Conflict & Tension
The two things Xiomara’s arms feel like they want to become in Okay
What are a hug OR falling anvils?
The animal Xiomara compares herself and Twin to in Sharing.
What are goldfish?
In Black & Blue, the way Xiomara shows she still has Twin’s back, even when she jokes.
What is inspecting him and protecting him—it’s a twin thing?
The way Ants looks visually different from the other poems.
What is being scattered across the page instead of neat lines?
The central theme of Gay.
What is Twin’s sexuality and the conflict with faith, family, and identity?
The injury Twin comes home with in Black & Blue
What is a black eye?
The “glow of the phone” in Telephone symbolizes this.
What are their secrets OR parallel lives?
The clue in Telephone that Twin has secrets too.
What are his late-night giggles OR the glow of his phone?
Xiomara’s rejection of ant-like behavior shows this value.
What is independence OR individuality?
The way Telephone shows Xiomara and Twin moving into separate identities.
What is through keeping secrets OR growing apart?
The reason Xiomara goes to Twin’s school in Fights.
What is to protect him OR fight whoever hurt him?
The poem where the structure mimics ants marching in lines.
What is Ants?
What Twin tells Xiomara in Fights when she tries to protect him.
What is “I don’t need you to fight for me anymore”?
The object Twin plays with in What We Don’t Say that symbolizes his silence
What is chess on his phone?
The reason Xiomara feels guilty in Black & Blue
What is not noticing his black eye OR failing to protect him as a twin?
The nickname Xiomara uses for Cody in What We Don’t Say before Twin corrects her.
What is “White Boy”?
In Fights, what Xiomara compares her heart to after Twin rejects her protection.
What is a balloon that deflates?
The way Xiomara and Twin silently show disappointment in Okay?
What is turning away OR being quiet instead of speaking?
The short, fragmented style of Gay represents this
What is Xiomara’s struggle to speak OR her broken thoughts and guilt?
The way Fights connects Twin’s independence to the theme of identity.
What is him needing to stand on his own OR not relying on Xiomara anymore?
The effect Xiomara says her silence had on Twin in Gay.
What is making him feel alone OR making it seem like she agreed with ugly things people think?
In Gay, the phrase “Mami’s miracle but also her sin” reveals this.
What is being precious to his mother but condemned by her religion OR being both loved and judged?
The double-sided contradiction/pattern across Sharing and Okay? about their closeness.
What is closeness limiting their growth OR closeness holding them together?
The poem that changes structure at the end to symbolize rejecting conformity.
What is Ants?
The connection between Ants and Gay about resisting conformity
What is Xiomara resisting conformity by rejecting “ant-like” life, and Twin resisting by embracing his sexuality OR refusing to hide?