"Making a Fist"

Immigration. This may be a touchy subject for some, but it is an important one. After reading “Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye a few times, I realized how thankful I am to live in America. People long to live in our country full of endless opportunities. Long for it enough to travel for days on end with no food or water. Looking at this poem from my perspective, I realize people risk their lives to come to America, and we (myself included), often can take these opportunities for granted.

Naomi Shihab Nye, is a born and raised US citizen, but she grew up hearing the stories of her father, who was a Palestinian refugee. She spent her childhood in both San Antonio Texas, and Jerusalem. I believe the experiences her father had as well as her time in Jerusalem inspired her to write this poem.

The speaker of the poem, a girl, is on a journey with her mother from Tampico, Mexico, into the US. San Antonio is directly North from Tampico, which is a connection to the author's real life. I believe she wanted to put herself in the girl's shoes, to wonder about the experience she would have had if she had to flee from her country as her father did. The girl asks her mother, “how do you know if you are going to die?”, and her mother responds, “when you can no longer make a fist”. Now, the girl frequently opens and closes her hand in remembrance of the hardships faced, and the battles overcome.

This poem is a message of hope and perseverance. Even though I did not go through these same experiences, I can apply the same ideas to other areas of my life. To keep going and never give up when I am chasing for something that will make me better.

Real World Response: https://twitter.com/RubyMor1029/status/1513225381490278400