Edwin Torres is a Puerto Rican poet whose works are a part of the influential “Nuyorican Movement”, which is comprised of Puerto Rican or those with Puerto Rican roots who reside in or around New York City. He works have been associated with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The cafe has been in association with various art forms including poetry, music, visual arts, comedy, theatre, etc. The cafe has served as a safe haven and retreat for those of Puerto Rican origin and background, when the arts community wasn’t entirely accepting of those, especially during the great Latinx influx into the New York metropolitan area during the post-war period.
The poem lacks a clear sense of structure, without any rhyme scheme nor proper punctuation. The only capitalization is when the speaker refers to themselves (“I”).
The first stanza begins “that’s it”. The focus shifts to set the scene, as the speaker describes the atmosphere of the cafe – filled with noise and a colossal number of people there. Subsequent to the ambiance setting, the speaker seems to resume the initial thought of the first line, stating that “we met”. The we that the speaker is referring to is unclear.
In the following stanza, there is a bit of ambiguity that occurs. My interpretation of the speaker’s words is in relation to the Nuyorican movement. The poetic speaker recognizes, almost, astonished, that they finally see what they have become a part of, but from an outside perspective. Continuing into the next stanza, this is further exemplified by the reference of skin.
“that in our skin
in the decade of our skin
is what began
before we knew”
third stanza via poets.org
These are, at large, the most significant and prominent lines in the poem. The speaker describes their skin as being almost all-knowing and a map for their lifetime. The skin of the speaker refers more symbolically to their heritage, their family, and the roots of their origin. Within “the decade of [their] skin” points to the beginning of cultivating their identity with their heritage in mind, and strengthening their sense of self through environments, people, and art forms that allow them to discover their ethnic identity and individual identity through artistic engagement. This of course, for the speaker, is poetry – an individual art form that is personal and can be produced in solitude. However, the environment in which the encouragement, growth, and discovery, is the cafe.
The final stanza refers to the time before self-exploration entailed. This time before is nothing in comparison to the enrichment that the speaker gains now, by utilizing their art form as a way to learn, express, and find fulfillment within themself. The final line seems inapposite; “waiting to start again”. However, this refers to the speakers building from the ground up, by consistently creating new art and making unearthing parts of themselves that they were not yet familiar with.
For many minorities, racial or otherwise, there is discrimination in the art field. The creation of the Nuyorican cafe has served as a refuge for those who have been subject to incessantly feel like outsiders, to a primarily Caucasian, male ( I feel as though I am a broken record with the description of a demographic), New York art scene. Without the oppurtunity to find such safe spaces, the art scene would not have flourished from new, exciting perspectives, mediums, etc.