Reflection Post: Puerto Rican Obituary

Pedro Pietri's poem "Puerto Rican Obituary" touched me.
The poem really gives view into what conditions Puerto Ricans lived in within the city in the United States. Death is a huge central part of the poem, as the names Juan, Miguel, Milagros, Olga and Manuel are called out, as to sound like a piece of an actual obituary. More than that though, is that Pietri takes death as an outside entity. He claims Puerto Ricans were born dead and they died dead. The lines "All died yesterday today/and will die again tomorrow" really strike me. This death he speaks of I believe is this social injustice they expierience every day of their lives. All these Puerto Ricans have the same destiny, and sadly I think Pietri says that they will go nowhere. This poem also came unto me as a mock of the american dream. I have been taught several times in school that the United States is a land of opportunity, where anyone can be successful, etc... but here Pietri mocks this idea stating several times that his characters in his poem died dreaming of good lives or nice material pocessions, later going on to say that those dreams were "empty dreams" he really paints a clear picture of this gutter that Puerto Ricans are in, hoping that a lottery ticket will get them out of it, in the poem there is an overall feeling in lack of movement, dead ends, adding to the hopelessness of it all...there is sadness in how Puerto Ricans remain "dead" until they assimilate. What really made an impression on me as well was how there is not only tension between the anglos and Puerto Ricans, but also tension between themselves as Juan dies hating Miguel because Miguel's car was in better condition etc... it really shows how simple and basic these people's lives were and how as hard as they worked, they had nothing. It amazes and saddens me how people with such hard work ethic and full of hopes and dreams were so marginalized,exploited and silenced. I am glad that Pietri ends his poem on a slightly higher note, reassuring his audience that there is beauty in Puerto Ricans to be found... optimism is good, even if it is just a little bit... Pietri's poem is a beautiful work, his language is powerful and impacting and really opened my eyes to the hardships going on for Puerto Ricans in the US.