The Chicana poet, Patricia (Pat) Mora is known for her poetry dealing with the issues of being Mexican and female in the United States and her writing often reflects the struggle of of a woman as she tries to balance one against the other ("Pat Mora" 3). This paper will closely examine her poem, "Elena" from her book of poetry Chants and discuss the various images, symbols, allusions and poetic devices employed in the poem, beginning with title and going through the poem from there.
Mora titles the poem "Elena," which is the Greek form of Helen and means "light" (20000 Names http://www.20000-names.com/female_spanish_names.htm). As can be shown throughout the rest of the poem, Elena wants to be a light to her children, and yet lives in darkness because of her ignorance of the English language. As she points out, "My Spanish isn't enough" anymore (Mora line 1). In Mexico, when her children were younger, she understood "every word they'd say/their jokes, their songs, their plots" (lines 4-5). In line 6 she says, "Vamos a pedirle dulces a mama. Vamos" which translated using Babel Fish means "We are going to request to him sweet to breast we go" (Babel Fish Translation http://world.altavista.com/babelfish/tr). This more intimate line about breast feeding her children she cannot even say in English, it must be in Spanish, the language of her heart. Now, she is almost completely locked out and she is devastated. As she says, however, "that was in Mexico" (Mora line 7). Things are different now.
Contrasted with these warm, light filled images are her children, who "sit around the kitchen table" at night (Mora lines 8-9) and laugh and speak in English now. They go to American high schools and both the culture and language of this new country is leaving Elena in the dark in regards to the needs of her children as she watches her children grow up and away from her. This is a feeling common to all parents, but in Elena's case she ...