A refugee enduring the trip from their homeland to America in an attempt for a better and brighter future takes courage and patience. It is a direct reflection of what is going on today with Syria and other countries wanting to escape the harsh realities of war and other issues. Lorna Dee Cervantes captures the moments of the being a refugee in her poem “Refugee Ship”. The speaker tells of an experience which can be seen as being an autobiographical anecdote. She wants to continue to be American, but she also wants to experience some of her Mexican traditions and cultures that she was not privy to as a child. Cervantes uses this poem as a means to avoid the estrangement and distress that she feels because of her upbringing, for the reader to
