The Poet X Quotes

“And I think about all the things we could be
if we were never told our bodies were not built for them.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“The world is almost peaceful when you stop trying to understand it.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“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.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Burn it! Burn it. This is where the poems are,” I say, thumping a fist against my chest. “Will you burn me? Will you burn me, too?”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Maybe, the only thing that has to make sense
about being somebody's friend
is that you help them be their best self
on any given day. That you give them a home
when they don't want to be in their own.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Just because your father's present, doesn't mean he isn't absent.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Late into the night I write and the pages of my notebook swell from all the words I’ve pressed onto them.
It almost feels like the more I bruise the page the quicker something inside me heals.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“I will never let anyone see my full heart and destroy it.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Their gazes and words
are heavy with all the things
they want you to be.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“My parents probably wanted a girl who would sit in the pews wearing pretty florals and a soft smile. They got combat boots and a mouth silent until it’s sharp as an island machete.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“My brother was born a soft whistle:
quiet, barely stirring the air, a gentle sound.
But I was born all the hurricane he needed
to lift - and drop- those that hurt him to the ground.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Pero, tú no eres fácil.”
You sure ain’t an easy one.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“After It happens when I’m at bodegas. It happens when I’m at school. It happens when I’m on the train. It happens when I’m standing on the platform. It happens when I’m sitting on the stoop. It happens when I’m turning the corner. It happens when I forget to be on guard. It happens all the time. I should be used to it. I shouldn’t get so angry when boys—and sometimes grown-ass men— talk to me however they want, think they can grab themselves or rub against me or make all kinds of offers. But I’m never used to it. And it always makes my hands shake. Always makes my throat tight. The only thing that calms me down after Twin and I get home is to put my headphones on. To listen to Drake. To grab my notebook, and write, and write, and write all the things I wish I could have said. Make poems from the sharp feelings inside, that feel like they could carve me wide open. It happens when I wear shorts. It happens when I wear jeans. It happens when I stare at the ground. It happens when I stare ahead. It happens when I’m walking. It happens when I’m sitting. It happens when I’m on my phone. It simply never stops.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“When has anyone ever told me
I had the right to stop it all
without my knuckles, or my anger,
with just some simple words.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“And isn't that what a poem is? A lantern glowing in the dark.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“She tells me words give people permission to be their fullest self and aren't these the poems I most needed to hear?”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“When your body takes up more room than your voice, you are always the target of well-aimed rumors.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“We're different, this poet and I. In looks, in body,
in background. But I don't feel so different
when I listen to her. I feel heard.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Sometimes it seems like writing is the only way I keep from hurting.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“It's about any of the words that bring us together and how we can form a home in them.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Your silence furnishes a dark house.
But even at the risk of burning,
the moth always seeks the light.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“One thing I know for sure is that reputations last longer than the time it takes to make them.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“The way the words say what I mean,
how they twist and turn language,
how they connect with people.
How they build community.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“I've forced my skin as thick as I am.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“I close my eyes and let myself find in music what I've always searched for: a way away.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“If I were on fire
who could I count on
to water me down?

If I were a pile of ashes
who could I count on
to gather me in a pretty urn?

If I were nothing but dust
would anyone chase the wind
trying to piece me back together?”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Maybe there are no words to say. I just want to be held.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“He is not elegant enough for a sonnett, too well-thought-out for a free write, taking too much space in my thoughts to ever be a haiku.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“She knew since she was little, the world would not sing her triumphs, but she took all of the stereotypes and put them in a chokehold until they breathed out the truth.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“That's when I feel like a fake.
Because I nod, and clap, and "Amen" and Aleluya,"
all the while feeling like this house his house
is no longer one I want to rent.”
― Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X