I poems, require a deeper listening for the researcher to hear how the person speaks about themselves.[1] During the construction of an I poem, the researcher underlines every statement in the transcript that begins with an “I” and the corresponding verb or phrase accompanying it. By placing these statements in sequence, the poem emerges.[2] Just as Gilligan et al. suggest, what emerged was “something not stated directly but central to the meaning of what is being said.”[3] Here is what was revealed from the “I statements” collected from the interviews and journals of the co-researchers from my research:
I’ve often stood back.
I don’t want to do that anymore.
I am reminded
I am an ordinary woman
I am called to wrestle
I am called to be called
I am called to give birth
I believe
I want to be a strong, accepting and loving woman.
I believe there is a place for all of us.
I was invited to imagine
I could see
I felt
I’m not sure
I haven’t known Mary until now.
I am giving birth to serve others.
I was rising out of the ashes
I have excitement for growth
I realized
I find this “super virtue”
I thought of my own mother
I understand Mary
I can’t fathom
I began inviting
I didn’t think
I invited her
I began to see
I invited her
I offered her comfort
I realized
I began to free Mary
I realized
I asked myself
I embrace Mary
I am honored
I must decide
I believe we are all complex levels of being
I believe in God
I must conclude
I most closely relate
I tried
I was inspired by her
I struggle to be faithful
I resonate
I feel
I see
I think
I also call
I’m living
I see Guadalupe everywhere
I think
I feel compelled to stand with her
I am her child
I want to share
I resonated with Mary
I have trouble attaching
I feel like
I resonated with Mary
I keep coming back
I think she touched people
I call
I didn’t resonate with Mary
I’m shifting
I’m the matron
I want people to experience God with joy
I see all the needs in our world
I’m in a different place in my life
I feel
I need to create
I want to embody wholeness
I think
I failed to recognize
I’m so alone
I go to sleep alone
I wake up alone
I don’t even know how
I am cut of your cloth
I demand an answer
I’m to swallow those words
I missed you
I sit in a pool
I can’t imagine you sitting
I guess we just get up
I moved to her side
I didn’t want it to be Mother Teresa
I wanted
I wanted
I feel
I remember
I knew
I wanted it to be hopeful
I’m strange
I love
I think
I feel
I like this
I just wanted it to evolve
I have a lot
I had this idea
I had imagined
I was just entranced
I found myself
I’ve never imagined before
I always thought
I had no connection
I titled this ‘Mary of the 21st century”
I knew
I wanted her
I knew this was her
I had an image in mind
I was going to have a mirror
I looked at her
I painted over
I painted over
I went back
I’ve always liked her face
I started pulling
I started wondering
I was thinking of my dad
I was thinking of creation and Mary
I am
I noticed
I learned
I realized
I’m doing
I’m loving
I put her here
I had imagined
I started
I painted her metallic
I wanted
I started looking
I heard
I thought it was interesting
I don’t have to know everything
I identified with her
I was stuck
I’ve had an awakening
I’m wondering
I’ve thought “where are the women?”
I can relate
I was thrilled
I could relate
[1] Carol Gilligan et al., 259.
[2] Carol Gilligan et al., 259–60.
[3] Carol Gilligan et al., 260.
I’ve often stood back.
I don’t want to do that anymore.
I am reminded
I am an ordinary woman
I am called to wrestle
I am called to be called
I am called to give birth
I believe
I want to be a strong, accepting and loving woman.
I believe there is a place for all of us.
I was invited to imagine
I could see
I felt
I’m not sure
I haven’t known Mary until now.
I am giving birth to serve others.
I was rising out of the ashes
I have excitement for growth
I realized
I find this “super virtue”
I thought of my own mother
I understand Mary
I can’t fathom
I began inviting
I didn’t think
I invited her
I began to see
I invited her
I offered her comfort
I realized
I began to free Mary
I realized
I asked myself
I embrace Mary
I am honored
I must decide
I believe we are all complex levels of being
I believe in God
I must conclude
I most closely relate
I tried
I was inspired by her
I struggle to be faithful
I resonate
I feel
I see
I think
I also call
I’m living
I see Guadalupe everywhere
I think
I feel compelled to stand with her
I am her child
I want to share
I resonated with Mary
I have trouble attaching
I feel like
I resonated with Mary
I keep coming back
I think she touched people
I call
I didn’t resonate with Mary
I’m shifting
I’m the matron
I want people to experience God with joy
I see all the needs in our world
I’m in a different place in my life
I feel
I need to create
I want to embody wholeness
I think
I failed to recognize
I’m so alone
I go to sleep alone
I wake up alone
I don’t even know how
I am cut of your cloth
I demand an answer
I’m to swallow those words
I missed you
I sit in a pool
I can’t imagine you sitting
I guess we just get up
I moved to her side
I didn’t want it to be Mother Teresa
I wanted
I wanted
I feel
I remember
I knew
I wanted it to be hopeful
I’m strange
I love
I think
I feel
I like this
I just wanted it to evolve
I have a lot
I had this idea
I had imagined
I was just entranced
I found myself
I’ve never imagined before
I always thought
I had no connection
I titled this ‘Mary of the 21st century”
I knew
I wanted her
I knew this was her
I had an image in mind
I was going to have a mirror
I looked at her
I painted over
I painted over
I went back
I’ve always liked her face
I started pulling
I started wondering
I was thinking of my dad
I was thinking of creation and Mary
I am
I noticed
I learned
I realized
I’m doing
I’m loving
I put her here
I had imagined
I started
I painted her metallic
I wanted
I started looking
I heard
I thought it was interesting
I don’t have to know everything
I identified with her
I was stuck
I’ve had an awakening
I’m wondering
I’ve thought “where are the women?”
I can relate
I was thrilled
I could relate
[1] Carol Gilligan et al., 259.
[2] Carol Gilligan et al., 259–60.
[3] Carol Gilligan et al., 260.