Category: Assignments

Sanjida Ridhe

Professor Jay Polish

ENG 102

April 10, 2018

A Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I like Fan Fic

Characters : Elena & Zacharia

CURRENT SATURDAY

“You ain’t got no talent

if you didn’t have a face

you wouldn’t be nobody..”

His words kept replaying in my head. God, I hated his voice. Every time I heard it. But nope. I won’t let him get to me.

“5 MINUTES TILL SHOWTIME IS EVERYONE READY?”

“Fuck it was time”.

PREVIOUS SATURDAY

I had come home from work tired from a 13-hour shift. I place my jacket in the closet to my right and leave my keys on the counter. I was exhausted. The house was a mess. If anyone were to ever come over they’d be disgusted. I was disgusted. Seinfeld was on and Zach was opening a beer. *SNAP* OR *KLSKK*? Is that the sound of a beer cap opening? I notice some drip to the floor and I look over to Zach but he pays no attention. I roll my eyes. That’s another thing to clean up.

Zacharia and I had been together for 20 years now and I can’t remember the last time I saw a smile on his face. It was probably when we had first moved into the apartment we live in now but since then, his smile was gone. He’d been working at the laundromat down the block until it closed and got replaced by the burger shack he ironically now is a daily customer for. There was no money coming in, and the bills piled up. I had lost track of the last time he left his house besides to grab a smoke and a burger with his boys. I was the only type of income coming in. I had to be. I had been picking up extra shifts at the bakery and we still struggle to pay the rent. God, when did things go downhill? I wish I had an answer.

I grab the towel and I make my way over to the mess he still had paid no attention to.

“Hi, honey. What are you up to?” No answer, of course.

I move around him to clean. It was like I wasn’t even there. I mean, he had his beer and Seinfeld was on, I didn’t expect anything. I shouldn’t have. After getting up, I fix and organize a couple of magazines or to be specific Zach’s playboys. My eyes roll again. Zach started to mumble something.

“Elena, what’s that guy next door name again? The one with the fro? Leonard? Larry something?”

“You mean Lenny?”

“Yes him. Good job. Lenny came by. He wants you on his show. I said you’d do it for 80 per show. Understand?”.

“Excuse me? What do you mean you said I’d do it? Understand? Exactly who are you speaking to?”

God. Who the hell was he? “UNDERSTAND?” I could throw this towel on him, spill his beer and just leave. God, I just wanted to leave.

“Zacharia, I will not let myself be the very thing I am against. I won’t be dancing for anyone no matter how badly we need the money. Now, do YOU understand me? I am not just some ‘body’ you can control. I will not be one of those girls”.

I mess up the magazines, grab the towel and stomp away. I start to shuffle our mail in the kitchen with my back facing him. There’s a silence. I look to my left and watch the time. 3 minutes. It’s been 3 minutes. I hear the leather of the couch squeaking, and I hear the sound of a bottle hitting the table.  *Brr*. Believe me, I refrained myself from using this word to describe how I was feeling but that was literally it. I got literal chills down my back. I can hear him about to speak. Or yell, I should use the correct word. It was yell. He was about to start yelling.

“What do you mean you WON’T do it? You ungrateful prick. I got you a job. One show can finally pay off that damn cell phone bill of yours. I told Lenny you’d do it, and you will. Now go set dinner and go talk to Lenny and get more details. I don’t want to hear it anymore”.

Before I could speak, he had left the room. He walks into the bathroom and as the door closes I hear;

“You ain’t got no talent

if you didn’t have a face

you wouldn’t be nobody”

CURRENT DAY.

It’s 8 pm and we’re about to go on. I hear Lenny yelling “5 minutes!” My body was sore and itchy. Lenny made us all wear Burlesque outfits and the corset was actually sucking the life out of me. The feathers kept making its way to my mouth no matter how many times I’d spit it out. And these gloves, god these were stuck to my hands because of all the sweat.

“FUCK!”

“WHY the fuck did I do this. I don’t fucking need any of this shit.”

“I need to leave”.

I take a sneak peak, and what do you think I see? Zacharia and his boys breaking beers and screaming out “HEY! Start already”.

That was it. I couldn’t fucking satisfy Zach and sell myself out. That wasn’t the man I married. I take off the feathers and gloves and throw it to the floor. I can hear someone running up to me. It was Lenny. He grabbed me by the arm and said;

“ELENA WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT SHIT WAS?”

“Fuck you, and fuck this. Let me go”.

I grab my bag and I come out from backstage, and start walking rapidly. Zacharia starts yelling,

“HEY! Where do you think you’re going?! Do you know how much you now owe me for doing this childish shit? What’s wrong with you? Now get back there or don’t bother coming home.”

“How much I owe YOU? ME? Childish? You’re despicable. You wanna know something?”

He laughed. Why the fuck was he laughing at? I start to stare in confusion.

he said: “you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu?”

I was done. I realized if I had explained myself to him it would be going in through one ear and out with the other. I didn’t need this. I had friends and family back home who wouldn’t sell me out for a case of beers and Seinfeld, and treat me with the respect I deserve. I looked at the pile of garbage in front of me, took a deep breath and said:

“show me someone not full of herself   

and i’ll show you a hungry person”

I walk away. This was it. I didn’t bother looking back. Last words I hear are;

“Wtf is that supposed to mean?”

