The Poet X

by Elizabeth Acevedo

I only know that learning to believe in the power of my own words has been the most freeing experience of my life. It has brought me the most light. And isn’t that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark.

This is the most quoted passage of the novel. And it was the last line I ever revised. I worked on this line until the absolute final draft. I had so many different versions that weren’t quite right and the way a poem ends, and then how a collection or novel in verse ends, feels so important. Especially for my first novel, I wanted to make sure I got it just right and I despaired I never would. I had a list of different passages from the bible that reflected on voice, the tongue, light. And I kept returning to my list and trying to see what this passage might need to hold the new character Xiomara has become, and also all of the different messages sprinkled throughout the novel. Somehow, someway, the word “lantern” came up during that last revision and it’s like my entire body sighed in relief. Finally, I remember thinking in direction of the last line, you’ve shown up.