitioning into allies who help Xiomara relate to her mother, encouraging them to talk. Xiomara’s blossoming has brought support from all around. This is evident later, too, as so many of her family support her at the poetry slam.

Mami’s destruction of Xiomara’s notebook continues the theme of shame by suggesting that Xiomara is guilty of her thoughts and words. Xiomara now rejects this pattern of thought, having discovered that her words give her a voice and confidence. The breaking of Xiomara’s baby bracelet during the fight is Xiomara’s ultimate rejection of her mother’s ideals as she gains her independence. They duel orally, one reciting scripture and the other poetry. Throughout The Poet X, scripture and poetry have been opposites in Xiomara’s mind, one representing imprisonment and the other freedom. In her final assignment, Xiomara reconciles the two. By choosing a psalm verse, she shows she’s learned to approach religion on her own terms.

Mami’s ultimate support of Xiomara is surprising but shows how family can be both an obstruction and a support to independence. Xiomara’s experience of reciting her poem at the slam can be read several ways: as a contrapuntal poem, it can be read left to right or top to bottom. Either way, it emphasizes the support Xiomara has found through her words and the voice they have given her. Xiomara’s power, she now realizes, comes through language.