I laughed.

Reflection: While writing this fanfic, I had to learn to explore my mind and be as creative as possible. I had an easy and strong understanding of this poem and it only made sense to revolve it around a man taking control of a woman as if that’s his only purpose. Being explicit was risky, but what better way to explain and show frustration? I prefer fanfic over writing an essay because I got to explain this poem through a story of my own and not only was that exciting to do, I am quite proud of this work. Peer review is always great to get input and other ideas because not only is it a review of your work, it’s your audience wanting to help you improve your work.

 

Ary Sanchez 

Professor Jay Polish 

ENG 102 Writing Through Literature 

March 25, 2018 

“Poem For a Lady Whose Voice I Like”, Fan-fiction 

Before reading my fan fiction, I’ll like to describe somethings before. My fan fiction is about a movie called Hidden Figures which is based on a true story, and its about these three women of color who worked in NASA. I deicide to do a story of Katherine Johnson who worked on all the calculations. There’s this scene where the boss and she are arguing so I decided to that scene with the poem. The story is being told by Katherine Johnson and she is just remembering everything that she went through to get where she is. This essay has expanded my creativity in a way that I would have never imagine. I really had to use my head in order to create a story that goes with the poem. 

It was the 1950’s and it was the space race. We were in a race with the USSR to see who was the better country. Me and two other friends were working on how to launch a rocket at right angle. I did the all calculations for launching the rocket. We were all looking for the right answer to launch the rocket. Fail, after fail it looked like we were never go to be able to launch the rocket.  

One day I was working on my work and I had a lot of work to do but I had to use the bathroom, and I decided to use the bathroom, but the thing was that they didn’t have a bathroom for color people. I decided to go to a store near by which was two miles from the NASA HQ. After getting to the store I had to immediately go back to HQ, but it took me at least 30 minutes to get there. After getting there the boss was waiting for me. He then told me how I’m not smart and how I’m just a woman who doesn’t know anything. After telling me all these things I remember my life and what I gone through to get here. This is my story. 

Growing up in the south in the early 1900’s can be tough for a person who is a person of colored specialty when there’s Jim Crow Laws and no rights for anybody who is not white. My people just getting torture, kidnaped and even getting killed all because of our color of skin. But also, if you’re a woman, it can be really hard for people to respect you. There’s no rights for women as we can’t vote and do other stuff like men. Sometimes I wished I was white and a male. I could do so much stuff, but only one can imagine such thing. Growing up as women of the church have realized that everything happens for a reason. If the lord made me green or yellow, then it was for some reason and I should be grateful for the person he created.  

When going to school, I was so happy to go to school as I would learn so much things especially science class when we learned about space. I was always a big nerd, I would be top of my class, I would also get 100’s on every test. But the class I enjoyed the most had to be science. I can talk endless hours about space and how there’s millions and millions of planets out there but maybe some other time. I always wonder how long it must have taken G-d to create those planets. I always wanted to be a scientist, so I can work and study space. 

Coming home was not my favorite part of the day because that’s when reality struck in. I was always glad to see my parents and my brothers, but it was the conditions that we were living that made me hate life. My house was very small and was made out of any material we can use. When it would rain, there would just be water pouring in from the roof but at least we had a roof over my head. We have two rooms, one of the room is the kitchen/living room and the other room was my parents, brother, and me. It was crowed but I like that because I was with my family and I felt save. We also have land where we grow a range of vegetables. We usually grow them to eat but sometimes we have to sell them to make money. I like when we don’t have to sell crops because when we don’t we eat like kings, but that rarely happens.  

I love my family as they are the reason they keep me going. My dad is the best dad in the world as, I’m his favorite one. He has taught me so much stuff. But sadly, he is missing one hand. He says that it was an accident, but I don’t believe, I know what really happened. Then there’s my mom who I love and admire. She is a strong woman, sometimes I think she’s stronger then my dad. She works, cleans and cooks. Then there’s my older brother who is the best. When my dad is not at the house he takes the role of being my dad/brother. He dropped out of school to work at the farm. I know I had to drop out of school to work in the farms, but my brother dropped out, so I wouldn’t have to, and for that I’m truly grateful. I always thought to myself that I would be somebody important who would earn enough money, so I would help my family out, but at that time it would be something that I thought would never happen. 

After graduating from school with perfect grade, a nice gentleman came to me and asked me to study at their university. But I didn’t want to go because we didn’t have enough money for college. But he started to laugh, and he then said that it would be paid for free. At first, I didn’t believe him but after asking him 100 times if it was a joke, he said no. I was so happy that I went to hug my family and told them that “You guys are the reason why I keep going”. The day before I left to college, I spent the whole day thinking about my family and I don’t want to let them down. When it was the day to leave I told them “I would not let you down guys”. When I went to school I only saw white males and I just saw everybody staring at me like if had something on my face, but it was just the fact that my skin color was different from them. When I would want to raise my hand, people would just make fun of me. I was upset that people didn’t respect, this one time this person just wrote whore at my door. But that really didn’t stop me as I got every 100 on every test and I would often make my professors happy, but they were too scared to show their feelings for a person of colored. As time pass everybody respected me because they saw who was as a person. After graduating one of my favorite professor had told me they had a job at NASA, I couldn’t describe how happy I was. I accept the job and I couldn’t wait to start. 

