Look Around Sonora County

Driving through white snow,

As snowflakes flew gracefully,

Through the coast redwoods.

…

Summer heat has died,

Black, eight-legged Critters emerge,

As Autumn awakes.

…

Sunset Fully Sets,

As night creeps in, an owl hoots,

Calling predators.

…

Rich with history,

A California Ghost Town,

In grassy foothills.

…

Beyond the small towns,

There is a whole new world,

Of nature’s wonders.

Review: Instead of creating one haiku, I created an anthology based on observations and real-life experiences I had exploring Sonora County. These selected pieces were inspired by the multiple haikus Japanese Americans wrote during their stay at the Japanese internment camps. They mostly utilized poetic elements like imagery and nature to describe their personal situations and observations. I followed an identical approach to write my haikus.

Unlike, their haikus though, in which the majority were free verse in English, I decided to follow the traditional format which is 5 syllables for the first and last line and 7 syllables for the middle because I thought it was simpler. Though experiences are different between the poets and me, the use of imagery, setting, and nature is highly implemented on both sides. For example “white snow” (Poem 1, line 1), “Snowflakes flew”(Poem 1, line 2), “Summer heat” (Poem 2, line 1), “autumn”(Poem 2,3), “sunset fully sets” (Poem 3, Line 1), “Nights creeps in” (Poem 3, Line, “Small towns” (Poem 5, line 1), “grassy foothills” (Poem 4, line 3). Similar descriptions and details were given to describe seasons, weather, and surroundings in the Anthology of Wartime Haiku. Like in Kyotaro Komur’s “Lingering summer heat, Japanese proceeding under guard, on dusty white road.” (Komur, Pg 109) and Shiho Okamoto’s “Iron Fence immovable, over the mountain, winter sunrise.” (Okamoto, Pg 112). What makes my anthology connect with the Anthology of Wartime Haikus is both take place in the state of California. Also, the places I described are historical landmarks, meaning just like the Japanese internment camps, these “small towns” hold their own history. For example, “Rich with history, A California Ghost Town, In grassy foothills.” (poem 4) Up in Sonora there are various towns like Columbia, Twain Harte, Mariposa, Jamestown, etc. One of these towns is the Chinese Camp which is practically a ghost town. What’s its history? According to the California Office of Historic Preservation, the Chinese camp was the headquarters for stage lines in the early 1850s and for various CA Chinese mining companies. This was during the gold rush. This is why I added, “Rich with history” to hint at the gold rush. The other small towns were part of the gold rush too. It was a small input but, it holds great significance to California’s history, just like the Japanese internment camps.

Japanese American poets described major features that highlighted back towards Japanese internment camps like Yotenchi Agari’s haiku, “Moonlit summer sky/ same black houses/ standing in rows,” (Agari, Pg 111). I was going to familiar structure for my haikus. Like Agari, I highlighted significant features my main idea was known for like, “Driving through white snow, As snowflakes flew gracefully, Through the coast redwoods.”  (Poem 1). During the winter season, it is likely to snow up in Sonora. One of the most significant attributes of Sonora is the coast redwood trees. Readers may not pick up that I’m talking about specifically Sonora because snow and coast redwoods aren’t just located in that area, however from relying on vivid imagery I am attempting to create an image in their head of what I saw when I was there.

 This is the same with American Japanese poets, they created a visual of their experience, even if the readers had little knowledge about the internment camps, with the use of imagery, readers managed to see and imagine what these poets lived through at the time. I wanted to recreate that feeling for my readers. I could have been more direct in naming the small towns, but I also wanted my readers to build their own visual picture of what I was referring to. I believed that if I mentioned names like “Mariposa” or “Twain Harte”, most readers would easily get the idea and automatically imagine the exact town, pushing away the visual context I provided in my poem. In other words, I wanted head gears to turn. I wanted my readers to think, not just to quickly come up with the answers like “Oh it’s Twain Harte”. I was seeking to write something simple but not too straightforward. Something similar to Yotenchi Agari’s second haiku on page 111. The poem was centered on the Stockton Assembly Center, however Agari didn’t mention the name directly in the poem but indicated it with imagery. I was inspired to follow a similar poem structure because I wanted to ensure readers saw what my haikus described, but also not make it too obvious.

