Clap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevedo

You do not let your words stunt unknown possibilities.

Playing chess taught me a queen is both: deadly & graceful, poised & ruthless. Quiet & cunning. A queen offers her hand to be kissed, & can form it into a fist while smiling the whole damn time.

Juxtaposition

Dreams are like the pieces of fluff that get caught in your hair; they stand out for a moment, but eventually you wash them away, or long fingers reach in & pluck them out & you appear as what everyone expects.

when her parents took trips back to Haiti.

Yayy Haitian representation

Where the manager pinches my butt

Oh hell no! How you do that to a pregnant girl is beyond disgusting

Does she now refer to her Tía as ¿Mami?

“My husband travels back every year.

The timeline is confusing as fuck. Someone please tell me who exactly it is that died of dengue fever. Also did Camino’s father marry his widow’s sister or..??

know I failed her.

Yahaira -lives in new york - quit chess - has a Mami - Dre? Camino - lives in DR - best friend is Carline - goes to international school - her Mami died of dengue fever - lives with Tía and la Vera - el Cerro creeps her out

The plane’s nose turns to the relevant character

¿Ja?

walk this world you must be kind but also fierce.

like the digital ads at the bus stops.

Of so that was a strange comparison I don't get it at all lmao.

Mami hates the concept of sleepovers, says our house has enough beds & what kind of sheets does someone else have that I cannot sleep in my own?

This is my mother's thinking to the tee.

muchacha del carajo,

That’s a new one

like a gallo who slept through the morning.

That was hilarious and witty

she might chase him down,

And I would fully support Tía on this one. That man doesn’t deserve to live the sun rise again lol

toasted cassava & butter.

Haitian people would have it with spicy peanut butter