After remembering all these things that happen in my life. I knew I was strong, smart and independent women. The reason why this man was insulting me is because he is jealous of who I am and what I am capable of. No one can’t judge me, only g-d can. 

Jaylin Pinguil

Fanfiction- For a Lady Whose Voice I Liked

ENG 102

Final

Before reading my fanfic I’ll introduce you to the characters. Kevin is he said, Rick is his drug dealer, Bambi’s is a exotic dancer and she said will be know as she/her.

Tip Tip Tip.  Tip-Tap. Tip-tap  Tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap,  TIP-TAP, TIP-TAP, TIP-TAP

    The rhythm of rain drops slowly came to play a song as they fell on a dumpster that resigned in an alley, each drop making its sound known before disappearing. It doesn’t disappear completely, no never not until the sun comes out to dry it. But even then the droplets aren’t gone they always make their way back down. It’s beautiful really how something so small and insignificant is sent down from the heavens to fall on those who aren’t even clean enough to receive them. Yet one droplet decided to be kind and made its way through the cold metal, and fell on a man named Kevin who was sleeping inside. He slowly stirred groaning and moaning.

    Kevin placed his hand over his right eye and felt it throb and pulse. It feels wet he thought. As he was about to wipe away the water he realized that the pain in his eye was momentarily gone. He let the water stay where it was and he began to stretch his body. With every crack and pop he felt more and more relaxed. The garage underneath him did well as a bed and he was shielded from the rain. Yes life was good he thought but soon last night’s events came creeping back to him. He let out a sign and began to take off his old ragged coat, it wasn’t much. It had many holes and the pockets were worn out. The zipper that kept it closed was broken and it wasn’t all that warm. But that’s the good thing, bad looks are always good for fooling people. He chuckled and smiled as he pulled on the coats collar revealing a hidden baggy. Inside was syringe full of his “medicine” and a nice red cloth. He lifted up the sleeve of his shirt and quickly tied the cloth on his right arm. With so much practice he could do it in less than a minute. Picking up the syringe he felt his arm with the tip of the needle and found a nice place, one that wasn’t too bruised so it wouldn’t be too painful. Heck he really didn’t care all he needed was his medicine. With good aim he plunged the needle into his arm, breaking the skin and having some blood trickle down. As he released the fluid into his veins he laid his head back. Time to remember everything he said.

Nine hours earlier

Kevin- (walking towards Rick) Yo man whadup?

Rick- Nothing much just doing my deliveries, might go to the club later get a dancer.

Kevin- Hook me up brother I want to have a good time too.

Rick- Naw man it’s only business between us you know that. Don’t ya ever forget. (Smacks Kevin’s back.) But I’m feeling a little generous since our anniversary is tomorrow.

Kevin- Already? Damn I’ve known you for so long.

Rick- Since you was a teen Kevin old boy. You lucky to have me I taught you how to survive out here, and gave you a taste of the good life.

Kevin- You sure did boss. (Starts to rub and scratch his right arm.)

Rick- (stares at Kevin.) Already need your medicine? Damn boy I don’t know what to tell you. Until you pay me back for the other times I handed some your way I ain’t gonna give you none more.

Kevin- Aww come on just a little?

Rick-No man, and don’t start with the shitty whining I’ll mess you up. But I will buy you a beer come on let’s go to the club.

Kevin- Ok let’s go.

Both walk seven blocks passing by a alley and into a small club.

Rick-Alright sit down here and I’ll get the drinks.

Kevin- Ok ok I’m sitten. ( Leans back in booth.)

Rick- ( walks over with a girl holding a beer.) I’m gonna introduce you to my girl. Her name be Bambi she is the best dancer here!

Kevin- Nice to meet you and thanks for the beer.

Bambi-(irritated turning to Rick) I don’t care about your friend all I want are my meds got it? (Slams beer on table.) Hurry up and hand it over.

Rick- Aww come on just give me a kiss and be nice. Here you go. ( Hands over a baggy with a red cloth.)

Bambi- Now that what I like. Thanks baby I’m just gonna save it for after my performance. I’ll be back. (Walks backstage.)

Rick- Ok well enjoy your beer and get out. I’m gonna do my rounds here and check on my girl later. (Walks off.)

    I watched Rick closely and waited for him to be completely out of sight while fumbling with the bottle. I don’t really care much for beer what I really want is my medication. Looking to the direction that Bambi went, I quickly got up and headed for the backstage. Peeking through the curtains I saw all the dancers leaving through a door on the left, glancing around I saw Bambi stuffing her baggy in her purse and running off to join the others. As soon as that door closed I ran over and grabbed her bag, ripping it open and looking for the meds. She stashed it all the way in the bottom, hidden by all her makeup and money. Grabbing the baggy and throwing the purse down I made my way towards the exit while stuffing the baggy in my coat. As soon as I lifted the curtain I was face to face with Rick, he looked surprised to see me but as he turned his eyes behind me he gave me a cold stare. Before I knew it he collided his fist to my eye, I was thrown to the ground seeing stars. He was yelling at me but I didn’t understand a damn word I was in a daze. Getting up seemed to make him even angrier, and as I struggled to focus my vision on him all I saw was him reach towards his back pocket. I wasn’t gonna stand there and get stabbed, with the little coordination left in me and a heart full of adrenaline I ran. I shoved him aside and grabbed the curtains, tearing them from their hooks and throwing them over him. I made it to the exit and looked back Rick was almost free and with that I took off. Looking at the alley we passed I entered running until I found a dumpster close to the end. I jumped inside and brought the lid down, I could hear Ricks footsteps hitting the pavement loudly. Closing my eyes I prayed he wouldn’t find me I stood still barely breathing. All I could hear was my heart pounding fast almost breaking my ribs. God I hope he can’t hear my heart, I just laid there quietly waiting for him to leave. Soon darkness enveloped my tired body and I fell asleep.

