Palabras in Each Fist

Along with pieces called "breathtaking" by Naomi Shihab Nye, these poems twirl their skirts as they explore bi-cultural identity, growing up, a young mother's struggles, and the limits of language. Half Guatemalan and half Anglo, the speaker worries about "black-topped boys with butterscotch skin" who whistle at her, but loves how flowers "explode into curls of crepe." She doesn't understand Spanish or why tragedy jabs into our lives, but still she sings.