Jimmy Santiago Baca

Baca's amazing life story is reflected in the depth of his poetry. Reading "Who Understands Me But Me," I appreciate his ability to illustrate the initial powerlessness of abandonment and depression and the incredible (but often misinterpreted and difficult to understand) power that comes with the realization that one has ultimate responsibility for one's life and that one is a person whose existence is worthwhile. The lines: "they say I am beastly and fiendish, so I have no friends, / they stop up each hope, so I have no passage out of hell" were very moving. These lines come from a place of being burdened with the aftermath of others' transgressions--especially one's parents. His later lines: "I can live with myself, and I am amazed at myself, my love, / my beauty" show the mindset of self-actualization. It is an amazing challenge to love one's beauty, in the deepest--non-superficial--sense. I commend Baca for being able to put this internal challenge into words.