Now

I shot up almost surprised that I was out for so long, looking at my arm I could see that the syringe was still there. Chuckling I injected the rest and untied the cloth. Putting on my coat I felt more confident Rick was long gone, peeking through the dumpsters lid I saw no one was there and it had stopped raining. Slowly climbing out I made my way to the alleys mouth but before exiting I saw a woman pass by. She was incredibly beautiful, walking with such grace and so much confidence. Even her own damn clothes spoke for themselves. Her head was held high almost as if everyone around her were nothing compared to her. This angered me in a way I have never felt before so much that my heart felt pain and the burning sensation of venom. I was about to turn into a snake and spite her with my words so that her radiant light would fade away and I could be left in the sweet delight of darkness.

I made my way to her following the clicks of her heels and yelled “you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu.” With the last word leaving my lips she stopped, her heels only making clicks as she turned to face me. She said nothing and only stared at me I continued my assault with “ you ain’t really no hot shit they tell me plenty sisters take care better business than you.” Still there was no reaction from her ticking me off even more but then I realized she probably has nothing to say. She is just a weak woman as I thought simply with a good disguise. With the last of my venom I said “ if the white folks hadn’t been under yo skirt and been giving you the big play you’d a had to come on uptown like everyone else.” With that she finally spoke. Her words pierced my small heart like the knife I should have felt before, knocking the wind out of me and making me fall on my knees. She said “ show me someone not full of herself and I’ll show you a hungry person.” With that she walked away clearly having defeated me.

My heart oh how it hurt as I clutched my chest and felt so much pain. Looking down I saw the reflection of myself in a puddle. I saw a broken man both physically and mentally. I’ve spent so many years suffering living on the street. I have no family to go to I was unwanted the only thing that ever made the pain of loneliness and hate go away was my medicine. I rather have medicine than feed myself, just staring at my sunken face made me sick. I couldn’t take the pain anymore I just laid my body down and closed my eyes. It started to drizzle and rain began to hit my body. It felt as if my sins were being washed away with every droplet. Smiling I felt my body completely relax, foam began to form in my mouth and I began to shake. As quickly as it came it left and I felt ready to sleep. But I knew that this time I wouldn’t wake up. I just wish I could have had the chance to become the man I wanted to be. One worthy to look into a puddle and not feel ashamed but full of myself.

 

Farzana Khan

ENG 102

April, 09, 18

In the world afore, during 1880, a 10 year old girl named X got separated from her mother and worked as a slave in a palace. Her boss family is the richest family in that country and they owned schools, hospitals and so on. They have many slaves working for them. Her boss had a son named Y, who is 2 years older than X. Y was studying in boarding school and doesn’t come home often during holidays. Y is someone who doesn’t fall in love easily and hard to understand his character. He doesn’t like his dad but at the same time he respects him and follows his command. Y always gets into trouble and gets kicked out of school because he likes to be dominated in the school. Since Y got kicked out from his previous school, his dad made him go to their own school but still, Y lived in his friend’s house. Since Y is studying in his dad school, he likes to be much dominated and still gets into fight.

when X came to the palace for the first time her boss told her, “X! you can stay in this palace and get to sleep here” there wasn’t no happiness in her face because she was full of depressed and missed her mother. She got her own tiny room where she has to share with other slave members and she doesn’t get along with other slave members. One day on her way to the garden she found a small room full of used textbooks and newspapers and said to herself, “what are these use for? from that day onward she went to that room secretly every day to explore about these books and from there she got a knowledge about the world.

Every day she sits alone near the window and watches everyone playing outside or going out with their parents. “why couldn’t I be free and be like everyone with my parents?” says X. At one point she got really depressed and had a dream about her mother every night and woke up crying. At the age of 16, she tried to commit suicide. Knowing this her owner decided to send her to his own school as a half time student. So, she can get relief from her depression and concentrate on her work. So, he asked, “do you want to go to school as a half time student?” she was surprised after hearing this from her owner. She replied, “yes, I would love to but …” “But what?” Said the owner. “Is it possible for me to attend school?” said the girl. By reading the used history textbook, she knew that African American are not allowed to get educations. Her boss replied, “don’t worry it’s my school so, you would be able to attend school.”  The night before school, she couldn’t sleep and she had butterflies feelings on her stomach. All she was thinking about was, if she will get friends and if everyone will be nice to her.

