Thoughts Behind...

Dear Giannina Braschi, Reading your "Empire of Dreams," I can't help but note how much of a nightmare our society has become--or, likely, has always been. With the rise of attention toward Asian American hate crimes, it seems that America has been overtaken by racism and violence. Over thirty years ago, you wrote this collection of poems. Today, statistics tell us that we are crawling toward a future of white people losing their position as the majority. But immigrants are still seen as those same aliens that have "invaded" America like those shepherds you once wrote about did. Is this the sacrifice we make to achieve the American Dream? As generations before us say, it's a price we are lucky to pay. The Empire of Dreams seems to be our American Dream imperialized and oppressed by American culture. What kind of response did your poetry illicit? Was it interpreted as a radical outburst? How much attention did it garner from nonimmigrants? I am trying to disti

Tumultuous avalanches and  tumultuous thought We are our own destruction. Poke at its volatility and it might just come down. In this endless cycle called global warming or it could be in this restless state of mind swarming. What's next? The continuation of a journey for success? So snow will pile down or  maybe none at all. So our shoulders will droop down with faces appalled. Why can't we live  correctly, simply, strongly? Do good, be good. Don't look good and just say good. What is good? Let life be decorated with simplicity and the world as well. Clean the mind, clean the ground.

Is it an ideal?  A matter of nature?  Nurture? No. It's a title. It's like a blurb--a sneak peek--but it's so much more. It forms the framework of the mind, or as psychologists may compare it to, the schema. Titles fit into a single phrase or even a single word, yet have the ability to transform our entire interpretation of a set of text. And it's fascinating- that one addition can change our entire perspective of a situation, a person, and, of course, a poem. That's how we work. We tend to identify someone by a lasting impression. She could've been a friend for years, but if someone told me she did something wicked, I would be wary. This beach could be beautiful, but if someone told me there were chemicals embedded in the sand, I would be wary. Even political theories that I'm adamant about--I could easily become doubtful if someone dealt me new information. On the contrary, when someone informs me of new positive information, it goes beyond adding informat