Bronx Masquerade

Janelle begins the chapter by sharing that a kid she tutors, JoJo, asked her to marry him. He’s eight years old, and though she’s flattered, she jokes that he has to make it to fourth grade first. She is surprised and happy to know that someone thinks she’s pretty, though she’s getting more attention from classmates now, too. At the last Open Mike Friday, she was initially concerned about her weight but instead noticed how everyone was paying attention to her, listening intently or nodding in agreement with her words. It was as if they forgot about her physical appearance, and as a result, she did too.

In “The Door,” Janelle likens herself to an open door to a room where fear, insecurity, shame, and “emotional dislocation” hang on the walls. The open door symbolizes her openness and willingness to admit she has fears and insecurities and that she hasn’t figured it all out. She uses an onion as a simile for the layers of her heart. She ends the poem by asking everyone if they are willing to peel their hearts open, too.