Aside from the first haiku what about the rest? “Summer heat has died, Black, eight-legged Critters emerge, As Autumn awakes.” (Poem 2). This haiku was quite specific in the aspect that I mentioned seasons and black, eight-legged critters. The reason why I added “eight-legged”, was because in Mariposa there is a time when spiders appear, instead of saying spiders though I wanted my readers to envision what I meant and what specific creature I was talking about. I am not talking about just any spider; I was referring to a black tarantula. Why a tarantula? Driving to Mariposa I came across tarantulas crawling on the floor and across the streets and I thought it was one of the most memorable moments I had traveling to Sonora because I had never seen it before. Down here in Merced, it’s unlikely you see a spider casually cross the road, especially a black tarantula. So not only did I rely on identical literary techniques that Japanese-American poets used to describe their situations in the Japanese internment camps, but I also included distinctive moments I had. Though they were quite the opposite compared to the experiences internees had during their stay at internment camps, the haikus were based on experiences that were considered one of the most striking or persistent in one’s mind whether it was good or bad.

What about the use of season and time? With the seasons mentioned, readers get the idea that I have visited Sonora multiple times throughout the year, whether it was winter, summer, or autumn. I purposefully made that clear because I believe if I didn’t my haikus would be incomplete because the reason I went to Sonora was due to the time of season. I also included how I observed beyond the little towns in my 3^rd and 5^th poems.

 I added, “Sunset Fully Sets, As night creeps in, an owl hoots, Calling predators.” (Poem 3). During the night, in Sonora, it’s likely predators like wolves and coyotes show up. What’s interesting is they start to appear right when the sun begins to set, it happens fast. This was something that I observed. I wasn’t specific with what type of predators; however, this allows readers to come up with their own guesses and work their imagination. The fifth poem was quite broad in the aspect that when I said “small towns” it can be taken to context that it can be any small town. However, putting my title as “Look around Sonora County” gives an indication that it’s a town in Sonora. I didn’t want my readers to overthink my poems either, so that’s why I made sure to make my title specific. This is what I noticed the internees did, even when their haikus had no titles, they relied on imagery to stay specific on their main idea.  

Overall, my main focus was to have readers make up a realistic image through their minds by only depending on the imagery and multiple adjectives I provided. I created my anthology relying on the poetic elements Japanese American haiku poets used in their collection of poems. I also included historical context and explained how my observations not only were important to me but also how these observations held a great significance and impact on California’s history itself, just like the Japanese Internment camps did to these Japanese American Haiku poets.

Claudia Dominguez

Citations: Parks, California State. “California State Parks.” CA State Parks, ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/423#:~:text=Reportedly%20founded%20about%201849%20by,several%20California%20Chinese%20mining%20companies. Accessed 2 May 2024. 

Small Changes Can Make Great Impact

The meaning of Alvarez’s “Sometimes the Words are So Close” of what it means to be a writer is altered by demonstrating the multiple changes and transitions she did in earlier drafts of the poem. Her earlier drafts demonstrate those moments writers have when they are in the process of writing something. Alvarez proves that sometimes writing can be simply done quickly, but other times to share a meaning with more creativity a little more or a lot more critical thinking may be necessary. This is what I noticed as a reader; she was attempting to find the best way to express herself to her readers. How do I know? Reading through her earlier drafts, I noticed that her poem was much shorter and the untraditional sonnet structure was kept, but more words were added for the final version. For her final, Alvarez made sure to create a 14-line sonnet. Her earlier draft was 11 lines and was untitled. In her earlier drafts, she begins the poem like the first stating, “Sometimes the words are so close, I am more who I am when I’m down on paper than anything else, as if my life were a practice for the real me-” (Alvarez, Lines 1-4). There is a small detail that was changed. The final adds, “As if my life were practicing for the real me-” Small punctuation changes were made, but what’s interesting was the final was written in progressive verb tense, meaning that she changed it to make that message more direct towards the reader that “this is something I am still going through.” This demonstrates how such a small change can make a big impact when you’re expressing yourself in writing.

The earlier drafts and final show that this poem is about writing and what it means to be a writer, however, she assures that her final draft makes it obvious that she is a female writer and she adds, “you”. Her earlier drafts didn’t focus on that. This is precisely why her earlier drafts were shorter. The final states, “I was once in as many drafts as you. But briefly, essentially, here I am: Who touches this poem touches a woman.” (Alvarez, Lines 12-14). In her previous drafts, she wrote, “My flood comes through in so many drafts, But briefly, essentially, here I am. who touches these words touches myself.” What is the difference between both, how does this enhance the whole meaning of her poem? Well, in general, this poem has to do with Alvarez and who she is. Her final draft makes sure that the readers get that message. She makes that more direct by adding “you” within her poem. This is what her early drafts lack; directness. They do prove how expressing oneself can be complicated sometimes and can be easier to express on paper over speaking, but her final not only demonstrates who she is as a writer but brings confidence to others who are possibly struggling to express themselves as well.