But on the first day of school, she got bullied and it made her depressed even more and she didn’t have anyone to share her feelings with after going home. She got bullied every single day. On the second week of the school, the same thing happened again. She plead everyone to leave her alone. A dominate voice came from behind the crowd, “everyone leave her alone” said Y. That was the first time X met Y but, Y knew her from first day of school. Y had been noticing her and there was something that had been attracting him from her. Y helped her out from bullying and made her feel like she is also like one of them. She doesn’t know that Y is her owner’s son and he doesn’t know X works in his house. They both met every day in school and even outside the classroom. At one point they realized that they were in love and Y planned to propose X. So, he asked for her address and that’s how he came to know that X lives in his house as a slave. After knowing this he started to like her even more because she’s a girl with a lot of pain within her and never shows it out.

His parents came to know about this and warned him to forget her but he didn’t listen to them. Finally, his parents threaten him and said,” if you don’t forget her, then I would kill her” so, he didn’t know what to do so he started to avoid her. They both met each other after a week. X asked him “why aren’t you talking to me? Are you avoiding me?”  so he said, “you ain’t got no talent if you didn’t have a face you wouldn’t be nobody.” And she said, “god created heaven and earth and all that’s Black within them.” So he said, “you ain’t really no hot shit they tell me plenty sisters take care better business than you” this made her heart broken and felt alone again. When they went apart, tears rolled from Y’s eyes and said to himself, “I hope one day you will get to know that I did all these things to save your life from my parents.” Y went back to his house and told his parents, “I have done what you had told me to do. But, I want you to do me a favor.” His parents asked, “What is it” so, Y replied, “I want you to leave X alone and let her stay with her mother.” His parents said yes to it so, he won’t meet X again. His parents also planned secretly, to send X and her mother somewhere far away to a different place by their choice so, Y won’t find them.

As days went by, Y felt so bad for hurting X and wanted to tell her the truth. So, he decided to tell her the truth on the day when she meets her mother. Finally, the day had come where X will meet her mother after a long time. On that day morning, Y went to meet X with his parent’s permission and X wasn’t happy to see him back. Y went and spoke to her, “hi! X how you doing? I know that you really hate me but I wanted to tell you something” so X told  him, “ I don’t want to hear anything from you and I had heard a lot from you that’s enough” and Y replied “ I know that I have hurt you but, it wasn’t my fault. I did all those things to save your life from my parents” and he told her the truth behind their breakup and they both decided to move on. Y also told her that, “today I have a surprise for” and he made her meet her mother. After seeing her mother X ran and hugged her mother and was happy to see her back. But, it was the last day X and Y met each other. X and her mother went to a different place and days passed by, but Y couldn’t forget all his memories with X so he decided to join on the army and he never came back.

 

Reflection

while writing this fanfiction i learned the concept of the poem and how poem can have their own stories. i can use this in the future to analysis a story and its main idea.  yes, it did helped me to analysis it by giving the poem its own story and a life to its characters.  i could have pushed my writing even further by making it more creative. In my fan fic i have used rhetorical choices that is similar to allusions. this choice have advanced the depth of my work by  using  past history and my imaginary  in my story and it has played an main role in it. the process of peer review had helped me to analysis it further by adding more details to the characters. next time  for my peer review i would like to focus on the creativity. for my future assignments i would like to use rhetorical choice such as irony, allusion.

Kayla Rivas

Professor Jay Polish

English 102

10 April 2018

“Poem For a Lady Whose Voice I Like” By Nikki Giovanni Fanfiction

I was not looking forward to going to my first day of college tomorrow. No one in my town actually goes to college because they value work more than education. This life wasn’t for me. Ever since I was little I loved reading books and my mother would go above and beyond to make sure I had new books to read. My mother is basically the only one whose supportive of my decision to go to college and I am okay with that because she’s the only one that matters to me.

So, going to college tomorrow is going to be a big step towards my future. I’m all packed up and now I’m just waiting for the time to come. I’ve heard great things about college from my teachers and I really hope it’s as great as they told me it is. My teachers always told me that they knew I was destined for more and now here I am, bags packed and a college education waiting for me.

The day has come to go off to pursue my future. My mom walked me out towards the cab that was waiting for me. We said our goodbyes and I hugged her for a long time and told her I would be back a better person and that we’d be able to go to a new house that I would buy after I get my education and job. She laughed at my comment and gave me my blessing and with that I got into the cab that drove me to the bus stop which was a little out of town.

The ride to the bus stop was even worse than the night I had. I think I had more nerves now that my mom wasn’t with me and I was on my own. All this was hitting me right then and all I wanted to do was make the cab turn around and run to my mother’s arms.

“We’re here miss” said the cab driver. I snapped back into reality and got out of the cab.

I grabbed my bag, thanked the driver and went to the bus station.

As I went into the bus station many people stared at me, for it was the news of the town that a girl like myself was going to college. I walked quickly avoiding the glares that people threw at me. I got my bus ticket and was waiting for the bus to come so I decided to buy a donut and wait by the stop.

I was opening my donut from its package when a man comes up to me. He said

“Who do you think you are going off to college?” and I looked up and after a few seconds I answered him, “I’m making my mother proud.” He looked down upon me going to college just like everyone else in this town.  He continued on to say, “You always considered yourself better than the rest of us and for that life will come and bite you.” Before I could respond he walked away knowing that I was speechless. I was a little mad that he walked away before I could defend myself but I as I kept thinking about it I thought about how my mother always said that a lady should never stoop down to their level.

