Pat Mora uses the role of cooking in her poetry to express the feeling of loneliness and as an outlet for a person to think. In Mora’s poem, “Elena” states, “I stand by the stove and feel dumb, alone” (Mora 1232). In this piece, Mora expresses that she feels disconnected from her family on the move to America. She is at the stove cooking for her family ashamed that cooking is the only thing she is good at in America, which explains why she feels unintelligent. Furthermore, in Mora’s poem “Mothers and Daughters” states, “When you were new, I’d nest you. In one arm, while I cooked/ whisper, what am I to do with you?”(Mora 1234). As shown in the quote, Mora would think about what she would do with her child later after dinner. She used cooking