Poetry is one of the most unique and intense methods of literary expression. A poem is not simply a pile of meaningless lines and stanzas, it is an emotional tornado of words, symbols, metaphors, all intended to convey a point. The poet Emanuel Xavier reveals in his poems the most provocative intimacies of his past life. He is an artist who uses writing as a means to reveal who he is, both to the world and to himself. Emmanuel Xavier was born on May 3, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York, to an Ecuadorian mother and a Puerto Rican father. His early life was unstable; his father left before he was born and at the young age of three an older cousin sexually abused him. As if he wasn't already struggling enough, Xavier was kicked out of home at age 16 after telling his mother he was gay. Although his mother later regretted her decision and tried to convince him to return, Emanuel Xavier took this as an opportunity to face his sexuality alone in the world. With no other options, a homeless gay teenager on the city's unforgiving streets turned to sex and drugs to make money. He dealt drugs in Manhattan clubs until 1996, when one of his drug-dealing friends was murdered. After hearing this news, he was forced to think twice about the life he was living. At the same time, many of his friends were testing positive for HIV, and the fear of contracting such a deadly disease was enough to force Xavier to pursue more meaningful ambitions. Emanuel Xavier had, in the past, attended open mic nights at the Nuyorican Café, a poetry and visual arts café on New York's Lower East Side, but at the turning point of his life, he began frequenting more and more. This, along with his growing commitment to his work at A Different... middle of paper... says "because I'm too complex to be anything close to simple", meaning he can't call himself paper ; and he cannot be summed up, because he is an intricate human being. This, compared to his previous collection, serves to illustrate how he has developed both as a poet and as a human being. In addition to reflecting on his life, he is becoming an activist and writing to improve society with his words. In the background of the poem hovers his disturbing past, however, now reference is made to a future, which he wishes to influence and improve with poetry. He ends the piece, and the entire collection, with “I'm not done fighting yet / I'm not done reading yet / I'm not done writing yet / the future is in our words.” Works Cited Alfred, Chip. "Emanuel Xavier talks AIDS, love, sex and his latest book of poems." A&U Magazine Day August 2010: 1. Print.