Maymuun's Mouth Poem Analysis

Nostalgia is conveyed through images of home such as family and vanity according to Warsan Shire’s poem, “ Maymuun’s Mouth.” Shire communicates a sense of homesickness when she speaks about Maymuun’s “front teeth stain from the fluoride in the water back home.” Shire emphasizes the stains on the teeth because it is the first thing people see, it is a way to differentiate immigrants from the native citizens. Physical appearance reminds her of her life back home. Additionally, memory is articulated through the way in which Maymuun tries to conceal her native beauty. It is divulged that “We’ve received the photos of her standing by a bridge, the baby hair she’d hated all her life slicked down like ravines.” The baby hair on her body reminds her
The tongue is the body part used to convey meaning, language, and allow others to hear her accent. Since she is new to the country, she is adopting a new, foreign language. She will be not having the same accent as the other classmates do. The people that will talk to you if you ask them whenever you say a word wrong if they can correct you. The friend that are like that is that they do care about how you talk. “Maymuun lost her accent with the help of her local Community College… She’s experiencing new things.” Her accent is symbolic of her identity as a Somalian citizen. However, through education, she has lost this part of her and gained a “new tongue.” She has a new language of what she is able on what to speak in the different language. Some of the people speak Spanish first and than English that is how she feels. Almost all of the people have different languages than just that one or many people speak more languages than one. Some people have better jobs than other because of the languages that they talk. Some people have different things that they don't understand of other people that talk to in another language that they don’t know. All of the people have different things to think about the language that they talk to them and then some people will be like “ they are talking about me so bad and they are saying mean things to
She calls this a long distance because the people have been crossing she feels bad for them and the people are more helpful than ever. Many people have helped others because some people have past thought that is the way they want to help more people than ever because they all have different things that they need help from. Almost everybody has different thinkings than some. She lives next door to a Dominican who speaks to her in Spanish whenever they pass each other in hallways. The person that lives next to her talks to her and she will be talking to them like if they know each other like a long time. When they all see each other they feel like if they are like in their house. They all talk to each other with no problem and when the people need help they will be helping each other. Although they still help each other they don’t have nothing to explain or to do that will make them feel bad. All of the people will be able to help the others that cross and they want to have a better future than others. Some of the people they don’t see it like that, they just want them to be all good and forget about them no matter what and make them suffer more than how they did. All of the people have different thinking because some do help others and some don’t because they feel stronger than others and they will be helping more people like not the same thing because they all have