Poem: I Am Offering This Poem
by Jimmy Santiago Baca 1990
I am offering this poem to you,
since I have nothing else to give.
Keep it like a warm coat
when winter comes to cover you,
or like a pair of thick socks
the cold cannot bite through,
I love you,
I have nothing else to give you,
so it is a pot full of yellow corn
to warm your belly in winter,
it is a scarf for your head, to wear
over your hair, to tie up around your face,
I love you,
Keep it, treasure this as you would
if you were lost, needing direction,
in the wilderness life becomes when mature;
and in the corner of your drawer,
tucked away like a cabin or hogan1
in dense2 trees, come knocking,
and I will answer, give you directions,
and let you warm yourself by this fire,
rest by this fire, and make you feel safe
I love you,
It’s all I have to give,
and all anyone needs to live,
and to go on living inside,
when the world outside
no longer cares if you live or die;
remember,
I love you.
Question:
the meaning of the poem, not just the obvious meaning of each word but what they mean beyond the literal. Do these words suggest something else?
• Who is the subject of the poem?
• What are they talking about?
• Why do you think the author wrote the poem?
• When is the poem happening?
• Where is the poem happening?
• What is the poet’s attitude?
• How does the poem shift from person to person or between different times or places
