How does the speaker of this poem the “who Burns for the Perfection of Paper” by Martin Espada about yellow legal pads?

To me, this poem symbolizes how a harsh past can haunt you even when you have moved on. The speaker has been hurt by paper cuts to make paper for a job that she used to have as a teenager. Now that they have grown older, they are able to pursue their true desires in law school. However, every time they use a legal pad, they are reminded of the pain behind making the paper. This shows that everyone has their own perspectives and outlooks on life, based on their different backgrounds and the suffering they have endured. The speaker’s hands still burn at the thought of her past, which contributes to the idea that your past makes you who you are, but it doesn’t disable this person from achieving their goals. The pain of paper manufacturing is just a memory now as she is in a university so that she will never have to feel that pain again.

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