The United States has often been called a melting pot. Whether or not this statement is an accurate representation of the citizen of the United States, it still carries the appropriate connotation. The United States is a mixture of many different peoples, cultures and traditions. For millions of people, this means that they identify with the culture of the country they come from, as well as the culture of the United States. This causes feelings of isolation and discomfort for people faced with these potentially conflicting cultural identities. In the poems “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora and “The Translator at the Reception of Latin American Writers” by Julio Marzán, this theme is explored in depth. Throughout both poems, the use of diction, irony, and form emphasize the poets' feelings of isolation, a direct result of conflicting cultural identities. In “Legal Alien” and “The Translator at the Reception for Latin American Writers,” diction plays a large part in understanding the meaning of the poem. In “Legal Alien,” Mora uses the prefix “bi” at the beginning of the poem, as well as at the very end, creating an effective parallelism. The first two times the prefix is ​​used, it is used in conjunction with the words "lingual" and "cultural", so that it reads: "Bilingual, B-cultural" (line 1). The fact that the author speaks two languages ​​and identifies with two cultures is important in setting up the rest of the poem. At the end of the poem, Mora uses “bi” when she says “bilaterally.” (line 22) With this, she connects the 'bi' used at the beginning of the poem and she summarizes the whole poem. She is judged on both sides of her culture, and she belongs to neither side. In her own words, she is... middle of paper... a writer” is intended to be more accessible than the erudite Shakespearean sonnet. The United States has often been called a melting pot of people, culture and tradition. However, it seems that the fire is not hot enough because the mixture is not homogeneous. Millions of people identify with cultures other than that of the typical American and have no interest in losing their culture when they come to the United States. Nonetheless, the process of integrating the beliefs of multiple cultures into one is a difficult process, leaving many people feeling isolated and uncomfortable. In the poems “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora and “The Translator at the Reception of Latin American Writers” by Julio Marzán, the use of diction, irony, and form emphasize the poets' sense of isolation , a direct result of conflicting cultural identities..