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Hollister High School students in Frank Perez’s Mexican-American History class gained insight into the culture of ancient Central America on Feb. 6 with poet Manuel Rocha, author of “The Pain of a Warrior: Flower Poems Inspired by Prayer, the Ancestors, and Traditional Indigenous Flower Songs,” a verse cycle based on traditional poems which earned an Honorable Mention at the 2022 Latino Book Awards.
“I read a BenitoLink article on Rocha’s poetry,” Perez said. “His works are inspiring and full of possibilities. I thought it would be interesting to have him share his poetry with students and, with him collaborating, build a lesson around them.”
According to Rocha, who lives in Hollister, flower poems, or, more properly, “in xochitl, in cuicatl (Flower and Song),” are the most popular of the 20 main genres of the ancient writings of the Nahuatl-speaking people. Rocha said he spent many years with the late Noe Yaocoatl Montoya, studying the surviving codices and the work of the poet-king Nezahualcoyotl (1402–72) to learn the language and symbolism of the Aztecs.
“I feel what I am offering is a tribute to the memory of the ancestors,” Rocha said. That is the whole point: trying to embody and learn their style. But I was just trying to answer, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I belong?’ and find my purpose in life.”
Rocha discussed the history of the Aztecs and their literary works, performed a traditional song on indigenous instruments, and read several of the poems from both his award-winning first book and the just-released second volume, “The Death of a Warrior.”
After the class, student Eric Carrillo, 16, said he found the presentation interesting and described Rocha as very down-to-earth. “He’s trying to teach us about our roots,” he said, “and what we should do to figure out who we are. And that everyone is their own person, and not everyone has the same beliefs. Everyone should find their own way, they should do their own thing.”
Student Aiyana Palacios, 17, said she found the work approachable and that Rocha’s explanations were meaningful to her.
“I did not know much about the culture,” she said, “and this helped me get more in tune. He gave a really good example of being open, not scared, and not feeling like you don’t have the right to know your own culture.”
After the class, Rocha said he appreciated the interaction with the students.
“I think because they were of a mature age,” Rocha said, “I was able to speak to them bluntly, and they were able to receive it well. They had great questions—everyone seemed in tune and was paying attention.”
The class was given copies of Rocha’s book to keep and assigned a project based on Rocha’s work. They were asked to create “found poems,” selecting 10 words or phrases each from five of the poems. They were then to rearrange their selections into a poem of at least 30 words based on a theme from his works.
“The poems don’t have to rhyme,” Perez said, “and the kids don’t have to come up with their own words. It’s just a matter of choosing those words that resonate with them, then formatting them in a way that they feel expresses both their theme and the message.”
Perez recently finished grading the assignments and gave BenitoLink permission to publish the work of two of his students, including their poems and the concepts behind them.
K. Lara chose “growth” as a theme, saying the words she picked related to “self-growth and the importance of focusing on your well-being and never taking family for granted.”
Family abandonment true pain
loss of hope
getting used to healing
Flower death thoughts
cherish self-love
crying happiness
beautiful
Understanding Forgiveness
Loving growth
don’t be stupid
Adventure hard times
repair tradition
don’t take things or people for granted
L. Morris chose nature as a theme, saying the found poem project taught “how important honoring elders and ancestors is in indigenous culture and how nature is truly seen as a nurturing being that must be honored and respected even more so than your ancestors.”
Mother nature will nourish you
Be happy in the company of our mother
Go make an offering to the universe
Alone with the ancestors and dreaming
Celestial energy filled me full of stars
I go singing new songs, like the modest sparrow
Who hears me?
Flower poems, singing of beautiful plants and animals
Ancestors are alive, living inside of me, healing people
The beautiful ones always singing
Traveling the path, be happy with it
Flower, sprout, bud, then blossom
Give your heart, follow the path with difficulty
Arrive like jade
Arrive like a beautiful quetzal feather
Distressed flower crumble like rotted wood
Plant yourself and grow here with me, comfortable in the rays of sun
Disguised at night, I shall arrive home
Both students chose Rocha’s poem “Distressed Flower” as one of the five they would use as a source of inspiration.
Distressed flower,
A long time ago your emptiness,
And departure abandoned a child.
I will grow into a good person, strong.
Serpent Skirt has filled me full of stars,
Blinking and shining with celestial energy.
The ancestors are alive, living inside of me.
Distressed flower,
You are also in here with them, just look for the scar.
I must shake my modesty and plant myself into Mother Earth.
Like the cacao flower, healing people with smiles and laughter.
I have a lot of uncultivated land here; plant yourself and grow here with me.
Therefore people, be warm and be happy.
Please enjoy.
Rocha’s collection, “The Pain of a Warrior,” and his just-released “The Death of a Warrior,’ are published by Two Captive Warrior Press and available on Amazon.
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