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DIZZY IN YOUR EYES




BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Pat. 2010. DIZZY IN YOUR EYES; POEMS ABOUT LOVE. New York: Knopf. ISBN 9780375843754.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

DIZZY IN YOUR EYES is a collection of 50 poems written by Pat Mora. The narrative voices of the poems are youthful, although there are different perspectives offered throughout the collection. The theme is, naturally, love. In her author’s note, Mora categorizes the collections as a symphony with four movements, each representing a piece of love’s cycle. The first poems explore young love with all its giddiness and joy. Then, the poems transition to the challenges and heartache of enduring love. As a balm, the third movement offers healing; and then, in true cyclical form, Mora guides the reader to fall in love again. Cycle complete. 

Sprinkled throughout the collection are references to poetic forms. Found on the bottom, lefthand side of the page, Mora provides the name of specific poetic forms followed by explanations. They are in gray typeset, which evoke a gentle feeling. Then, the poem on the righthand side is an example of the stated form. By doing this in such a nonthreatening manner, Mora introduces the reader to not only poetry, but structure. It’s a sneaky way to enrich the understanding of the novice poetic reader. Forms include the well known, like the sonnet and haiku, to the more obscure, like the triolet and sestina.

There is also a multicultural element evident throughout the collection, as Mora’s first language is Spanish. My favorite is the poem Conversation/Conversation. It’s a back and forth exchange between a young gringo and a beautiful latina, neither of whom speak the other’s language well. It is playful and engaging, leaving the reader with a smile.

Conversation/Conversation
New here?
Why so sad?
Sad? No hablo inglés.

Oh, buy muy bonita.
Ah, tú hablas español.

No. Muy poquito. I’m taking Spanish.
You think I sound funny, ¿sí?
No hablo inglés.
Nada.

The banter continues until the young man elicits a smile from the senorita and they agree to teach one another their language. It speaks to the global experience most youth encounter in our world today. Teens will connect with this piece and enjoy the notion of young love across a language barrier. 

Teens will enjoy reading this collection, which captures the spirit of love in a comfortable, fluid manner, although Mora does not shy away from exploring heartache. The imagery is strong, as in the poem Our Private Rhyme, which explores grief and loss, as the following verse suggests:

I try to smile, pretend and mime
I’m fine, survived disaster
but know I’m only half our rhyme

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND LESSON

This lesson is designed for middle grade and above.

On page 123, read the poem LOVE HAIKU. Here are the first two stanzaas:

I
Everything’s in love,
Bird’s butterflies, and now me,
dizzy in your eyes.

II
Love blooms in hot nights,
Under stars, hand-in-hand strolls,
Kisses like star sparks.

Students, writing alone or in pairs, can create a love haiku of their own. They will follow the Japanese line pattern of 5 sounds, 7 sounds, 5 sounds. Many teachers explain the sounds as a syllabic structure, which most students will easily recognize.


Once complete, students can share the poems aloud, or even Tweet them out from a classroom Twitter account. Often, haikus written tightly can be sent as Tweets, which has high student appeal and is likely to increase engagement.

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