Just like India... only it's not 'legal'

1) What is your experience with poetry? Do you have any excitement/hesitations when it comes to working with poetry? Spend a few sentences before reading the poem to reply.

I've been always intimidated by poetry... I am unlearning my own thought that tells me that I have to know the 'correct' interpretation, which certainly blocks any creative flow in me. I've been struggling to change this mindset even though I recognize that it limits my capacity to enjoy and get into the world of poetry.

2) After annotating the poem, how did your understanding of it change? Think about the initial comment you left on the assignment page and consider any new insights, thoughts, or responses to poetry after working with this poem.

• There were certain parts of the poem that made me think of some political context/tone... maybe fish carcass symbolizes an immigrant experience in which the immigrant has to work with all types of people and cultures and still find his/her own expression.
• fish carcass is sitting in the kitchen, witnessing all different kinds of ingredients that come and go throughout the day. Is fish being cooked with the ingredients or is it just seeing them pass by? Is fish carcass lonely?

I also see that fish carcass is magical in that it can work with any ingredients to create a story on a plate.

I'm not quite sure what the poet is trying to convey here.

Is there any political implication in this poem...?

I see this line as a way to take risks and have fun with different ingredients as part of expression. Without experimenting, no dish will be magical. So be bold!

Write your own story. This makes me think of my own experience with cooking. I use food as a way to express myself. It's a relatively cheap form of art as opposed to pottery or other fancy art work. By the end of the poem, I got in touch with my own love of cooking.

I love seeing how colorful the dish is. So lively.

Maybe the speaker feels melancholic about the fact that fish is already dead. Does the speaker want fish to resurrect...? As a silent observer, fish carcass watches daily activities in this kitchen. It witnesses life around it.

Amazing! I had never seen emu eggs until I read this poem. It looks like an avocado... Fascinating.

It's morning now! It's exciting that there is anti-griddle because it makes me think of fancy or refined food!

Somehow I imagine grilled salmon and paprika flying in the air, and paprika is painting the skin of a grilled salmon. It's so dramatic, and I love it!! I feel like fish carcass is relieved now that the knife battle is over.

There is a sense of reunion here: "castaway... returns home." It returns home to help the cooking going! Everything is now melting together.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/bacon-wrapped-asparagus-bundles-recipe-1915631

I used to love this recipe! (I don't eat bacon anymore). It's so easy to make and delicious! I used to make a bunch of bundles and bring them to a picnic! Happy time :)

Yuri

Can I do Madison's assignment? I see that Michael has signed up for more than two...? -Yuri

A cenote is formed very gradually over time. It begins with an underground cavern filled with water, and gradually the limestone wears away overhead.

I found "Canto to Huitzilopchtli (Hymn to Huitzilopchtli)." A part of the lyrics goes, "When he shouts aloud he inspires great terror," which reminded me of how the brother brings turmoil, chaos, and terror to his family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1R26-LqTw

This song is called "The Hymn of Huitzilopochtli." One of the lines says, "When he shouts aloud he inspires great terror," which connects to how the brother has brought turmoil and terror to his family.

It’s striking to see how her parents keep devoting themselves to care for their son even when he continually inflicts physical, emotional, and psychological pain upon them. Usually, human sacrifices to the cenote are dead, but his parents keep returning and growing back their hearts. This indicates almost a miraculous force within his parents (perhaps unconditional regard and love for their son?) that surpasses his destructive power.

He has become “a rusted cage,” an inanimate object that imprisons his own self. This brings me a sense of hopelessness-- how can anyone turn a cage (the brother) into a human being again? All that his parents could do is to polish the cage and try to preserve it.