Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/50790 Bad word ahead! Watch out! Published in Poetry Magazine’s March 2008 issue, “Mystic that results from the clamor of religious teachings. When one focuses so much on the afterlife, they have no time to reflect on the life they are living now. It is immediately followed by “the sea walled in by buildings” (line 4), perhaps to imply that the mind is like a sea, a liquid with endless capacity, that has been trapped by “buildings,” which I assume could mean the bounds of religion. Hayes personally “misses the quiet” (lines 5-6). The next statement of the poem was admittedly a bit confusing for me to decipher: “When I said, ‘Fuck the deer antlered and hithered in fur,’ it was because I had seen the faces of presidents balled into a fist.” I can only infer that this may be animosity of some sort towards government or even religious officials, who have been compared to “deer”; these deer flaunt their antlers, yet are essentially easy prey, and do not contribute much to their habitat. Or, Hayes is disdainful towards “deer”, being common people, who openly criticize higher authorities whilst contributing nothing to the welfare of society. I think the former supposition is more accurate, though I would be happy to read other deductions on this statement in the comments below! Hayes moves on to describe how he would tackle “fixing” the world; he wishes to provide free health care or physicals to the people of the world, and also a “love for the abstract” (line 10). He wishes to open people’s minds and promote tolerance; he wishes to suppress the hold religion has on people’s values and lifestyles, and provide the basic necessity of healthcare to citizens of the world. Again, Hayes makes a clarification of something he said: “When I said ‘All of history is saved for us,’ it was because I scorned the emancipated sky”(line 11-12). He asks if the “anthem,” perhaps the U.S. National Anthem, makes the reader emotional, and concludes the poem with him asking God if anyone born from slaves will die a slave. God confidently says yes, and Hayes bitterly concludes that this is why he is not a Christian. Hayes rejects the Bible’s teachings (the “emancipated sky” implies Heaven) and uses historical context to validate his decision. Overall, I found “Mystic Bounce” to be a very intense poem; I can sense his bitterness towards Christianity, which has indoctrinated and controlled people for centuries, and has been used to justify countless atrocities in recorded history. Hayes’ use of enjambment, questions directed toward the reader, and clarification of things he has said all create a conversational tone, as if he were speaking to the reader directly.
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March 2017
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