Denice Frohman - Borders 

"They say 'Yo! Go back to your country!' as if their Irish ancestors never walked through Ellis Island." damn, that was powerful!!

It hit me like a ton of bricks when she said, "her mother cleans houses she'll never get to live in." cause that's my life story. Sometimes I get taken to work with her, even when I was younger, and I remember being so awed, still being awed by how nice and big these houses are and how these houses are what my dreams are made up of. No tengo miedo. New favorite poet? I think yes. She speaks the words I have not found the courage yet to speak. I'm proud from where I came from, I'm not afraid to hide it anymore. I'm Latina and proud. I'm undocumented and proud. I'm tired of being ashamed.

"her mother cleans houses she'll never get to live in so that anna maria can sit in a college classroom and say i am here" never before has a line left me speechless like that...

"When the teacher calls on her to read she tries to speak proper like proper has a sound" Me thinking: fuuuuuuu that was so me

"Tell them in the language you know best that you are not sacred!" So powerful!

There are some borders you can’t cross by foot But borders that can only be crossed by stubborn steps So when they ask you for your papers show them your skin Wear your tongue like a cape Drop your fist like a secret you can’t keep any longer They can’t keep you any longer afraid You can’t never afford to drive or dream So when they come for you tell them In the language you know best That you are not scared anymore.

Maybe Donald Trump should listen to this one.

i love denice so much. her poems are so amazing and powerful. i want to see her live. one of my favorite poems is "dear straight people".

I am in love with her voice and the persona she takes. I hope to meet her one day. :o

she said her accent still is a problem, she tries to fix it by leaving it in her locker

My idol. I watch her when I need to remember why I write poetry. When I need to remember that I am strong and I matter.

"Her mother cleans houses she'll never get too live in"

'And they don't know how they know, but they know how to treat difference when they see it' - Actually amazing

I think I'm in love.

Oh my god.................. this is the nicest comment section on youtube. I don't even know how to handle this

i could spend my day watching this girl

my girl crush....besides ruby rose.

I relate to this so much. My mother is a housekeeper and my father can only get a job as a dishwasher because of his accent. My parents weren't born here but I was. Yet I still get told, to go back to my country.

YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I FUCKING LOVE HERRR

Becky G brought me here, and as something my parents and my brothers went through, it's something that brought tears to my eyes. People can be so heartless and say such awful things about us, but they dont know what we have to go through. Thank you to the person who wrote this 👏

She makes me cry every time

her passion and voice reminds me of zach dela rocha of rage against the machine

*Trips over rock and falls in love* I'm surprisingly okay with this.

This is the reason Denice is my favorite ahhhh

I've listened to this over 20 times in the past day and I love it more each time.

This gave me goosebumps! As a daughter of immigrants I have found comfort in listening to and writing my own spoken word poetry to share our stories. I can relate so much to the part "She tries to speak proper like proper has a sound" because I remember growing up and being embarrassed of my accent and how when people told me that I sounded "so white" I would thank them. It's something that I carry with me to remind myself of how far I came from hating my roots to embracing them.

..."trys to speak proper like proper has a sounds".... Having to hide your accent hurts every day. but you let it out when your in your favorite class or around your favorite group of people. ..." TELL THEM IN THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU KNOW BEST THAT YOU ARE NOT SCARED ANYMORE...."

this has always been one of my favorite spoken words and I finally get a beautiful great quality version of it I'm crying

"But her guidance counselor says she can’t get financial aid or the instate tuition rate because of her status She says it like an apology Ana wonders if her family ever crossed the border, or if they are just stuck inside another one, aggravating it like a soul. Her guidance counselor stands in front of her, with a mouth full of fences." This is the part that gets to me. I teach classrooms full of undocumented students. I see their worth. I love their accents. I love their stories. I love... THEM. I fight for them EVERY.DAMN.DAY. but I still feel like I have to apologize as the time comes when their peers are applying to college and they know they can't afford to...

chills chills chills as a latina that lives near the border and knows ppl how are here illegally this fills me with pure fear. i could've been Anna Maria. my dad could've been a dishwasher and mother a house maid. i count my blessings and will help any fellow latino that needs help.

She's my favourite, she actually is. This is amazing.

@buttonpoetry can we also have the transcripts of their poems in the description or a link to a website?

