Only in Death

Within “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation,” the poet, Natalie Diaz, rejects colonization’s ideals and utilizes irony in order to fully show how she is returning to her own body. Diaz, throughout the poem, uses “angels” as a way to characterize white men and women, but ironically states that angels are “no good for Indians.” Generally, angels are associated with heaven, a good place, a divine presence– Diaz, instead, rejects the angels, the supposed divine presence. Through the irony of rejecting something traditionally “good,” Diaz makes room for Native Americans, rejecting white culture in religion. The irony creates a powerful message of Diaz would rather rot in Hell than be subject to their white colonizers, and that she would rather just be herself, with her past and culture, than subject to a culture imposed upon them.

Further, since Native Americans have been moreover silenced and tried to be erased, Diaz, in her rejection of white culture and religion through a rejection of angels, helps to fully push out the white influence to leave room once more for Native American culture. Diaz states that “we’re better off if they stay […] in their own distant heavens,” directly giving a call to action, where once again, irony takes its part, as Diaz seeks to keep a supposedly good thing as far away as possible; this just makes her point even clearer, however, as she seeks to reclaim herself, no matter the supposed cost, and further, she pushes white imposition so far away, that it’s inaccessible unless she’s in a grave, leaving all the room for the living, or rather, for Native Americans. The utilization of heaven seeks to show that Diaz sees white imposition as far away as possible, letting Native Americans know that there is a place for them, and that their colonizers can’t come back, as they’re already dead. It’s a signal to return to how they were before colonization, as the white man cannot touch them anymore– they’re gone, dead, and there’s all the more room for them to be themselves now; if the white man is residing with angels in heaven, then Native Americans are able to roam the Earth freely, as only in death will the white man rule over them.

Isaak Puth

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.

Heavenly Possession on Native American Bodies

Natalie Diaz’s “Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation” focuses on the ironic Othering of White Anglican settlers who seek to possess the body of Native Americans in order to silence their identity within America. Natalie Diaz in “Back to the Body: An Interview with Natalie Diaz” by Abigail Meinen had mentioned the alphabet itself is a body, “carrying our bodies… the risk of feeling on the page” (Diaz). This alphabet is used in Diaz’s poem where the title itself corroborates Native American retaliation against Christian colonization from Whites. Abecedarians can mean a “novice who is just learning” such as the alphabet, or its adjective of something being in alphabetical order; in other words, to be orderly under English rules. Though an abecedarian examining “Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation” with its grammatical errors create that irony of how the speaker is learning the English language, yet it also reflects the speakers colonization by English settlers whose home has been invaded by the control of Anglicanism. Diaz mentioning they couldn’t be “fully” in their body reflects this idea, the home being where the body is born, and that freedom to return to the body is prohibited because of this Anglican identity being enforced upon Native Americans.

The title brims with irony further with “Anglikan Seraphym” – seraphim is one of the orders of angels encircling God’s throne, yet the first line states “angels don’t come to the reservation… Gabriel? Never heard of him” (Diaz 1, 7). It establishes how the reservation itself is firstly a body of Native Americans who hold their own cultural identity that becomes an Other by Anglicanism. This is shown through the historical reference to the first American colonizers who came to America, “remember what happened last time some white god came floating across the ocean” (18-19). The colonizers themselves were mostly Anglican puritans who came to establish their homes on American soil, and under Manifest Destiny expanded westward while perceiving Native Americans as barbaric who needed to be “civilized” through religion. The focus on Anglicanism, a branch of Christianity, reflects how the desire to return to the body before Anglicanism had colonized Native Americans, in which the body of the poem struggles while using terminology such as “Indian” or the title itself attempting defy against that control through the grammatical errors as an expression of the body. 

