Ricardo Nazario-Colon

I took a look at the poem We Raised You by "Affrilachian" poet Ricardo Nazario-Colon, an Appalachian resident and Hispanic and African American descendant. The poem has Spanish words and phrases mixed in, which I mostly understood, but I had to define one of the cultural terms used: griots, which are oral storytellers that travel in groups and carry West African tales. This detail is important in fully understanding the poem, for the majority of We Raised You is written as a recital of a story Nazario-Colon was told by a griot, who he addresses as a female and his griot.

It ended with the TUCO on the yard
and the twenty country feet long
father GONE…
After! A three hour PRAYER
of SALVATION.

The above stanza really captures the tone in the poem. Storytellers are known for not only their stories but how good they tell them with their ability to emphasize details appropriately and keep a tight hold on listeners' attention. Nazario-Colon locks the passionate voice of the griot in his poem. If the poem was written as,

"It ended with the tuco on the yard
and the twenty country feet long
father gone
after a three hour prayed of salvation,"

it's obvious how much dimmer it would be. Such a style would be fine for other messages in poetry to be conveyed, but not for the griot's story and her expression for the feelings toward her culture.

Taryn