It starts before she gets here before the stairs tell her she’s alien to a country that knows her great-grandfather’s Mexican hands all too well His fingerprints still echo underneath railroad tracks and cotton fields from Texas to California where bent knees and bent hands once picked, plucked, pushed, worked for more money than he was used to But less than he deserved. For Ana Maria, it begins before the border. She walks with her two uncles in a desert for one week, with nothing more than a few gallons of water and a prayer tucked into their pockets hoping both will last them long enough The Sun is an unforgiving god But any god is worth having right now The wind pushing at their backs, the grunt of gunshots from drug cartels and the desperation of a job to employ their stomachs Both have been uninvited guests at their doorstep So they step, step Ana Maria’s small hand clutches the bottom of her abuela’s dress Her mother waits for her on the other side, hoping that her face still sings of home like it used to. Another step, she is too young to know what border means she thinks people are just family members who haven’t met yet after her family arrives she will learn there are some borders you can’t cross by foot Ana Maria is now ten years old, she’s learned enough English to translate for her parents but says that her thick accent is still a problem she tries to fix by leaving in her locker when the teacher calls on her to read, she tries to speak “proper” like “proper” has a sound she pushes her tongue down so she doesn’t roll her r’s but she trips on the flatness of the syllables that bounce with too much salsa she tries to rattle out the kinks in her speech but her tongue is a stubborn dancer The two boys behind her don’t know how to do long division, but they know what a wetback is And that Ana Maria has braids, and that Ana Maria’s hair is thicker than their sisters And they don’t know how they know But they know how to treat difference when they smell it, so they say things like, “YO! Go back to your country.” As if their Irish ancestors never walked through Ellis Island Ana Maria is now 16 Her father works 18-hour days as a dishwasher Her mother cleans houses she’ll never get to live in so that Ana Maria can sit in a college classroom and say, “I am here.” But her guidance counselor says she can’t get financial aid or the instate tuition rate because of her status She says it like an apology Ana wonders if her family ever crossed the border, or if they are just stuck inside another one, aggravating it like a soul. Her guidance counselor stands in front of her, with a mouth full of fences. There are some borders you can’t cross by foot, but borders I tell her, that can only be crossed by stubborn backbones. So when they ask you for your papers, Ana, show them your skin, wear your tongue like a cape, throw up your fist like a secret you can’t keep any longer, they can’t keep you any longer Afraid, you can’t ever afford to drop a dream, so when they come for you, tell them, in the language that you know best That you are not scared anymore

Denice you are amazing!!! I'm Latin too and happy to hear you speak in Tongues. Well done, keep moving forward....

i relate soo much , my parents crossed illegally to come to this country risked their lives in a hot dessert with no food just water this was back in 96 the last time my father ever saw his parents their not dead just he cant go back cuase then he wont be able to re enter into the U.S cant imagine not seeing my parents for 20 years it kills me sometimes :(

Denice. You are absolutely beautiful. Keep your voice loud and proud. One day they'll hear it and they'll be blown away. Until then, keep firing at them. Their amour of ego and racism can't last forever. You're beautiful.

SAY IN THE LANGUAGE YOU KNOW BEST *YOU ARE NOT SCARED!!!* Never heard anything so necessary

“...the wind pushing at their backs” in the beginning references the old Irish blessing, “May the wind always be at your back,” which conveys the hope that you are aided/encouraged/successful in your pursuits. Later Frohman mentions the sons of Irish ancestors taunting Ana Maria and says that they too had ancestors who crossed through Ellis Island. I love the connection...fantastic emphasis on the hypocrisy of America, a nation of immigrants, treating (Mexican) immigrants as “aliens.” Are the motivations of Mexican immigrants any different from those of Irish ones? Do the Irish have any more right to the United States than Mexicans? Does the wind not “push at the backs” of Mexican immigrants the same way it did to Irish immigrants?

I need to watch this as a school assignment lol

"Says her thick accent is a problem she tries to "fix" by leaving in her locker" Me: I never really had an accent but I know that I always hated it I would never pronounce it the second amici way and i always tries to make it sound like "proper" but I was never really successful whenever my older brother would say my name I would get mad because I would try to get him to pronounce it the way I do instead of the way he does, which is "proper" English. The funny thing though is that I was the only one that was born in Mexico and yet I was the one that tried harder to assimilate. While the rest of my siblings wished they were born in Mexico I wished I was born here s

This made me tear up a bit because I can definitely relate to some of the things she said

This touched me in so many places I can't even say. I love that you made this poem for the kids who came here like that. Seriously though... Amazing!

