Students As Writers Series: Eyes by Salma Garden

The poem below was written by 9th grader Salma Garden for an assignment exploring the stylistic features of House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Guided by ENL teacher Ms. Geraldine Rodriguez, this activity challenges students to create poetry  mirroring literary characteristics found in the text's varied vignettes. 

Eyes

As it is that a single color can express so many things in a glance, it must be as
the saying says the eyes are the looks of the soul. The most common trait in my
family is the color of eyes being in its majority that we all have brown eyes of a
very dark tone like night in the case of the father dark eyes like night, on the
other side of the maternal side there are a variety of colors from dark brown
eyes to light green eyes as in a garden with different plants.All with a different
look, a great variety as big as that of a garden.

A tender dark look on the part of my little sister, a look that reflects tenderness
and curiosity for the world around her, it is still a small flower in this family,
then there is the innocent and vivid look of my little sister on the father's side despite its dark color, like a beautiful flower full of life, displays its petals with pride and liveliness, that pride to look at is that of a flower that is almost as
blooming as I am.

There are the looks of my father, who gave them the gift of life, we have a
mature and determined look of a beautiful flower that gives off passion, and
elegance that flower is my mother that her mature look. On the other hand,
this other dark look like the night but that transmits a soft warmth and joy, a
look full of joy that my father's gaze.

​Already seeing various glances from tender buds to ripe flowers full of life, the
last flower that I will speak to you about today touches, me, one more look at
the family garden, a look like dark chocolate, an intense look, and something
ripe , but even without fully maturing, it is a flower that bloomed recently that
extends without petals gently waiting anxiously for the future.