In Ms. Krasic’s 8th grade class, we read Francisco X. Alarcón’s “Natural Criminals.” The students had incredible and bright insights on this poem. We talked about racism and history and how sometimes people are made to feel that they don’t belong in certain spaces. They also had great insights on the form of the poem, which is in tiny stanzas that mostly consist of one metaphor. They talked about how the smallness of the stanzas echoed the ways the poet might have felt trapped. They wrote their own poems about places where they feel they do or don’t belong.
My House
-Eibad
I am a cat
very snoozy
cat
I am
a fresh
tee, just
ironed
I am fresh
and steaming
and delicious
cookies
I am
relaxation
itself
I am
at my house
My Home
–Aphrodite
I am
a gust
of wind
in a fan
A flower
in a
field
A blade
of grass
in the meadow I
hold so
dear