After this man walked away my bus arrived. I chose the sit next to the window and stared at the green grass as the bus drove towards its destination. I kept thinking how this man had the audacity to come up to me out of nowhere just because I decided to pursue my education. It’s incredible what people will say to bring you down.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that man that came up to me at the bus station. His face seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put a name to the face and it was killing me. After a couple of hours of trying to remember who that man was, it hit me. I went to high school with him, but he left early because he had to take care of his siblings after his dad got sick. No one knew more about him after he left but I couldn’t believe he came up to me and spoke to me that way.

After getting settled in my college dorm I was getting ready to sleep but I kept trying to come up with an answer as to why that man came up to me acting like he knew me. We never talked in high school, yet he came up to me all confident and ready to blow.

A week has passed, and I still think about home. I think about my mother and of course the man from the bus stop. I finally came to a realization as to why he came up to me that day. I don’t like to think this way but perhaps he was a bit jealous of how my future turned out compared to his. Many of us at high school went through hard times but I never thought college was a competition it was more of an opportunity and if you wanted it you had to take it. Perhaps he was angry that he couldn’t reach for that opportunity but instead had to go straight to work to help his family. He’s not the first, in my town many people go to work instead of receiving an education, however, I don’t want to be like them. I want to do something with my life, is that so bad?

 

Pamela Quezada

ENG 102

Professor Polish

23 March 2018

As she got up and put on her lingerie, she thought about how her life turned out, so much different than according to plan. She started packing what she needed, her uniforms, extra makeup, and platforms. The American dream was now far gone from her mind, just another damaged image from her past; but times had changed, she now had a new inspiration to look forward to now, for a better future. This was all for her. “This is for you my sunshine” she whispered under her breath. The sudden bell at the door interrupted her thoughts and she gathered her bags.

“I’ll see you soon my love.” She whispered as she kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Make sure she doesn’t stay up too long!” “Yes, Anna I’ll make sure of it!” reassured her sister.  As she shut off her favorite part in the world, she sulked off towards the other part of her life she dreaded existed. And as she walked, her mind started to wander again. She never thought she would bother her sister again after the big fight, but life has different ideas sometimes. She never thought she would move to the city either, but some people can convince you with the promises of dreams, only to shatter them at your feet when the time comes. The city life can really have an impact on you when you realize just how serious the competition is, and how often you must deal with the negative people you have to meet along the way. As she neared the entrance, she looked up at the neon strip club sign and thought of how fast 2 years can pass by at this dreadful place. Just before stepping in she put on the most important part of her uniform, her mask to match the others.

The familiar smell of body odor and alcohol instantly hit her, along with the music echoing in the rooms. She headed off towards the back where her other co-workers were. “Anna!” Everyone greeted her. She looked around at the familiar females who still stood strong, unable to be completely knocked down by the life challenges thrown their way and cracked a smile.  “Glad you’re finally here Anna.” A sinking feeling came over as she spun around to her see her manager walking towards her. “There’s a client in the back who specifically requested you.” A smile immediately ran away from her face for a second, but he knew she had to keep strong. She walked towards the back rooms where the more private dances were requested. Sitting in the room waiting was a man in his late 50’s, a suit, and a smug face making his ego shine. She sighed and started with a lap dance, following her normal routine. As she danced, he started speaking to her, really low so that only she would hear. “You know I’ve been admiring that pretty little body for a while now…” he started off. She brushed him off and continued. The more he talked, the more she ignored him, until he just had enough. “HEY!” he snapped. “You know any girl would be dyin to be in your shoes for this opportunity. What makes you think you’re so special??” So he said: “you ain’t got no talent if you didn’t have a face you wouldn’t be nobody”. And she said: “god created heaven and earth and that’s all that’s Black within them”. So he said: “you ain’t really no hot shit they tell me plenty sisters take better business than you”. And she said “on the third day he made chitterlings and all good things to eat and said ‘that’s good’”. So he said: “if the white folks hadn’t been under yo skirt and been giving you the big play you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else.” And she relied: “then he took a big Black greasy rib from Adam and said we will call this woeman and her name will be sapphire and she will divide into four parts that simone may sing a song.” And he said: “you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu”. So she replied: “show me someone not full of herself and I’ll show you a hungry person.” 

Reflection:

During the process of writing this fanfic, I learned how to write based on 3rd person, which was something I usually struggled with. It helped me strengthen my writing and it was something I enjoyed.

Rough draft of Poem for a lady whose voice I like

Let’s call the “she”, Elena and let’s call the he “Zacharia”.

“You ain’t got no talent

if you didn’t have a face

you wouldn’t be nobody”

His words kept replaying in my head. God, I hated his voice. Every time I hear it. But nope. I won’t let him get to me. He doesn’t know any better, he rather spends his days eating and belting at how I am merely an object rather than a person than to say something nice. 

I had come home from work tired from a 13-hour shift. I place my jacket in the closet to my right and leave my keys on the counter. Seinfield was on and Zach was opening a beer, and some drips to the floor but he pays no attention. Zacharia and I had been together for 20 years now and I can’t remember the last time I saw a smile on his face. It was probably when we had first moved into the apartment we live in now but since then, his smile was gone. He’d been working at the laundromat down the block until it closed and got replaced by the burger shack he is now a daily customer from. There was no money coming in, and the bills piled up. I had lost track of the last time he left his house besides to grab a smoke and a burger with his boys. 