Denice's poems Are always so good...they always hit home

I'm a simple man, I see Denice Frohman poem and click like instantly.

i'm sitting here in my room all alone snapping and tearing up and just going crazy, denice thank you, gracias gracias gracias muchisimoooooooo you speak for my people, you speak for humans, you speak with passion, and you speak with love burning in your heart for justice with a side of "spicyness" all hispanics hold. i've heard this so many times but it still gets at me ai dios mio

Can't.. stop.. watching her videos.

Electrifying. Everytime.

You are beautiful

Holy Shit! damnnn this is truly amazing!!!!

+Denice Frohman Keep doing what you do.

"Her tongue is a stubborn dancer "

hey. I dont know if you will even see this but I need advice. you see I'm an "amateur" poet. writing has saved my like so many times in so many way no dictionary in the language has words for it. people told me I need to let other's hear them. and that's what I want. my school I went told me I wasn't smart enough to be anything. I have been bullied went through depression. and just maybe if I share my words... someone will see them and know that they are not alone works are one of the most powerful weapon we have on this earth. they can lead to suicide. I know I tried. but just maybe I could save a life

So flawless. I'm in love. This is very well done.

so powerful, felt it in my heart 🥺

daaaaaaaammmmnnnn ok dude you're hella good wtf where you been this whole time get famous already do a ted talk plz

Black people and Latin people have the same struggles.

Wow, very well said... I'm out from Southern Cali... 😎😎😎

Denice and Sabrina Benaim are now my favorite Poets. Can I get a hell yeah?

I love your dimples, you have great skin! What do you use? Hmu

Fuck. Chills down my spine. This is it. Excellent.

ok. but she looks,dresses,and sounds like my cousin. like damn is it her? but that was a godamn good poem

All I want is for my parents to live the life they deserve for the hard work they have done.

becky g brought me here and im amazed about this im not that big fan of poetry but wooooow

3rd time in a row watching this the 1st time I was so immersed in the words I kinda blanked out and just listen to this beauty

absolutely speechless. she left me in tears what a wonderful poem & of course, poet.

gives me chills every time. i hope to be this good one day. you can see the passion in her eyes. simply beautiful

This gives me goosebumps every time I watch this!

I've fallen for this poet. Fast and hard.

I almost cried, I related to this so much oh my god

fuucckkk she is badass!! Love her!!

Damn that was deep!

Marry me. Pls

Wow. Speechless.

Austin, tx!! :D i love this poem!!

My teacher showed our class this, and I’m not even gonna lie, I almost cried,, i related to every single syllable she spoke😴🖤

this is an old video but it brought me to tears. denise frohman is exceptionally talented.

She is the best! Represent latinos!!

I learned where I came when I was 13 I'm 18 now I was in foster care I met my grandma she only speaks Spanish Ive never knew how to speak to her I look white my bio brother looks samoen I look white like irish white but I am Hispanic, native American and Samoan I'm learning my culture I love how they speak with pride and power

This was so powerful . Wow. You're amazing 😁😍👌

GIRLCRUSH holy shit

You give me goosebumps! So much passion

This is so beautiful. I love it. I relate with everything she says but this one especially. I'm crying

So in love with her

Wow!! This poem was good!!!

Woah ... what an incredible delivery. She speaks with such clarity.

Thank you Denice. This really means the world to me. Beautiful soul you have to be able to write words that touch peoples hearts.

I cry every time

I got goosebumps 0-0

i think i have a crush by now.. amazing energy and so authentic!!!

As a person who relates to this, I can say that this poet has reached within me and pulled out my very soul. Thank you.

Beautiful poem

i love this. i love her.

the way she says salsa. I replay it Everytime I fricking love it

Tell them, in the language you no best, you are not scared anymore!

gaahhhh. beautiful.

Spoken word never ceases to amaze me

She is so beautiful and the way she speaks is so captivating

This is amazing. Truly amazing breath taking even

Omg

Omg that was perfect I wanna hug you :")