Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/50787 In “Ode to Big Trend”, Hayes speaks about Big Trend, an apparently staggering man who could “tear a Bible in two” (lines 10-11) with his bare hands. The narrator notices that the other black labourers of the community are growing impatient--they want to get paid. The narrator’s friend, Big Trend, is especially avid (In line 4, he compares Trend’s expression to the one “your daddy gets before he whups you”). As noted in the fourth stanza, Big Trend’s “ox-like” appearance, when paired with the he prospect of wages, makes it seem as though he cares only for money. However, the narrator, his partner, knows that this is not the case; he has seen Big Trend browsing a used bookstore, and has heard him recite poems. Nonetheless, the narrator states that at the end of the week, Big Trend is the one others asked to speak to the boss (who had withheld their wages). This implies that although Big Trend has a “soft side,” he is still the dominant “muscle” of the community, and will do what he must to ensure he gets paid. Upon reading the first two stanzas of the poem, I immediately developed a preconceived notion on what the poem was about (which is, of course, problematic…). I imagined that the poem would focus on how Big Trend would perhaps--with brute strength--coerce someone (his boss) to give him the money he and his partner was owed. However, by the fourth and fifth stanzas, I realized that Big Trend fits the “Bruiser with a Soft Center” archetype. His features may be daunting, and he certainly uses these features to get things done, but he indulges in literature and poetry behind closed doors. I wonder why Trend chooses to hide his part of him. To me, he obviously finds solace in poetry and reading, but continues to hide behind the façade of a “tough guy,” who willingly accepts the negative opinions of others (regarding his attention to monetary gains). I think Hayes’ choice of dividing the poem into 2-3 line stanzas (utilizing enjambment/incomplete syntax) serves to slightly stagger the poem’s text. Additionally, Hayes uses a significant amount of consonance in “Ode to Big Trend”: for example, line 1 ends with “paid” and line 2 ends in “said;” line 10 ends with “tear” and line 11 ends with “hear.” In all honesty, I am unsure why he chose to utilize consonance, instead of choosing to write free verse poetry (or choosing to rhyme the poem). Perhaps it was unintentional (though, probably not)? "Ode to Big Trend" is yet another masterpiece, and Hayes' poems continue to blow me away. This time, Hayes creates a made-up world (with real societal implications) that teeters back and forth between one reality and another--one which focuses on Big Trend’s outward appearance, versus one which focuses on Big Trend’s love of poetry. His word choice and syntax (or incomplete use thereof) seem to establish an unsettled mood; if he had used complete syntax, I believe it would have taken away from the bitterness of the poem’s setting, whilst explaining Big Trend’s “double life”.
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Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/58404 Watch out! Bad words! AAAAHH! Also, this one's kinda long. In “What it Look Like,” from Hayes’ How to be Drawn collection (2015), Hayes discusses how we are seen compared to how we see others. Hayes states that he cares “less and less about the shapes of shapes because forms change and nothing is more durable than feeling (3-5)” to point out that our emotions, feelings, and internal traits tend to remain stagnant as we change and grow externally. As an example, he describes a situation in which he is at a birthday party; he gives money to his uncle after this party, which is then used to buy crack (or some other drug that “looked like candy (7)”)—at the same time, however, his grandmother is singing in an outfit akin to that a “West African King (10).” This statement provides competing stereotypes about African Americans: one detailing the “druggie” typecast of black Americans, and the other representing African Americans’ connection with African culture/heritage. Hayes presents his motto--“Never mistake what it is for what it looks like (11)” as a means to dissipate labels, expressing that there is more to him (or anyone, for that matter) than what you can see, or what you expect to see. As the poem continues, Hayes provides examples of how his motto applies to the real world. He states that his generosity is mostly vanity, in which charitable actions serve to flatter himself; he explains that “a bandanna is a useful handkerchief, but a handkerchief is a useless-ass bandanna (13-14)” to illustrate that although one thing/person can serve multiple purposes/do many things, one should not expect the reciprocal to be true. He goes on to explain that “trill” is what truly is, regardless of how obscured the view is. “Milquetoast (24)”, a person who is submissive or timid, is not trill because his or her diffidence hides who they truly are. “Bouillabaisse (25)”, a (delicious) soup/stew composed of several different kinds of fish, is not trill because it is a fusion of spices and fishes—it does not truly express the flavor of the individual fish themselves. “Bakku-shan (25)”—Japanese slang for a woman who looks good from behind, but not from the front— exemplifies the earlier point about stereotypes surrounding African Americans; from one perspective or viewpoint, people appear favorable, but from another, they seem repulsive. Towards the end of the poem, Hayes repeats his motto, but adds on that if one “mistakes what it looks like for what it is (28-29)” (which actually switches its phrasing; he opens this line with “Like I was saying,” as though he was interrupted), one risks ending up like Othello, the tragic Shakespearian figure who is tormented by both Iago and himself. Othello, I suppose, lied about who he was (or was lied about), and eventually realized that the lie was true after wrongful deeds (and killed himself), answering the question Hayes asks in lines 31-32. The last five lines of the poem are the most important, I think. Here, Hayes tells “Brother Bastard” that he is blind to his power, and that he will suffice without seeing it, since no one will acknowledge him anyway. This last portion demonstrates that people sometimes fail to recognize their own significance, and that there will always be those who will leave them ignorant of their importance. Some would rather not see them (or anyone like them) acknowledge this self worth, as it may bring an end to their supremacy. We human beings are constantly searching for someone to lead us, whilst we neglect to recognize that first and foremost, we rule ourselves. I think this segment brings closure to the poem; although our view of the world may be obscured, we must not willfully blind ourselves, nor let others shroud our perspectives. |
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March 2017
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