For our Stanzas web feature, we ask writers to introduce us to one of their favorite works of literature by way of a brief excerpt of a poem. This week, Eduardo Martínez-Leyva—whose poem “Small Vices” appears in our Summer 2024 issue—considers “Cooley High, Fifth Estrangement” by Aracelis Girmay.
I often revisit Aracelis Girmay’s poem “Cooley High, Fifth Estrangement” for how it captures the loss and sacrifice of leaving home. Its uses of sensory imagery, enjambment, and incisive line breaks work to deepen emotional impact. Girmay begins the poem at a pivotal moment: a mother drives her daughter, the speaker, presumably Girmay, to boarding school.
This is
an old story […]
In Chicago, my mother's hometown,
the death toll climbs like a serpent up the red graph.
We are 2000 miles away, but the deaths of black
kids everywhere are at her neck. So this is what
she chooses for me. I am not
gifted, no more than Angel or Sargeant or LeNara
or most anybody, really,
but know how to read & to obey the rules
of tests, & the academic officer
says “hope” & “promise”
to my mother […]
The most striking line break reveals the mother's fear for her daughter’s safety: “the deaths of black / kids.” This instance of enjambment compels one to pause and absorb the harsh truths of systemic threats and personal sacrifice. The admission that then follows of feeling “not / gifted” lays bare an internal struggle with identity amid displacement, reinforcing the emotional toll of assimilation. Such deliberate line breaks mirror the severing of identity and the sadness of losing parts of oneself. The plainspoken diction carries a sense of honest storytelling that makes these profound experiences compelling to the reader. Some parts of you will die there.
This poem arrived in my life when I needed it most. At the start of my MFA, I found myself experiencing culture shock. I was miles away from home, away from family and friends, one of the few BIPOC students in my program. I was the first in my family to venture out, looking for new opportunities and breaking generational curses. Girmay’s words, though devastating, provided the comfort I needed. They saved me because I could see myself reflected in them. I return to this poem because it teaches me to write closer to the bones, while also highlighting the power of harnessing past experiences in my writing. For that, I am grateful.
“Cooley High, Fifth Estrangement” reaches beyond the personal history it narrates; it is a testament to the power of poetry to connect us through shared experiences of loss and transformation. It stands as a poem for those who feel displaced, othered, or unseen, offering solace and a reminder of the beauty in vulnerability. Girmay invites us to find strength in our own narratives.