The Othering comes from the angels themselves and who they target. The angels are symbolic as being White Christian people, “Pastor John’s son is the angel—everyone knows angels are white” (16). This furthers the identity of angels being white Anglican puritans who sought to colonize Native Americans. The identity of angels also are limited to only Whites, in which not only are Native American subjugated by this “Anglikan Seraphym” who do not allow other ethnic identities to be seen as omnipotent beings close to God, but other ethnic minorities ranging from Christian missionaries to the slave trade to change America into a body of Whiteness.

However, the speaker utilizes Christiantiy to display the hypocrisy of this colonization upon Native Americans, “we’re better off if they stay rich and fat and ugly and ’xactly where they are—in their own distant heavens… they’ll be marching you off to Zion or Oklahoma, or some other hell they’ve mapped out for us” (23-26). Christianity is presented ironically with the speaker displaying the pride and gluttony of Anglicans, the opposite of Christian beliefs. Hell also being used resembles the speaker acknowledging Christianity attempting to repress Native American identity, but furthers the irony as hell becomes the white population in which these religious connotations derive from. Thus, it is the angels, the White Anglican colonizers moving from England to colonize in America whose soul haunts America to possess the body of Native Americans, and silence their identity.

-Phillip Gallo

Incarnation of the Poet?

Catherine Tate embodies a pretentious, annoying teenager who is seemingly not fond of authoritarian figures or English. Yet, could she be read as the subject of poetry itself? While there are English fanatics, in this case David Tennant, who aim to simplify and transmit the beauty of poetry, to many poetry is nothing more than a babbling tale of unnecessary (and at times dishonorable) complexeties. Sonneet 130 itself brings up some complex and controversial themes around sex and love. He is obsessed with his lover, but he is seemingly degrading her? (Lines 9-10) The poem is about how he loves her, but it is also making a statement against societial norms? (Lines 5-6, 14). Line 14 specifically seems to be a jab at society and even poetry saying “As any she, belied with false compare”, referencing the oh-so-popular comparisons and symbols that dominate culture.

It is ironic that in this sketch Tate personifies the babbling tale of poetry by talking back, being disrespectful, and simply unbearable yet she recites Sonnet 130 perfectly like any other Shakespeare nerd. I believe this is a fun jab at literature and poetry too, like holding up a mirror to all the english fanatics. Is this what we look like as we go on and on about simple things in the tiresome form of and sonnets and ironic comparisons? This sketch enhances Sonnet 130 because it simplifies it in a fun way. The audience isn’t cracking their brains open trying to understand what in the world Shakespeare is on about, instead we can sit back and enjoy the ruckus while the english teacher gets a taste of his own medicine.

Darah Carrillo Vargas

Now That’s Ironic

Throughout his poetry collection Lopez continuously challenges the norm of English poetry through his use of irony and his questioning of the latino support systems in place in this nation. The poem that most accurately represents this is his work titled “Letter to the Editor”. This poem is very unique in the aspect that it is formatted as a letter to Dara Kerr who is an editor based in Oakland who happened to be writing about the new health clinic in Palo Alto being opened. In her article she highlights the renovation of the town previously mentioned, but Lopez goes on to challenge this presumption by stating “ Last month, your colleagues cut a measly ribbon, patted themselves on the back for gifting us a new health clinic” (lines 1-2). This quote is meant to make fun of the idea that Palo Alto is this new thriving city when in reality the same suppression systems are still in place. 

Lopez goes on to question the accuracy of this article by implementing actual questions such as “How come I didn’t have one white friend till I was sixteen?”(line 11) and “Why did Artherton moms keep asking if I was related to the facilities workers?”(line 13). These questions allow the literary tool of irony to really shine through and improve the overall effect of the poem. Asking rhetorical questions really allows the reader to think more about the main point of this piece of work, which centers around the gentrification of Palo Alto and how most people believe that new wave renovations are occurring when in reality the same social constraints are put on the latino and other minority communities.

Jamey Cain

Hope.

