Poetry resposnses

“We Real Cool”

Gwendolyn Brooks

In “We Real Cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks utilizes a series of internal rhymes in her fairly short and simple poem. The rhyming structure consists of: AA BB CC DD, however, she decides to end each line with “We” rather than the rhymes’ end words. This breaks up the flow of the poem and places more emphasis on each “We” as the line break causes a run-on pause. Instead of “We real cool./ We left school./” the writer fragments the natural flow of each phrase by writing the lines as “We real cool. We/ Left school.” I assume by setting up the poem’s structure in this way, the writer intended to isolate each “We,” allowing the pronoun to resonate a little longer in the reader’s mind or speech.

When read aloud, the poem’s three word lines and rhyming patterns make the piece sound almost like a chant. The creed-like nature of the poem reflects on the subject, which is presumably a gang or group of young men. With that said, the subject is viewed as exclusive and united. The varied stanza structure that increases the emphasis allocated to each “We” creates an even stronger sense of unity between the group members. Inferring on the motives of the writing, it seems as if she wants to shed her subject in a cultish light.

As the poem progresses the consistent line structure builds up a repetitive flow. The pattern is abruptly abandoned on the last line …We/ Die soon.” This ending leaves the last line bare as the rolling chant comes to a halt. Similar to how the pauses after each “We” created a resonating pause, the same can be said of the poem’s end. The writer leaves the reader with a harsh and startling attribute of the subject, which allows the sad line to echo in the reader’s mind. When read aloud, the last line sounds as if it is a premature ending to the poem, which mimics the premature ending to the lives of the young men in the gang.

When reading through an anthology of poems, it sometimes is hard to distinguish one from another. Brooks’s unconventional structure and rhyming sequence, however, allowed this poem to stick out in my mind while I reading the assigned pages for class.

“Home Burial” Robert Frost

The Narrative of “Home Burial” by Robert Frost separates the poem from many of the others in the anthology. Frost’s poem spans almost five pages, describing the struggles of a couple in dealing with the death of their young child. Aside from the line breaks and stanzas, the piece reads as if it is prose, which appeals to me, as it seems to mesh short fiction and poetry. For example, the narrative is basically a dialogue. This adds dimension to the poem as there are two speakers, both representatives of their own emotions and behaviors. This aspect of the poem is unique compared to the others in the anthology as it challenges the reader to analyze both characters, rather than just one narrator.

The tone of the narrative is also unique. I found the piece to be a gut-wrenching read. Frost is so effective in how he conveys the character’s vulnerable emotions that it seemed to seep off the page and fill the atmosphere around me as I read. As the two characters communicate their grievances to one another, it is hard not to become immersed in their suffering. “You can't because you don't know how to speak./
If you had any feelings, you that dug/
With your own hand—how could you?—his little grave.” The tone is raw and tedious. Frost draws out the character’s emotions at the expense of the reader’s comfort. For these reasons, I found the poem to have a more profound impact on me than the other poems in the anthology. Writing this response during our fiction unit, I almost think of this as a short fiction piece because the narrative resembles that of short fiction.

It seems to depict the communicational problems that we encounter, even in the closest of our relationships. “‘There’s something I should like to ask you, dear’/’you don’t know how to ask it.’ Help me, then’ her fingers moved the latch for all reply./ My words are nearly always an offense…’” When reading this poem, I empathized much with the characters. They obviously have suffered greatly with the death of their child, but are not able to comfort each other’s suffering. The fact that the poem’s narrative resembled a short story increased my empathy because my relationship with the characters was stronger than most poetry.

“Palm Tree King”

John Agard

“Palm Tree King” is written in the Creole dialect of Guyana and the tone is condescending. There seems to be an unfavorable attitude of the narrator towards outsiders or tourists. He talks of assuming a stereotypical role of being an expert on palm trees as a native of Guyana in order to satisfy the wishes of the tourist industry. “Because I come from the West Indies/ certain people in England seem to think/ I is a expert on palm trees.” Agard’s narrator seems to be playing tricks on the tourists, which reflects on the relationship between the natives and their former British colonists. At one point, Agard refers to the tourists as “culture vultures,” which enhances the mocking attitude of the “Palm Tree King”. Compared to the other poems in the Seagull Reader, the voice of the narrator is unique and plays a larger role in the poem’s narrative. The narrative is strongly subjective to the narrator’s point-of-view, which differs from other poems, where the voice is not as prominent. “But before you say anything/ let I palm tree king/ give you dis warning/ Ah want de answer in metric/ it kind of rhyme with tropic/ besides it sound more exotic.” The direction of the narrative seems to be up to the discretion of the narrator’s rambling thoughts, which I enjoyed as a change in pace in comparison to the poems whose voice was more objective.

As for my own poetry, after reading Agard’s piece, I want to try and write from an interesting cultural or social perspective in order to shape the voice of the poem’s narrative. It is hard not to deny the authenticity of the “Palm Tree King” when the narrator’s words are written with a Creole accent. While Agard’s narrator has a similar background in the sense that Agard is a descendent of the black slaves brought to Guyana to work by the British, I want to try and write from the unique cultural perspective of someone who may not share the same experiences as me. The important aspect of Agard’s poem is that he emphasizes the narrator’s voice to the point where it influences the direction of the narrative.