This is how her earlier drafts alter the overall meaning of her poem. Her earlier drafts are a literal example of, “I was once in as many drafts as you.” (Alvarez, Line 11). Even without the drafts, her message could be received, but by having access to those drafts, we get to actually see what she means.

Unable to Move On

Claude McKay’s, “December 1919” (Pg 29) is thematically linked and a continuation to “My Mother” (Pg 26 and 27) by capturing the intense grief and loss he felt for his mother’s passing.  Both these sonnets are expressed with a sorrowful tone demonstrating that there are suppressed emotions involved related to his mother’s death. How is death involved?. From the descriptive tone McKay uses in My Mother, it is noticed that he is describing his last moment with her before she died. In the poem, he claims, “But in her quiet way she made me yield” (McKay, Pg 26, Line 3). Indicating where his mother lied, it was quiet and peaceful, knowing her current condition, made him stop to check on her. “Reluctantly, for she was breathing low.” (Mckay, Pg 26, Line 4). Before dying, people tend to lose their breath slowly because they are trying to stay alive as much time as they can. In this case, this is what’s happening to Mckay’s mother. Mckay continues by describing his mother’s eyes, mentioning, “Her eyes said: I shall last another day. But scarcely had we reached the distant place,” (Mckay, Pg 26, Line 8 and 9). This describes how his mother is not trying to die just yet for her son, but she can’t hold it much longer. How do we know she died though? Line 10 makes that statement clear by mentioning a “faint bell ringing”. When a person dies, a death bell is rung to mark the death of someone. This death bell connects back to Christian beliefs. So there is a hint of biblical terms involved in this poem. Both poems are detailed in the aspect of describing loss and grief, however, My Mother is expressed with more imagery connected to nature. This is shown in Part 2. “The dawn departs, the morning is begun, The trades come whispering from off the seas, The fields of corn are golden in the sun,” (Pg 26, Lines 1 and 3). December 1919 also demonstrates a bit of imagery, precisely describing Mckay’s urge to cry, “tears gushed from my heart, mother, And passed beyond its wall, But though the fountain reached my throat, The drops refused to fall.” (Pg 29, Lines 5-8) But, My Mother was lengthier in implying imagery compared to December 1919 which was more of a straightforward poem.

What’s the theme connection between both poems though? They’re both related to grieving and death. ’My mother’ comes in two parts while December 1919 is shorter. My Mother follows more of the traditional sonnet structure unlike December 1919. This is specifically found within its rhyming scheme and length. My mother consists of an ABAB scheme and two 14-line sonnets, while December 1919 has a broken rhyme scheme and only has 12 lines. However, what does December 1919 show? It demonstrates the great impact his mother’s death had on him. December 1919 displays the broken and grieving state he was left in by his mother’s passing. It is a recall of that moment that was told in My Mother. In My Mother, readers didn’t get much on how Mckay felt, it was more on what was going on in that moment. On the other hand, December 1919, goes more in-depth with Mckay’s feelings and how that loss marked him in life. He begins with a memory, “Last night I heard your voice, mother, The words you sang to me When I, a little barefoot boy, Knelt down against your knee.” (Mckay, Pg 29, Lines 1 and 4). By starting his poem like this, he makes it clear who he’s writing this poem for, which is his mother. From the looks of it, the rhyme scheme is already off. Its broken structure demonstrates the intense emotions he felt as he wrote it. This becomes more evident as he continues, “tears gushed from my heart, mother, And passed beyond its wall, But though the fountain reached my throat The drops refused to fall.” (Mckay, Pg 29, Lines 5 and 8). This is where the suppressed emotions are shown. He wants to cry for the loss of his mother but can’t. I also noticed that he mentioned time, “tis ten years since you died, mother, Just ten dark years of pain,” (Mckay, Pg 29, Lines 9 and 10). Unlike My Mother, Mckay makes it clear that December 1919 was written 10 years after his mother’s death. From stating “ten dark years of pan” readers are also aware of the great impact his mother’s death has caused him. He clarifies that after 10 years, Mckay still feels unable to move on from his mother’s passing. He is still hurt and filled with overwhelming emotions. December 1919 exposes the fact that he still has not moved on from the loss of his mother.  Though both poems were structurally different in rhyme scheme and length, they both relate to the loss of his mother and express the intense emotional pain and sadness McKay felt because of it.

Claudia Dominguez

Pretty and Ugly

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, “My mistress’ eyes are Nothing like the Sun”, meaning is enhanced by Catherine Tate’s classroom performance by mocking the traditional conventions of love in love poetry.

