"You know, I dream sometimes about flying. It starts out like I’m running really, really fast. I’m like, superhuman. And the terrain starts to get really rocky and steep. And then I’m running so fast that my feet aren’t touching the ground. And I’m floating, and it’s like this amazing, amazing realness. I’m free. I’m safe. Then I realize… I’m completely alone... And then I wake up." -- 500 Days of Summer
Dreams are made of desires, fears, and everyday occurances. As said in psychology, dreams are the place where the subconcious can speak, so when I first read this poem by Lucille Clifton, this is what initially came to mind.
I imagined a person dreaming, haunted by this lady with wild hair, talking about regret.
"And she twisted her wild hair
and sparked her wild eyes
and screamed as long as
I could hear her..."
What I realized however, is that I don't think the person was literally dreaming but day-dreaming. She feels regret on how she handled a situation. Everybody always wonders how a situation could have potentially gone different, what could have been said, what could have been done -- this idea infects your mind until it's hard to concentrate on anything else.
"what
i pleaded with her, could I do,
oh what could I have done?"
This is her talking to her subconcious, recollecting what she could have done differently.
"This. This. This."
The poem ends with her subconcious telling her "this, this this," is what you could've done differently.
The emphasis of the whole poem is centered around the last line. Clifton makes the tone of the poem to be that of desapair -- and almost with some hope in it. By ending the poem with "This. This. This" (emphasis on the periods) the despair is put to an end, and the person begins to accept the fact that he/she cannot change what has happened. This whole poem is one stanza long, which I think is a way to emphasise the imagery in the poem. Her despair is the tone of the poem by using phrases like "pleaded" and "what my days had come to." I think the poem is a little too sad for my taste, but I kind of like it. :)
P.S. I asked my dad what he thought of the poem, and he said that he thought it was a man that was the main person of the poem -- I thought it was a woman. Maybe we realte ourselves to people in the poem?
Good breakdown of this poem!
ReplyDeleteI think if it's a good poem, we do see ourselves in it. :)
Monique i loved this...it was so creative and broken down well :D good job
ReplyDeletelove Kaylee Sue
Gosh Monique I always love what you have to say about these poems. :) You always put it so perfectly. I am super jealous because I always struggle putting my thinking into words. By the way I totally loved the quote from 500 Days of Summer :) I loved that movie! I really liked what you said at the end about relating ourselves to the poem because I totally thought it was a girl too so I think your are for sure right about that. :)
ReplyDeleteLoved your (500) Days of Summer quote! Ahh, love that movie. Like everyone who commented on this post said, you did an awesome job on breaking this down. I also liked when you said "I think the poem is a little too sad for my taste, but I kind of like it." hah, I totally agree. Anyway, I thought it was about a girl as well.
ReplyDeleteI love you guys so much!! :) Thank you for your lovely, lovely comments! :)) It really made my day!
ReplyDeleteAli and Addie -- I love, love, loveee 500 Days of Summer! I felt it was appropriate so I just had to put it in! :)
Mrs. White, I totally agree. I think that if it's a bad poem, we kinda refuse to relate to it ;)
And Kaylee Sue, you are beyond precious :)