Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings

“The Last Chance Train” through “Fluttering” are about the family’s trip and arrival in Cuba. In “Last Chance Train,” they take the train through New Orleans, passing swamps and other unfamiliar landscapes, carrying their caterpillars and other insects in suitcases. “Flowing” describes their first encounter with racial segregation as they encounter separate water fountains for Black people and white people at the station. Confused, the author drinks from both fountains. “Midair” describes travelling by plain to Cuba. She notes the emptiness of the plain and describes looking down on the water and the landscape below, mentioning mermaids, sea stallions, and sharks. She wonders if the spirit of the air will protect her from the dangerous waters below. In “Flattering,” the narrator, Mad, and Mami arrive at the airport in Cuba and release their insects, now butterflies. She worries if they will survive migration and ponders about wings.

These poems narrate the author’s observations of how Cuba has changed in her absence. “Wonderstruck” records what the author sees upon arrival in Cuba. It describes the familiar Cuban environment and the unfamiliar effects of war the author sees around her. “Revolutionary” describes how Cuba has changed because of the Revolution. She sees soldiers and guns everywhere. The music is now comprised of marching songs, and the talk is about war. The narrator briefly considers this means nothing to Mad, Mami, or herself until she sees Abuelita and her great-grandmother amongst the people that talk about the war.

“Feeling Almost at Home” through “Two Minds” consider the role America might have played in the war and the impact of this upon her Cuban family. She considers whether her Cuban family has fought against each other on different sides of the Revolution. In “Feeling Almost at Home,” Engle runs back and forth between her Abuelita’s small house and her great-grandmother’s larger house across the street. She kisses and hugs familiar cousins, aunts, and uncles, noting how they have aged, and considers that she almost belongs. In “Los Barbudos/The Bearded Ones,” she encounters soldiers as she explores the beloved island and listens as they sing songs about fighting North Americans. She questions her feelings of belonging. In “Tarantulas and Scorpions,” she wonders if some of her family died while fighting Americans as she searches for tarantulas and scorpions. She second guesses her place in Cuba and amongst her Cuban family. In “Secrets,” the narrator collects bullets from her great-grandmother’s garden and wonders if they will explode. She compares the bullets to secrets that protect her from adults. Finally, in “Two Minds,” the narrator hides the two bullets in her pocket as she moves between the two houses, and she observes the impact of the war on children who are too thin and too quiet. She concludes by questioning whether she is more North American or more Cuban.

Poems 13-16 look at the influence of the people around Engle and the stories they tell. “My Great-Grandmother’s Garden” is about the garden outside her great-grandmother’s house, which she compares to the family her great-grandmother has built. “My Great-Grandmother’s Hair” describes the old woman as she lets her hair down and seems younger and more beautiful. In “Storytellers,” the author describes the different stories that she hears beginning with her great-grandmother’s tales, followed by the stories of Abuelita, and concluding with the adult cousins that are now bearded men in uniforms. These poems conclude with “More and More Stories,” which describes her disbelief that she can enjoy a summer without books and libraries. Instead she listens to stories and reflects on whether she will someday tell stories of her own.

“El Bohío/The Hut” through “Fiestas/Parties” describe the experiences and adventures the narrator goes on before they return to the farm where her Mami grew up in Trinidad. The adventures describe the everyday aspects of island life. “El Bohío/The Hut” describes the simple lifestyle of the islanders including the few handmade items she sees while visiting a hut where someone lives. Engle notes the lack of running water and electricity, and despite the simple lifestyle the narrator enjoys the differences from American life, especially when she sees a horse just outside. “Wings” describes her mother asking the man if the author and Mad may ride the horse, and the ensuing horseback rides. Mad rides first. The author rides next and compares the galloping to flying. “Singers and Dancers” describes buying ice cream from a singing vendor after the ride. The narrator watches as a Cuban cousin performs a sultry dance through the streets to the song and wonders if she would be brave like the girl if she had grown up in Cuba. “Fiestas/Parties” describes a party where Engle quietly watches her great-grandmother and family interact together, lively and loud.

Poems 21-23 recount the first problems the family encounters while travelling. In “Doubts,” Mami has a problem with her passport that may keep them from returning to the US in time to meet their father at the airport when he returns from Europe. “La Guaga/The Bus” describes their trip by bus to the government offices in downtown La Habana.

In “Explorations,” the sisters take a moment while their Mami is distracted by her troubles to explore the island with their Tío Pepe. As they drive, the author reflects that the sights of poverty seem beautiful to a city girl.

In Poems 24-27, the author arrives in Trinidad, where her parents met, and where her earliest memories of Cuba originate. There, she enjoys a period of quiet happiness. She compares the farm to Oz and expects to become who she is meant to be in “Traveling to My Mother’s Hometown.” In “Quiet Times,” she reflects that everything is just as it was before the war before she is scolded for taking off her shoes, which are a luxury in Cuba. Mami explains there are worms that can burrow through the foot all the way into the heart and kill a person. The author considers how such a beautiful place can be so dangerous. In “Tropical Windows,” Engle explains there is no glass in Cuban homes, which use wrought iron bars to allow the breeze to blow through the homes. She enjoys the sea breeze and the sugar her Tío Darío brings her in the evenings while she pretends everything is calm. In the final poem, “La Siesta/The Nap,” the author and Mad sneak away to explore during the siesta hour when children are expected to nap and the adults nap in rocking chairs.

Poems 28-30 are about cultural differences between America and Cuba and the city and the country. In “Lost in Translation,” an old woman compliments the author by calling her fat, causing the author to cry. In “Escape,” the author considers their arrival at the farm an escape from the insecurity and division she feels. “Escape” begins with reflections about the feelings of division and being caught between cultures before transitioning into a description of the farm where her mother grew up. It concludes with a description of the joy she feels using imagery of an invisible twin that will remain in Cuba forever. “Guajiros/Farmers” describes the farm before describing dinner on the farm, when they slaughter a piglet. The author reflects that she is not a real farm girl after all.

In “Separation,” Mami goes to visit relatives, the beach, and a cave, leaving the girls behind on the farm. “El Rodeo/The Roundup” through “The Milking Hour” describe life on the farm. In “Ritmo/Rhythm,” the author describes some of their adventures with cousins, while “Never Ending” reveals that counterrevolutionaries live in the jungle and mountains nearby. She speculates the battles and violence will go on forever. “My Grandmother’s Mare” asks about a pregnant mare on the farm. Her uncle promises her the colt or filly when they visit the next year. “Breath” describes Engle riding with her cousins bareback in preparation for training her own horse the next year.

The final Poem is “Hasta Pronto/Until Soon.” It describes the changes Engle has experienced over the course of the vacation and the anticipation she feels for returning the next year.