Jean Biegun writes: Hi everyone, JoAnn asked me to sub for her on Monday, June 17th (10:00 a.m. at uuss.org/online) , when she’ll be out of town. I’ve selected the intriguing poem “English” by Janel Pineda for our Lectio Divina reflection and sharing. Because the poet wrote it in a free, open style, I’ve attached her poem [see below], a version I retyped in stanzas. This way, you can read, understand, and unpack its message more readily.

I came across Pineda’s poem in the American Public Media newsletter “The Slowdown.” Here is commentary by the host of the series, Major Jackson: “The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that by 2019, 651 foreign-language programs had been cut from college curricula over a three-year period. I didn’t need the report to witness what I’ve seen firsthand. The teaching contracts of colleagues who taught Italian, Polish, and Arabic languages not being renewed. This is so different from previous generations of college administrators, who thought that a well-rounded education included the ability to speak a non-English language. To them, the benefits were obvious: second and third languages increased awareness of the human family, enhanced our worldview, made us better thinkers, taught us respect for other cultures, and served as the basis for understanding our history in relation to another.”

In responding to Pineda’s poem, what experiences have you had around acquiring English as a second language? Around suppression of language? Are there other kinds of language being criticized today, e.g., gender preference? What about languages of different segments of society? I remember when Ebonics was being proposed in the Chicago Public Schools with resultant pushback? What about language in the workplace, especially around ageism?

The poet personifies English and describes vividly its relentless, sneaky, even predatory ways to take her over. How does the poem affect you and your understanding of the power of language in culture?

I’m looking forward to our gathering and have increased awe and gratitude for the work JoAnn does to bring stimulating poetry to us every month.

English

It made
its home hovering
around my body
the first four years of my life
Sometimes, it tired
and rested
in my shadow
trailed slimy red and sticky but
always waited
knew my hatred would pass
that I’d find my way to its lap
soon
I’d rest my head on its shoulder
curl up against fragmented bone
and let it dig its hands around my spine

English was patient because it knew
it would win in this country
I wouldn’t
be able to resist much longer
Sometimes I can still hear
English’s cackling
when at four years old
I proclaimed:
!No me hable asi!
!Yo no hablo ingles y nunca lo hablare!

Weeks later in kindergarten
I let English reign over
my body
let myself soak in its liquid power
dizzied myself in this winding river
made its waters the language I tell stories in
built a home in its classes, declared a major in its body
chased it up the Thamas to the world’s oldest English-speaking university
tossed away Spanish, reserved it for Saturdays, sometimes
or visits to grandma’s
and even now the only Spanish that lives in this poem is faint
memory, the
words of a younger braver self
and now I’m afraid

‘cause I bet English is sitting
somewhere in this room
clutching its stomach
rolling over in laughter
at how I typed these words
sometimes first in Spanish
then backspaced my return to English.
English laughs
and laughs
and laughs.

By Janel Pineda
[this re-formatting is from the poet’s
original format for the sake of discussion
of the context,
Jean Biegun, 6/17/24]

Join us at 10:00 a.m. on 1st & 3rd Mondays for poetry discussion on Zoom at uuss.org/online.
All are welcome.  Questions about our group? Email