by Daniel Romo
Pancho is a hot mess is not good enough. You must highlight his blazing disarray. Create a trail of words that singe fingertips during peer revision.
Examples:
He is dirty.
Pancho’s pores hold filth hostage. His skin is a grimy husk. He scratches his head for a glint of relief, but lice are immune to fingernails the color/scent of cow shit. The ringworm on his back keeps growing and laughs at this attempt.
His clothes are ugly.
Pancho’s wardrobe consists of holes that house bits of fabric. His shirts were too small two years ago. His pair of pants can also function as shorts. His sandals are held together by masking tape and a miracle.
He is poor.
Pancho and his family stay in a one bedroom structure. They call it their casa. Ingenious sleeping arrangements allow fifteen heartbeats to reverberate off rotting drywall.
His future doesn’t look good.
Pancho picks fruit with his father. He has inherited a life of strawberry-stained
hands and honest sweat glands that work from dawn to dusk. Baskets of berries and beating sun on skin runs in the family.
His life sucks. I’d hate to be him.
His life sucks. I’d hate to be him.
Daniel Romo is half curve ball/half prose poem. Proof: http://danielromo.wordpress.com/
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