"Can I call you Cindy?"
I like Cyndi
Like how Cyndi Lauper spells it
The "i" at the end makes it so rebellious and '80s
It starts to spell Cynthia but then gives it a plot twist
But I'm not rebellious and I don't really understand why Cynthia's are called Cindy and Richards are called Dick
In Guatemala my full name is Cynthia Alejandra Munrayos Ochoa
But everyone calls me Ale
Not like the beer "ale"
But pronounced like Ole without the accent
With the extra "ehh"
I'm only actually called Alejandra when my mom is angry with me
Yet Cynthia's ignored because it's not as common as Alejandra
Ale is my nickname in Spanish because it's meant to be said in a Spanish accent
Alejandra was my grandfather's idea
He called me Alejandrita
But now he's dead, and I'm no longer small
But you don't call me Cindy
Anything but Cindy
Cindy just reminds me of how Jimmy Neutron hated Cindy Vortex because she was a stuck up student who thought she knew everything
But he secretly loved her
Because Cindy comes from Cynthia
And Cynthia is the goddess of the moon
Here I am Cynthia Alejandra Munrayos
Or Cynthia A. Munrayos
On worksheets, tests, quizzes, and attendance sheets I'm Cynthia Munrayos
Can I call you Cindy?
No, you can call me Cynthia
Because Cynthia is simple
It does not pertain to a certain language
Cynthia is not complicated or selfish
Cynthia can be said in any dialect or accent
Cynthia can just be Cynthia
No explanation
Editorial commentary:
As my introductory piece, I chose to use my free verse poem called "Can I call you Cindy?" Unlike the other poems, this poem was written without line integrity. Good poetry relies on line integrity, but after intensifying line integrity into the poem, it seemed more fitting to keep it continuous and without any organized stanzas. Because this is a free verse poem, I thought it was appropriate to start off with something more authentic and innovative. The title "Can I call you Cindy?" came from an abundance of teachers who would always ask me if I would like to be called Cindy rather than Cynthia. I never understood why they wanted to call me by another name, and as the reader gets further into the poem, it starts to become clearer to the writer and the reader why people hold different labels.
The highlighted section in the beginning was initially in the middle of the poem, but because it was written so freely, the poem could be approached from different perspectives. So, instead of opening the poem from a personal outlook, I decided to move up the highlighted section to the beginning, in order to even out the emotions throughout the poem.
