Inspiration: I certainly recognize this is a sensitive issue, so if you give it a try, tread delicately. A colleague shared some journals his students wrote about how they lost their heritage language- stories of teachers who wouldn’t let them speak Spanish, stories of letters going home urging parents to put their children in English only classes.
I have been thinking about my Italian heritage of late — sad that I cannot speak Italian, that when I went to Italy I was perceived as just an American. I tried to cling to the Italian identity as a kid even though I was told time and again, “But you don’t look Italian” (having now been to Italia, I know that is not true. There is no one “look” of an Italian just as there is no one “look” of an American). So below is my poem: “An Italian Jacket.”
Perhaps today you will write about your cultural or ethnic identity today– how you’ve celebrated it, used it, refused it, or are just coming to know it? Share your stanza or story in the comments below if you wish.
Coming from a family of eleven, we knew
that if we were to go to college,
we’d have to pay our own way.
So we all worked hard, some since the age of fourteen,
and worked the scholarship scene.
The Lion’s Club or the Knights of Columbus
offered money for our nationality.
My grandfather came to Chicago from Italy in 1920, I believe,
and while my mother’s upbringing was tough, she was proud of her heritage.
One year, for Christmas, she bought each of us an Italian jacket.
You know the track style, white with a shiny sheen,
and red, white and green on the collar and sleeves.
She had our first names embroidered on the front,
and on the back,
on the back was
Aikman.
No, that’s not Italian,
but Baiocchi was, is.
I did not speak Italian. I had never been to Italy.
I did not cook lasagna, though I could make spaghetti.
So I wrote a nice essay about my heritage and sent in a picture of me in my jacket.
The Lions and Knights were not impressed.
*This appeared in my 30 poems journal last April.
Thank you for reading and sharing!