Throughout the sonnet, Shakespeare mainly relies on hyperbole and imagery to describe the love he has towards his mistress. Instead of comparing, the speaker contrasts her to nature. Traditionally, poets are likely to compare their lover to nature to complement their physical appearance and personality, however by the speaker doing the opposite, he’s stating he loves his mistress more than he loves his beloved, who possibly could be his wife. The overall situation is showing infidelity. How so? The biggest hint is this poem is about a mistress. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there are numerous definitions, but one in particular states that a mistress is, “A woman other than his wife with whom a married man has a continuing sexual relationship.”  From what is observed through the sonnet is Shakespeare uses a lot of imagery to describe this mistress. He starts off with, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” (Shakespeare, Line 1). Just by calling her “mistress” the readers can identify that this ‘love’ poem isn’t the traditional love poem. The speaker is talking about an extramarital relationship, which in some perspectives, is considered unfaithful and absurd. He continues by stating, “eyes are nothing like the sun.” (Line 1) The sun is bright. From stating her eyes are not the sun, the speaker is indicating her eyes are not bright or shiny. So, is he claiming her eyes are dull? Isn’t this the opposite of a compliment towards a woman? It’s not the only example of imagery he provides, he continues with “Coral is far more red than her lips red;” (Line 2). For some, red lips are an attractive and beautiful feature in women. From stating, “Coral is far red than her lips-” (Line 2). He’s basically claiming her red lips are not as attractive or as vibrant as coral.  This is where hyperbole appears. The speaker becomes exaggerated when describing his mistress’ physical attributes, to make the differences more apparent between the beauty of nature and hers. The imagery gives readers a possible visual on how his mistress looks which isn’t really pleasing. He mentions, “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun.” (Line 3). The era and place this sonnet were written in should also be considered since it will provide a deeper understanding on how these physical details are being negative. In England, precisely around the 1600’s, the whiter a woman was and the redder her lips were the more beautiful they were considered. In this case, this poem, is describing the complete opposite, it is a woman with dull eyes, light red lips, tannish breasts, and unruly black hair. Does it stop there? No. The speaker trails off to the color of her cheeks next, stating, “I have seen roses demasked, red, and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks.” (Shakespeare, Lines 5 and 6). A rose is the traditional symbol of love and beauty, to say that there are no such roses in her cheeks- Is he calling his mistress ugly?  Is he trying to humiliate her? Compliment her? Does he even love her? He even goes on to describing her breath, mentioning, “And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” (Lines 7 and 8). He’s even saying her breath isn’t pleasant and stinks. There is exaggeration happening with these lines since he’s stating some perfumes are better to smell than her breath, but why is he saying this? The things he says are quite horrendous, however by stating such things, the speaker is giving his mistress her place. He’s seeing her as who she is and is not describing her with common nature comparisons love poems give when describing their lovers. That’s how Shakespeare mocks traditional love poems. Though it’s ugly, the speaker is demonstrating that his mistress’ beauty is one of a kind, and something that popular attributes that most love poems use cannot describe.

How is this whole meaning enhanced by Catherine Tate’s classroom performance though? When Catherine portrayed that insolent school girl, her attitude was very hideous from the start. Though Shakespeare was more physically descriptive, not too much on behavior they can still be connected in the aspect that both the sonnet and Catherine’s character showed a type of ugliness. She uses the poem as a way to threaten her teacher. She was very aggressive and quick when she recited it enforcing that point. Why though? Why did she use the poem? She transformed the poem’s meaning by literally breaking the beauty ideals in poetry. Even though Shakespeare’s sonnet was quite ugly with its various examples of vivid contrasting imagery, surely, he didn’t want his poem to be read in such a harsh and quick manner, so by Catherine reciting the poem in such a tone and pace, it makes the ugliness stand out more within Shakespeare’s sonnet, “My mistress’ eyes are Nothing like the Sun.”

-Claudia Dominguez

The Criminal as the Hero

  Javier Zamora’s “Second Attempt Crossing” from his book “Unaccompanied” reflects on the experience of a young immigrant (Zamora himself) crossing the border to the United States and being saved by a stranger who goes by the name of Chino. Zamora relies on imagery, symbolism, and an appreciative tone to vividly interpret his message to his audience and make it evident who this poem is directly for.

