When I first read the title of this poem, I was thinking of a romance. I thought this poem would be about a couple finding A Common Ground during their relationship. Quite a few thoughts went through my mind, and I pictured my parents, my sister and her husband, my brother and his wife, my newlywed sister, and my brother who has recently had his heart broken. I thought of how my parents have a common ground between them, but that they also must continually work towards one as well. I thought my of my married sister and also of my married brother who have been married for at least a year, and how both of their marriages have happiness, but that they work constantly towards their common ground. The thoughts of my newlywed sister, and how they are happy but they haven't found that common ground quite yet. Then, of my brother with his broken heart, and how he was searching so diligently just to find out a common ground could not be found.
             Then, I read the poem, and realized this poem had nothing to do with my thoughts of its title. The first few lines speak of growing older, and how your blood and bones tell the story of your life. It also speaks how as you get older your origins start to show more. I agree with this because I believe that as we get older we begin to appreciate our origins even more. It is when we realize our appreciation for our origins that they begin to show in us.
             Judith Ortiz Cofer goes on to describe the similarities between herself and her ancestry. I really related to this. As each day goes on, I see more similarities of my parents, and grandparents in myself. Those similarities are not always things I can see in the mirror, but they are also things that I hear myself say, or tones in my voice, or my reactions to situations. Judith Ortiz Cofer describes physical similarities, and I have those, but I see more similarities in my personality then in anything else.
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