Jose packs his dreams
Jose kisses his kids goodbye
Jose meets his coyote
Jose crosses the border
Jose, can you see?
Can you see Jose?
Jose dishwasher
Jose landscaper
Jose lives across from your house
Jose is just as afraid of you as you are of him
Jose is an onion
Jose, can you see?
Can you see Jose?
Jose cooks at the American Grill
Jose calls his kids every Tuesday
Jose, good morning sir!
Jose is an onion at the American Grill
Jose, can you see?
Can you see Jose?
Jose janitor
Jose plays loud music
Jose loves Janis Joplin
Jose lost his accent
Jose Walmart
Jose made in elsewhere
Jose, can you see?
Can you see Jose?
Jose shovels your driveway
Jose calls his kids every Tuesday
Jose has a crush on Barbie
Barbie doesn’t see Jose
Jose, can you see?
Can you see Jose?
About the Poem
This free-form poem was inspired by a night out with a group of coworkers at a comedy show. The main act was a comedian who claimed to hypnotize audience members. I was chosen as one of the “lucky” guests to be hypnotized.
During the act, the comedian asked me to sing the first few lines of the national anthem. I wasn’t actually hypnotized, but I went along with it, sang the lines, and played along with a few of his funny tricks. After that, he sent me back to my seat, and it was all in good fun—at first.
Later, a couple of coworkers made comments about my accent, joking that it sounded like I said the word “Jose” at the beginning of the anthem. The moment stuck with me.
That’s when I realized: mean people will be mean—and I will always be bilingual.
Sussy Santana
(Simple Sentences for the English Learner is part of Radio ESL, a poetry cd self-published in 2012)
About the Poet
Sussy Santana is a poet and arts and health practitioner. Her bilingual work explores themes of identity, belonging, and wellbeing. Through her series “llamARTE”—art calls to community—she invites people to engage in collective reflection, storytelling, and public performance as acts of collective healing. Santana has published four works of poetry. She is the first Latina writer to win the MacColl Johnson Fellowship in writing from the RI Foundation.
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