    The speaker from the beginning of the poem makes it obvious to his readers that this poem is ‘for Chino’ (Zamora, Title) He makes it clear that Chino holds significance within the poem as well by mentioning his name multiple times throughout the poem in the title, line 15, and line 19.  Also, Zamora utilizes imagery to share the setting where the experience took place which is “in the middle of the desert that didn’t look like sand and sand only.” (Zamora, Line 1) What does the setting interpret? Well, describes where the speaker is during that moment which seems that he’s by the US Border. How is it known? After the short description of the setting, “someone yelled, ‘¡La Migra!’” (Zamora, Line 5). “La Migra” is a Spanish term often used to name the US Border Patrol Agents. By mentioning “La Migra” it makes it more evident that the speaker is close to the border and is doing it illegally implying he is an immigrant. Zamora continues to use imagery to vividly describe the experience of the speaker. “In that dried creek where forty of us slept, we turned to each other, and you flew from my side in the dirt.” (Zamora, Line 6-8) This indicates the reader wasn’t alone, but with a group of other people prepared to cross before they were caught, in this group of people, there was a ‘you”. Who was this “you” the speaker brings up? It’s Chino. Zamora continues with, “Black-throated sparrows and dawn hitting the tops of mesquites, against herd of legs” (Zamora, Line 9-11). This conveys that this event takes place at dawn.  By vividly describing this whole experience with imagery, Zamora gives readers the indication that this isn’t just any story, it is a memory that hasn’t been forgotten, likely due to trauma.

   Crossing the board is a challenge. I haven’t experienced it myself, but I do have relatives that have, and from their stories, they’ve had similar experiences to what this poem illustrates. Most of these experiences take place in the desert and by the border. Like the speaker, most immigrants come in groups of people and ages vary from very young children to elderly people. When it comes to finding and catching these groups, US Border Patrol can be quite brutal, sometimes killing them or leaving them in overcrowded detention centers. The brutality these agents give is stated in the next lines of Zamora’s poem, “You spirited towards me, I jumped on your shoulders, and we ran from the white trucks, then their guns.” (Zamora, Line 12-14). These lines demonstrate that these men are literally running for their lives, this includes the speaker, and from the looks of it, seems like a child or someone who has a bigger disadvantage compared to the rest of the group. Chino chooses to not leave him behind and protect him from these Border Patrol Agents and their guns. The speaker continues by stating, “So I wouldn’t touch their legs that kicked you, you pushed me under your chest, and I’ve never thanked you.” (Zamora, Line 16-18). This is clearly abuse coming from the US Border Patrol Agents.

  This type of behavior would not be allowed if a police officer or another type of government official did this to someone from the United States it would be considered “inhumane” and “abusive”. There is a sense of dehumanization happening in the scene between Chino and the Border Patrol because they are physically beating him for being a foreigner.  This situation becomes very ironic after the speaker provides little background information about Chino. “Beautiful Chino–the only name I know to call you by— farewell your tattooed chest: the M, the S, the 13. Farwell the phone number you gave me when you went east Virginia, and I went west to San Francisco.” (Zamora, Lines 19-25). What does the tattooed chest symbolize? MS13 stands for Mara Salvatrucha 13 an international criminal gang. This indicates that Chino was acquainted with the Mafia. What’s its significance? It’s ironic how a gang member is willing to save a young boy’s life, while US government officials who are hired to “protect” pulled out their guns, and their intent was to try to hurt the speaker, a young boy. This poem was Zamora’s gesture for thanking Chino. The tone provided demonstrates that the speaker highly appreciates Chino’s help and since then hasn’t forgotten about it. even after he was found by the gang he ran from in San Salvadora according to lines 27 and 28. There is some sorrow within the tone, but at the same time great respect towards Chino as an individual, who though is a criminal through his gang affiliation, is also a hero for saving a young boy. The speaker didn’t differentiate him because of his background which I thought was very affectionate and quite sad because he didn’t get to see Chino in person since that experience. This is my overall interpretation of the poem, “Second Attempt Crossing” by Javier Zamora.

-Claudia Dominguez

Question for Javier Zamora: While reading “Second Attempt Crossing” I noticed a couple literary devices that were present throughout the poem, mostly imagery, but also some symbolism that connected to Chino’s background. This made me come up with the question when integrating figurative language into your poems, do you plan out what literary devices you’re going to use or do they just spontaneously appear as you write and you go with the flow?

Justice Waiting to be Served

Natalie Diaz’s work, “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation,” illustrates the harsh treatment and injustices that Native Americans faced during their forced assimilation into white culture. With the use of irony, symbolism, and a sarcastic, yet serious tone evoking a range of different intensive emotions, the speaker is able to share her/his perspective of the social and racial situations Native Americans have and had to go through, spreading the word to others who may not even know of these issues, finally allowing those long-hushed social identities to be heard.

