Blog 8

     Out of all of the poems that we read this week, "Why I Left the Church" by Richard Garcia, was by far my favorite one. It was easy to read, understand, and relate to. It can be interpreted many different ways. I first interrupted it as a little boy that wanted to be an astronaut (which the church obviously frowns upon). The nuns tells him to leave and he imagines himself going into space. When I read it a second time I interpreted it as at first a very literal poem. This boy who accidentally smashes the neon cross is just being a "free thinker". When he shows up to class with the helmet ( which I believe is still part of the literal story) the nun tells him to leave. This is where the story takes a twist. It goes from a very literal story to the boys imagination. He "[R]ose into the sky and above" right into space when the nun tells him to leave. He is very descriptive about the Nun and other students, almost mocking religion, when he says "the children screamed and Sister kept crossing herself"the tone in which he uses (to me) seems as if he is saying that the Church can not even consider anything that isn't strictly stated in writing. Now granted this is still in the boys imagination. Towards the end of the poem the author suggests that maybe this boy will in fact return to the Church, but he will have to make something up when he comes back, but if he does he will have to make something up to tell the other children because they can not know how good it felt to leave the church.