He was on the couch when I had come home mumbling about how Lenny, our next door neighbor had wanted some dancing girls for his show at the bar that following Saturday. 

“Lenny came by. He wants you on his show. I said you’d do it for 80 per show. Understand?”.

“Excuse me?”

“What do you mean you said I’d do it? “Understand?” 

“Zacharia, I will not let myself be the very thing I am against. I won’t be dancing for anyone no matter how badly we need the money. Now, do you understand me?

I am not just some ‘body’ you can control. I will not be one of those girls”.

He lets his beer down and gets up. God, he smelled like sweat. He looked like he hadn’t showered in days and began to start yelling. “What do you mean you won’t do it? You ungrateful prick. I got you a job. One show can finally pay off that damn cell phone bill of yours. I told Lenny you’d do it, and you will. Now go set dinner and go talk to Lenny and get more details. I don’t want to hear it anymore”.

Before I could speak, he had left the room. He walks into the bathroom and as the door closes I hear;

“You ain’t got no talent

if you didn’t have a face

you wouldn’t be nobody”

What three things do you want to ask your peers about your work?

Do you guys like the plot? Is there anything you think I can do to help with my writing, I usually have a problem with sounding way too general and my vocabulary is weak. What do you think of the characters so far?

What three things are your favorite about your fan fic?

I’m not going to lie, maybe this is me since I am the one writing this it was easy to picture the setting and plot for this as soon as I read the poem. I love my character elena & i also love how i will soon be showing elena’s growth with self-confidence and empowerment. 

What three things are you unsure of? I am unsure of how to transition within my writing. I also fear I won’t find good placements to use some of the poem’s dialogue. I also don’t exactly know how to continue this without rambling so much about one thing, so i need to work on that. 

Growing up in the south in the early 1900’s can be tough for a person who is a person of colored specialty when there’s Jim Crow Laws and no rights for anybody who is not white. My people just getting torture, kidnaped and even getting killed all because of our color of skin. But also, if you’re a woman, it can be really hard for people to respect you. There’s no rights for women as we can’t vote and do other stuff like men. Sometimes I wished I was white and a male. I could do so much stuff, but only one can imagine such thing. Growing up as women of the church have realized that everything happens for a reason. If the lord made me green or yellow, then it was for some reason and I should be grateful for the person he created.

When going to school, I was so happy to go to school as I would learn so much things especially science class when we learned about space. I was always a big nerd, I would be top of my class, I would also get 100’s on every test. But the class I enjoyed the most had to be science. I can talk endless hours about space and how there’s millions and millions of planets out there but maybe some other time. I always wonder how long it must have taken G-d to create those planets. I always wanted to be a scientist, so I can work and study space.

Coming home was not my favorite part of the day because that’s when reality struck in. I was always glad to see my parents and my brothers, but it was the conditions that we were living that made me hate life. My house was very small and was made out of any material we can use. When it would rain, there would just be water pouring in from the roof but at least we had a roof over my head. We have two rooms, one of the room is the kitchen/living room and the other room was my parents, brother, and me. It was crowed but I like that because I was with my family and I felt save. We also have land where we grow a range of vegetables. We usually grow them to eat but sometimes we have to sell them to make money. I like when we don’t have to sell crops because when we don’t we eat like kings, but that rarely happens.

I love my family as they are the reason they keep me going. My dad is the best dad in the world as, I’m his favorite one. He has taught me so much stuff. But sadly, he is missing one hand. He says that it was an accident, but I don’t believe, I know what really happened. Then there’s my mom who I love and admire. She is a strong woman, sometimes I think she’s stronger then my dad. She works, cleans and cooks. Then there’s my older brother who is the best. When my dad is not at the house he takes the role of being my dad/brother. He dropped out of school to work at the farm. I know I had to drop out of school to work in the farms, but my brother dropped out, so I wouldn’t have to, and for that I’m truly grateful. I always thought to myself that I would be somebody important who would earn enough money, so I would help my family out, but at that time it would be something that I thought would never happen.

After graduating from school with perfect grade, a nice gentleman came to me and asked me to study at their university. But I didn’t want to go because we didn’t have enough

money for college. But he started to laugh, and he then said that it would be paid for free. At first, I didn’t believe him but after asking him 100 times if it was a joke, he said no. I was so happy that I went to hug my family and told them that “You guys are the reason why I keep going”. The day before I left to college, I spent the whole day thinking about my family and I don’t want to let them down. When it was the day to leave I told them “I would not let you down guys”. When I went to school I only saw white males and I just saw everybody staring at me like if had something on my face, but it was just the fact that my skin color was different from them. When I would want to raise my hand, people would just make fun of me. I was upset that people didn’t respect, this one time this person just wrote whore at my door. But that really didn’t stop me as I got every 100 on every test and I would often make my professors happy, but they were too scared to show their feelings for a person of colored. As time pass everybody respected me because they saw who was as a person. After graduating one of my favorite professor had told me they had a job at NASA, I couldn’t describe how happy I was. I accept the job and I couldn’t wait to start.

It was 1950’s and it was the space race. We were in a race with the USSR to see who was the better country. Me and two other ladies were working on how to launch a rocket at right angle. After cracking the answer, we were applauded because of our work and that made me the happies person ever.