Diaz’s poem is an abecedarian poem. It consists of 26 lines and starts with a word beginning with the word ‘Angel’ and ending with the last line beginning with the word ‘Zion’ just like the ABC’s. She used this poem structure as a crafty way to specify the social injustices Native Americans experience. How though? Along with the poem’s structure, she includes irony and symbolism regarding ‘angels’ (Diaz, Line 1) “whites’ (Diaz, Line 20) and ‘death’ (Diaz, Line 4). She sarcastically states that “everyone knows angels are white”. Though this is quite a very strong generalization, her point was to demonstrate how ironic it was that the white, Christian people considered themselves as “saviors” and “civilized” while they forced their Catholic and Christian beliefs upon the Native Americans in a very inhumane, grotesque way, killing many. That completely takes away the idea of hope, faith, and salvation, what resulted is genocide and death. This is how angels connect back to death in Diaz’s poem. The speaker mentioned, “Angels don’t come to the reservation. Bats, maybe, or owls, boxy mottled things. Coyotes, too. They all mean the same thing—death.” (Diaz, Line 1-3)

In Catholicism (from personal knowledge being in the religion myself), angels are perceived as “guardians” and “protectors from evils”. The natives were forced to believe that their saviors were the white men. They were forced to believe that they were the savages whereas those who were white and Christian were civilized and there to save them. But then, where were those “angels” when thousands of indigenous people were being killed, raped, assaulted, and oppressed? Again, angels are seen as these helpful spiritual beings, but instead of getting help, Native Americans got tortured, suffering and their land stolen. With that combination of irony and symbolism regarding “angels”, “death” and “white men” the speaker managed to demonstrate the oppression Native Americans had to endure. This is something that is still being fought to this day. With a cautionary tone, the speaker ends the poem with, “You better hope you never see angels on the rez. If you do, they’ll be marching you off to Zion or Oklahoma, or some other hell they’ve mapped out for us.” (Diaz, Line 32-35) This imposes the fact that the social issues Native Americans went through centuries ago are issues that are still currently happening. The speaker is referring to a “You” from the looks of it, she/he is speaking to those who are in the reservations, this is what she means with, “If you do, they’ll be marching you off to Zion or Oklahoma, or some other hell they’ve mapped out for us.” I believe that the first-person-point of view makes it easier for Diaz to reach out to a certain audience. The personal narrative provides a deeper understanding of what the speaker’s thoughts or feelings were about the issues being touched upon. From the tone of voice and feelings given by the speaker, I thought the main audience were those silenced Native Americans. In some way, the speaker is trying to be persuasive. By reaching out in a first-person point of view and mentioning “us”, there’s a sense of inclusion. When I read the last line of the poem, I felt like the message was, “Hey you’re not alone, keep your head up!” I’m sure this is the type of message would be considered motivational or positive to the indiginious people who have suffered greatly while living in these reservations.

Overall, with the publication of this poem, Natalie Diaz surely managed to speak for perhaps hundreds or thousands of Native Americans, who are currently in these reservations by frustratingly expressing her opinions and thoughts on the whole context of the Indigenous constantly going through cultural, social, and racial brutalities and unfairness. This is how the poem accommodates social identities that have been marginalized or silenced.

Moonlit Summer Sky Above the Same, Black Houses

Yotenchi Agari’s second haiku poem from page 111 captures the experience of daily life at the internment camp by giving readers an idea of what the Stockton Assembly Center looked like, vividly describing it with the use of visual imagery, mentioning color, the season, and the arrangement of the area.

According to Agari’s biography from “There is Always Tomorrow: An Anthology of Wartime Haiku”, Agari was interned at the Stockton Assembly Center in May 1942. While in this internment camp, she wrote the haiku, “Moonlit summer sky/ same black houses/ standing in rows,” (Agari, Pg 111). Observing the visual imagery provided, gave me a sense that the Haiku was mainly centered on the area Agari was interned in which was the Stockton Assembly Center. “Moonlit summer sky” (Pg 111) gives the readers an idea of what time the Haiku takes place. “Moonlit” surely indicates that it’s night, and “summer” assures that it’s during summer. From what was previously informed, Agari was interned in May. During May, summer is pretty hot and humid in California. This enforces the fact that the Haiku is not just any poem, it’s telling an experience Agari had throughout that summer season in Stockton’s internment camp. How does it capture Agari’s experience at the Japanese internment camp though? The second line, “Same black houses” (111) gives a quick description of the internment camps, the place where Agari, along with other Japanese were stationed. She doesn’t just say, “houses” though, she provides detail, stating, they’re the “same” and “black”. Historically, Stockton’s internment camp was filled with black buildings which all looked identical. In these buildings, the Japanese were imprisoned. Observing a photograph of the Stockton Assembly Center taken by Dorothea Lange made it much more evident of how accurate and similar it is to Agari’s description of the “same black houses”.

