Lost Cause WiIlliam Goldberg 813 Sonnet

                                                     "Lost Cause" by William Goldberg

Here we stand, fighting for a now lost cause.

They outmatch us, there's nothing we can do .

But we stay strong, disregarding our flaws.

They overpower us, yet we stay true.

They have taken our planet from beneath us.

And they have taken our souls with it.

A new time has come, and we don't fuss.

This new time controls us, every bit.

Yet, there is a chance that we can take back.

No more defending, so we have to switch.

And although it seems, that they will not crack.

We shall take back this land, every last ditch.

So I ask this of you, my last friends left,

Will you help me with this burden I heft? 

 

Martín Espada Essay William Goldberg 813

William Goldberg 813                                                                                                 Martín Espada Essay

      An amazing poet and professor, Martín Espada is an inspiration for all. Writing poems about a consistent theme, he enlightens the world about its inner problems. I believe that the majority of Martín Espada's poems are about how a less powerful group doesn't have its perspective shown.
In his poem The New Bathroom Policy at English High School, the speaker talks about how a group of Hispanic students are speaking Spanish in the bathroom and the principal overhears and decides to ban Spanish in all of the bathrooms. This poem supports my thesis because in it the principal doesn't even give the students a chance to explain to him what they were saying, he just makes a decision with his point of view only. In the poem the speaker says "The only word he recognizes his own name/and this constipates him/So he decides to ban Spanish/in the bathrooms/Now he can relax." This shows that he instantly made his decision and didn't even think to get the students' opinion.
In another one of his poems called Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877, the speaker discusses how two Mexicanos were hanged without any sound reason by a group of "...gringo vigilantes..." who enjoyed the experience. This poem supports my thesis because it shows how quick the more powerful whites were willing to hang the Mexicanos without even hearing what they had to say. The whites just did what they felt was right without having the full story. If they had listened to the Mexicanos, maybe they would've realized that what they were doing was wrong and would've stopped.
In yet another one of his poems called Revolutionary Spanish Lesson, the speaker explains how when his /her name is mispronounced he/her becomes aggressive and angry with the whole world and wants to do terrible things. Whites in this poem don't seem to understand the speaker's point of view and how he/she is proud of their Hispanic culture and wants their culture to be respected. They don't have the Hispanic's perspective and don't care. All the whites have are their own perspective and no one else's.
In conclusion, I believe that most of Martín Espada's poems are about how a weaker group does not have its point of view shown. Martín Espada is an inspirational writer who acts as a guide for many young poets out there who want to walk in his footsteps.