What do we do with a poem embedded with history? Poetry is often considered to be intertwined with feeling- what Perez has given us with Hacha  most definitely is wrapped with feeling, but it is also undeniably rooted in history and fact, functioning in a way that demands the reader to learn and listen simultaneously. 

In the poem  from TA(LA)YA we are given the definition of the title on the third page of the poem- [throw net: talaya]. We are also informed that the size of the mesh of the net is different depending on the fish that are intended to be caught, due to this the net becomes a metaphor for eyes. The narrator of the poem is instructed to remember to change your eyes depending on the thing hunted,  I found this metaphor important for me to apply to my reading of Hacha. Perez utilizes all in this body of work- dictionary definitions and direct translations, facts, personal narratives to; constantly changing the net. This body of work is not for poets, not for scholars, historians, americans, or just colonizers, it is for all of us, we are all being hunted, netted and caught. At the end of this book we will know an have an understanding of what being [hacha : from unincorporated territory means and we will not be able to rid ourselves of our role in the history that creates today.

I also found it useful to look up the titles of the poems to create a starting point to launch my reading from. I didn't do this until I was almost done with the book, but throughout the entire thing I could not help but get a sense that titles were incredibly important, simple and complex, and very important. I finally looked up the words of the titles at the end cause I could not shake the feeling. I'm glad I did because even the definition of "from" (italicized) in every title, I got so much:

from:

[fruhm, from; unstressed fruh m]

preposition

(used to specify a starting point in spatial movement):(used to specify a starting point in an expression of limits):

(used to express removal or separation, as in space, time, or order):

two miles from shore; 30 minutes from now; from one page to the next.

(used to express discrimination or distinction):(used to indicate source or origin):

(used to indicate agent or instrumentality):death from starvation.

unincorporated:

[uhn-in-kawr-puh-rey-tid

adjective

not combined into a single body or unit; not made part of; not included:

aerial root:

[âr′ē-əl]

A root that develops from a location on a plant above the surface of the earth or water, as from a stem. For example,some orchids have aerial roots that grow from their stems and absorb water directly from the air.

tide·land

/ˈtīdˌland/

noun

NORTH AMERICAN

plural noun: tidelands

1. land that is submerged at high tide.

   
   

   I also felt to the titles that were untranslated or translated very late in the poems were incredibly successful because they had a way of disorienting me right from the beginning and suspended me in this feeling, making me hyper aware of Perez's words pacing.