It made it clear to me that there was a connection between the poem and the historically accurate picture. The haiku’s last line, “standing in rows” makes this historical image even more precise since the houses are also shown all standing in rows. A row is a horizontal alignment of things. It can be a row of people, animals, and even houses. In this case, it’s a row of the same, black houses. To enforce that Agari is actually talking about the Stockton Assembly Center I decided to sketch out a picture by only relying on her haiku’s imagery. My drawing came out fairly similar to Lange’s photograph shared above.

From taking out the adjectives provided by Agari, I was able to draw a quick, visual idea of what she wrote in her poem. Reading about Agari’s life in Stockton Assembly Center, also rang a bell since I believe it only strengthened the idea that her poem is about an internment camp she was kept captive in at the time. She shared a visual concept of how Stockton’s internment camp was established by providing details of season, night, color, and alignment. This is how her imagery invoked captures the experience of daily life in the Japanese internment camps.

Claudia Dominguez

The ‘Imperfect’ Rose

H.D.’s poem, “Sea Rose” and Arianna Puente’s “The Rose and the Poppy” both have their unique ways of demonstrating the traditional symbol of the rose, by including certain figurative language like imagery and descriptive adjectives, however from comparing and contrasting both. I believe H. D’s poem is more effective in challenging the traditional symbol of the rose than Puente’s.

Both poems mention a ‘rose’ in their titles, “The Rose and The Poppy” and “Sea Rose”, they even begin their poems by referring to a ‘rose’ as well. What is different though is the way the rose is mentioned throughout both poems. Traditionally, a red rose symbolizes love, passion, and romance. H.D. states it as a “Rose, harsh rose, marred and with a stint of petals, meager flower, thin, sparse of leaf,” (H.D., Line 1-4). From the detailed adjectives and speck of imagery given like, “thin”, “marred and a stint of petals”, “harsh rose”, and “sparse of the leaf”, I conveyed that the rose wasn’t the “traditional” rose, specifically because of its physical appearance. It’s not healthy, though no pigmentation or color is disclosed, it can be assured that it’s a wilting rose being vividly described. How does this prove H.D.’s poem is more effective though? Well, H.D. continues by stating, “more precious than a wet rose single on a stem—” (H.D., Line 5 – 7) It seems as though the speaker has some admiration towards this dying rose. Even if it’s wilted it’s still beautiful, more beautiful than one that is well and alive.

This statement is more evident when the speaker quotes, “Can the spice-rose drip such acrid fragrance hardened in a leaf?” (H.D. Lines 14-16). From reading this I got a defensive tone from the speaker. It sounds like he/she is defending the rose as if he/she is stating, “So what if it’s dying? At least its fragrance is stronger than a healthy rose.” What about the fragrance though? Thinking outside of the box, from my knowledge, dry roses are more likely to hold a stronger fragrance than roses that are lively. Rose petals are dried purposely and blended into powder because of their color and fragrance. How is quick input relevant to H. D’s poem though? Well, it further proves that even beyond a rose’s death, it can provide many uses and benefits, it’s quite valuable. This is where the speaker challenges the traditional symbol of the rose. It’s not a soft-petaled, bright, healthy rose, however, it still holds value, value that a lively rose may not be able to give or provide.

   On the other hand, Puente, though she mentions a ‘rose’ as well, does not have it as a main symbol or main vehicle in her poem unlike H.D. This is where her lack of effectiveness lies. She first starts by stating, “I am not a ravishing ruby red, or a semblance of purity white.” (Puente, Line 1-3). She includes imagery and alliteration, mentioning the rose’s colors, “ravishing ruby red” and “semblance of purity white.”. It seems she does start off strongly referring to a traditional rose by providing certain terms connected to it, like a “token of comfort” (Puente, Line 5), “romance” (Puente, Line 6), and “Valentine’s Day” (Puente, Line 19) however, her poem takes a twist when she states, “I am wild in the fields of green and blues. Electric orange- like tangerines in an orchard of trees, my skin’s perfume meshed in the summer breeze.” (Puente, Lines 12-16). From the depictive adjectives, “fields of green and blues”, “Electric orange”, and “Tangerines”, it makes it evident that the speaker is not being expressive about a rose after all, she’s regarding a California poppy flower. This diminishes the effectiveness of challenging the traditional symbol of the rose since it demonstrates that’s not the main context in her poem. Puente does not challenge the symbolism of a traditional rose, she goes along with it, the speaker only states that individually she is not a rose, she is more of a poppy. This is why I believe H.D.’s “Sea Rose” was the most effective in challenging the traditional symbol of the rose than Adrianna Puente’s “The Rose and The Poppy”. His poem stays relevant with just a rose, it deflects on the physical appearance of a traditional one, and his poem completely challenges the conventional, idealistic perspective of a traditional rose.