After arguing with this ignorant man, I concluded that all people who judges a person because the way they look are really ignorant people. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I have no talent. They also have no idea what I have done to be where I’m today. The only one who can judge me is G-d.

The compact mirror held to her face closed with a snap, and now Sapphire was there again, alone. She took her mind off of her internal dialog and back to her curtain call ensemble. The makeup artfully applied, with thick black cat’s eye mascara. Her false lashes bloomed out of the bouquet of red eyeshadow and rosy blush like shadowy lilies. The magic was done, and Sapphire fought the urge to once more stare and scrutinize her reflection as she adjusted her corset. The squish of her breasts made the oh so pleasant slurping sounds that only a concert of silicone and leather produced when tightly pulled together, sending unnerving yet strangely satisfying vibrations through the mouth into the teeth. Two fingers reaffirmed that her tuck was secured by the pieces of duct tape pulled up between the behind of her, and her platform heels reaffirmed Sapphire’s already towering height as she trotted toward the dressing room door. Today, she’d won an argument many years formed. Today, she filled herself with all 4 of those women Nina sang for. No one could shame her for the parts she lacked, nor the life she lived. The pumping bass queue of music, and the cheers of a crowd not far from the door, solidified the words of her spirit. Sapphire was full, she reminded herself; she no longer hungers.

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts”

Shakespeare may have made the quote, but Sapphire lived it. Her gyrations could turn from sensual provocation to  action packed acrobatics, then into a full modern ballet interpretation- all the while perfectly syncing her lips to a Madonna tune. Like a chameleon that had mastered every palette of the rainbow, She moved through her audience and wowed them all into roaring applause or silent catharsis at her whim. Indeed, she knew her craft, and how to sell it to eyes of her gazers. This night was like any other at Giovanni’s Leg Lounge, another curtain call from chanting patrons. It wasn’t until Sapphire re-entered the brightly lit stretch of stage, her now trademarked “Queen-of-England” smile and wave routine brought to a halt, did she notice a difference. In the haze of forms and noise, a pair of eyes too familiar to pass unnoticed- too cold not to freeze her- nearly glowed  from the back of the darkness of the bar. Habit brought her attention to his glare, so used to receiving a lovers embrace from the distance; a final acknowledgement that permitted her to be worthy of the praise her drunken disciples poured onto her. The stare was no longer one of permission. It sat on her like two boulders blocking the exit to a cave, and stilled her movement in the pitch of its malice. Awkward as it was, amidst a crowd still oblivious to her present circumstance, Sapphire locked eyes with her misery, removed her mind from her present, and traveled back in time;  back to her contouring away the bruises and bite marks on her face in her little mirror. “Sapphire was full”, the mantra leaped out in a whisper. The words held back tears and re-formed her smile. A gesture to the MC for a mic, as she usually did to express gratitude to her adorers after a short returning number, came a little too early for her audience. Cheers transitioned to chatter, yet Sapphire knew how keep them: a strong step forward with an angled hip, her pose accented by a hand on the hip while the other perched the mic firmly to her her lips. still staring hotly into the beyond, Sapphire spoke “a towel, please, Nikki”. The MC quickly served a more-or-less clean towel to Sapphires once hipped hand, and with the calmness of a hurricanes eye, Sapphire began to speak.

“So he said: you ain’t got no talent, if you didn’t have a face you wouldn’t be nobody”, and as the spoke she wiped her cheeks and eyes, exposing teeth marks and bruising. The audience heaved a gasp; every mouth fell silent. “and she said: god created heaven and earth, and all that’s Black within them”. Her smile never left, though her inner mantra was losing its grip on her tears. They welled up, and yet her voice kept strong. This moment was hers. She had to complete this. “So he said: you ain’t really no hot shit, they tell me plenty sisters  take care better business than you. And she said: on the third day he made chitterlings, and all good things to eat and said: “that’s good”. A little chuckle here and there from the audience, and then Sapphires voice began to boom. “So he said: if the white folks hadn’t been under yo skirt and been giving you the big play you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else”. a bit of silence, just to clear the laughter and let her words set in. The eyes she leered at winced, its glow dimmed. “She replied: then he took a big Black greasy rib from adam and said we will call this woeman and her   name will be sapphire”. The crowd erupted with ringing cheers as she proclaimed herself. Her adversary now a shadow lurching out of the door whose light made his silhoet. Sapphire continued as she reviled in her victory, “and she will divide into four parts, that simone may sing a song”. The tears were flowing freely, from both performer and audience. The MC rushed to the stage and held Sapphires free hand. By now the towel had fallen to the floor, laid between them like a bloody rag holding the sacrifice of all it took to survive her abuse, to become whole again. Sapphire cleared her throat, and with a voice choked by tear, yet calmed by release, she finished: “and he said: you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu”. The audience did laugh again, the kind of laughter that supported as much as it enjoyed. Sapphire had to smile herself. She closed her eyes as she did, holding tightly to the MCs two hands in hers. “So she replied”, she pronounced, giving each word a prayerful pace, “show me someone not full of herself and i’ll show you a hungry person”.

The last line echoed into the minds of each listener, then was replaced by the reverberation of hollers and claps, and name chanting. Sapphire still had her eyes closed, now cradled in the arms of her presenter. No sound was louder in her ears than her own inner voice, still proclaiming her selfhood.

“Sapphire is full, she no longer hungers.”