Abuelito who throws coins like rain
and asks who loves him
who is dough and feathers
who is a watch and glass of water
whose hair is made of fur
is too sad to come downstairs today
who tells me in Spanish you are my diamond
who tells me in English you are my sky
whose little eyes are string
can't come out to play
sleeps in his little room all night and day
who used to laugh like the letter k
is sick
is a doorknob tied to a sour stick
is tired shut the door
doesn't live here anymore
is hiding underneath the bed
who talks to me inside my head
is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes
who snores up and down up and down up and down again
is the rain on the room that falls like coins
asking who loves him
who loves him who?
―Sandra Cisneros
Abuelito- Grandpa
ReplyDeletefeelings of strength and loss and wonder...I really like the memories that surface. What we remember of our loved ones is often so utterly random and unique to them. "Blankets and spoons and big brown shoes"...
I didn't understand why the letter k is sick...and how it relates to Grandpa...cough, K, sick, sicK?
you would have just loved this poetry reference in this teen novel I finished last night. The poem described a clue to the direction that they were supposed to find on a clock. And it ended up describing a "tower and a hollow moon" in that they were supposed to look for the #10!!! How the 1 was shaped like a tower and the 0 like a hollow moon. Quite clever....
Is the letter sick? Or did grandpa used to like the letter K?
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the lack of punctuation on my first reading, but the second time it reads a lot nicer.
Do you see a specific illness? The narrator still talks to Abuelito, but it is as these odd items in the narrator's head?
The ambiguity makes it a great close read
i believe the original said "Who used to laugh like the letter k"
DeleteThank you!
DeleteI believe the letter K is used to describe how 'Abuelito' used to laugh. I'm not exactly sure but... :P Oops..
Delete"Who used to laugh like the letter K" this is an onomatopoeia, laughing like the sound of the letter K "cuh cuh cuh", when old people laugh hard, they wheeze and cough and whatnot.
DeleteWhy does she refer to coins and rain in this poem? How does it go with the theme?
ReplyDeleteThe poet does something cool here with coins and rain. Both are similes. The first is coins thrown like rain. Rain describes how the coins are thrown or given. Rain is abundant when it rains. Rain is given freely or generously regardless of our needs and wants. There are plenty of connections that can be made with rain to modify the meaning of the coins being given/thrown.
DeleteThe second time, the rain falls like coins. Coins are loud and heavy, so this describes the rain. This time the rain has a different connection. I read it in more of a sad mood. The first part of the poem is present tense but after we learn that Abuelito "is sick" the tense goes to past for a few lines. The reader can also see negative words used more to describe things. The poem shifts. Readers can connect the rain with storms or something similar. The rain may be a metaphor for tears. Like I said there are a lot of possible connections to make with the rain.
Any connection you make with the rain and losing someone would probably work well.
Impressive.
DeleteI read it too fast the first time. Today the poem slowed down for me and showed the present moments that the narrator had with Abuelito at the end of his life and the memory of his presence after his passing. I had a brief thought and feeling of the repetition of "ask who loves him....asking who loves him who loves him who" as well as the title containing the question without the mark. The sickness could be alluding to some type of dementia or Alzheimer's as is often seen with repetitive questioning in regards to the people that are even the most close to them.
Perhaps not tied directly to the poem but the "coins like rain" made me think of "volo" in Mexican tradition. Baptismal Godparents throws coins at a party celebrating a baptism. Only young children are allowed to pick up the coins.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Uncles and Grandparents tend to give children(relatives) coins frequently in Mexico - " el Domingo".
That's good background information. Sandra Cisneros is Mexican-American. That context
Deletei'm Mexican and isn't it Bolo not Volo i'm 14 btw
DeleteThe poem "Abuelito Who", by Sandra Cisneros, is about Abuelito, which is Spanish for Grandfather. Abuelito is old and sick, he is lovable and caring. But, his sickness makes him seem grumpy and mean, but he can't help it. Also because of his sickness, he stays in his little room all night and day. Some lines in the poem are, "too sad to come downstairs today" " is tired shut the door" "doesn't live here anymore" "who snores up and down up and down up and down again" These lines may suggest that Abuelito was depressed and sad, because he is old and frail now, and not like he used to be.
ReplyDeletewhat is happening with Abuelito?
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot. It means a lot to me cause my abuelo is sick right now in the hospital. So i liked the story a lot, and it really gets me.
ReplyDelete