Rhythm and Sound

 Luis Alberto Ambroggio’s poem “We are All Whitman: #2: Song of/to/My/Your/Self.”  translates the rhythmic list of body parts in Whitman’s poem ‘I sing the Body Electric in three major aspects. The first is that like Whitman, Ambroggio wrote a lengthy, free-verse poem. Both poems don’t have a settled structure or form, nor are they concentrated on a strict rhyme scheme or meter. The second was both poems are intended to be read without taking long pauses. There are commas and a couple of periods added, however, for most, they are run-on sentences. An example would be, “Head, neck, hair, ears, drop and tympan of the ears. Eyes, eye-fringes, iris of the eye, eyebrows, and the waking or sleeping of the lids. Mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, roof of the mouth, jaws, and the jaw-hinges, nose, nostrils of the nose and the partition.” (Whitman, Stanza 9). From Ambroggio’s poem, his given structure is quite similar to Whitman’s, “It comes from Mexico, Central America, from Costa Rica, Tikal, Guatemala, from their rainforests, lakes of salt and honey, from Panama, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, the corn crops of the Argentine pampas, Chile’s veins of grapes, Bolivia’s reed flute, from the Mayas, -“ (Ambroggio, Stanza 5?) From what I noticed though; reading these sections, Whitman used more repetition than Ambroggio did, but both used their words to create a sense of rhythm.

This leads to the third major aspect of how Ambroggio’s poem translates the rhythmic enumeration of body parts in Whitman’s poem. Both poets bring up an emotional and physically sensual experience, and they do this by providing cacophony. By placing certain terms together, sound is formed. At first, it may not be perceived but alliteration is present making it easier for readers to catch, the “Broad breast-front, curling hair of the breast, breast-bone, breast-side. Ribs, belly, backbone, joints of the backbone.” (Whitman, Line 13). From pronouncing the “b” repeatedly while reading, a beat can be heard sounding close to a drum or a bass instrument. Ambraggio does the same approach in his poem, “Everyone, yesterday and again today; today and tomorrow; does not stop,-“ (Ambroggio, Stanza 1). The “t” sound can be made out. It sounds like a cymbal is lightly being tapped. Both poems are free verse, they have to be read without long pauses, and intentionally, literary devices, such as repetition, Alliteration, and cacophony are used to create a sense of rhythm and sound. Altogether, this demonstrates how Ambroggio’s “We Are All Whitman; Song of/ to/ My/Your/Self translates to the rhythmic enumeration of body parts in Walt Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric.”

Citations: Ambroggio, Luis Alberto. “We Are All Whitman: #2: Song of/to/My/Your/Self…” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/150382/song-of-to-my-your-self. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024.

Claudia Dominguez

The Beauty in Art

The poem that is most effective in representing the nature of art would be Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” mainly because of how its title brings significance to the poem. Just by reading it, it could be immediately concluded that Herrick wrote about a woman, but is he? That’s where the poem gets effective. The title may be questionable, especially in the aspect of how it connects to ‘disorder’ and “delight’, however by scanning its metrical and rhythmical side, its connection can be found. The poem begins with an Iambic Tetrameter, this is cut short when the word “Kindles” is introduced. It is a trochee. At first, while scanning the poem, I started to think more trochees would appear, which another did on line four, “Into”. This may seem like that’s how the metric feet are meant to be, but closely scanning through, I noticed the trochees were set as a distraction. The trochees were inputted on purpose to make the reader scan through the entire poem and not realize the poem’s prosody is an Iambic Tetrameter, which was answered on the first line. The way the trochees stand out reflects how it’s a disorderly poem overall, and the way the poet expresses it is quite interesting since he could have simply expressed it with words, but instead he hid the message with meters.

On the other hand, though Jonson’s poem also has a dominant iambic tetrameter, and his sound pattern is more organized and straightforward, his poem is generally suspicious. The meters and rhythm fit rather too perfectly with the words Like “Give me/a look, give me/ a face”. The tone and the rhythm sound like a heartbeat. This is where I believe he did very well in expressing his main idea. But overall, I was still left with many unanswered questions about his poem. Like what was his motive to make his poem so neat? Why make readers suspicious? Is he trying to purposely have readers overthink his poem’s intent? This is why I chose Herrick’s.  I believe Herrick was more precise on the nature of art than Jonson.

Claudia Dominguez