They say a poet’s words will often depict his or her inner most thoughts and allow the world to decipher (or at least attempt to) the intent and message. The Japanese poetry style called Haiku was actually very popular during during the war when, just like the concentration camps in Hitler’s time, the Japanese were forced into captivity because the USA questioned their loyalty despite them being born and raised in America. Haikus allowed them to essentially vent to themselves, and perhaps those around who suffered as well, about what they were going through during such difficult times. Reading Ozawa’s haikus, readers can really feel the pain and desperation of freedom. It’s heartbreaking to read and know about the tragedy they had to endure just because of their ethnicity. The one that stood out to me the most was “From the window of despair/ May sky/ there is always tomorrow” (Lines 1-3). This haiku instantly gave me a sense of hope, hope that one day they will get on the other side and look back to the level of strength it took to make it out. It represents something positive in a time filled with nothing but negativity and horror (ironic). In the first line when the poet writes “From the window of despair” (Line 1), I imagine a Japanese child/teen looking out the window understanding the circumstances they were in but holding onto the slightest chance of hope that this would one day be over. I emphasize on the child or teen part because this haiku reminds me of the book The War Outside by Monica Hesse, which is a story from a teen’s perspective where she tries to make friends within the camps in order to find some type of light and happiness despite everything around them falling down. Another reason why I emphasize a younger person’s point of view rather than an adult is because I believe that children have that fresh and innocent mindsets that we adults sometime skip over. In situations like what the Japanese in America were in, many accepted defeat, but children bring out that light of hope with their pure intentions that everything would be okay even if it was unlikely. Just like the haiku, the book represented some level of positivity and I think this viewpoint is so important because it sends such a powerful message to the readers. Going back to the haiku, the last line reads “there is always tomorrow” (Line 3) and this final line really has a special place in my heart because I am a firm believer of the message behind it: hope. The imagery that the poet displays here is the child or teen telling themselves that it’s all going to be okay even if deep down they are trying to convince themselves too.

Simranpreet Kaur

The Deception

We often see a positive connotation when referring to a rose; we give it the symbolism of perfection and love, and sometimes even strength. Two poems that convey a somewhat altering and unique meaning include “The Rose and The Poppy” by Adrianna Puente and “Sea Rose” by H.D. As powerful as both poems were, “Sea Rose” had a more powerful message in showing the true meaning of courage. By using various forms of symbolism, H.D shows the audience that the beauty of a rose does not rely solely on its physical appearance, rather what it personifies in times of hardship, and thus eventually coming out to the other side of it.

The rose referred to within the poem could also be some level of personification instead of actually talking about a rose: in this case a person, more importantly a woman. With this information, we can assume as readers that the poem talks about a woman who is fighting for something, whether it be herself of for some kind of purpose. (Of course we can be talking about a literal rose too, but let’s pretend it has a deeper meaning). In the second stanza, the poet writes, “more precious/ than a wet rose/ single on a stem-/ you are caught in the drift,” (H.D., Lines 5-8). Just like how a rose is known to be precious and delicate, women are also perceived to be ‘soft’ hearted and weak by a typical society. This woman is going through something, a mental storm one can say, and is fighting an internal battle of not being able to fit in within her surroundings. The ‘drift’ is symbolizing her hardships and circumstances around her. Perhaps she feels like she doesn’t belong and can’t fully be her true self. The word “stunted” later in Line 9 further proves the point of her feeling like she’s being closed off from her full potential, being forced to live within societal rules.

I see a woman who feels like every single day for her is a battle. Roses are often symbolized as perfect, but this woman’s life is far from it. However, that doesn’t stop her from trying to make the best out of her position, physically and socially. While she looks at other ‘roses’ (women) who she feels have it easier than her, you can never truly know what one is going through. This rose has a journey of her own and a heart full of courage and determination.

Simranpreet Kaur

To Be Loved Or to Love Yourself

While comparing the two poems it is clear to me that the work entitled “The Rose and the Poppy” best challenges the traditional symbol of the rose. This is due to the irony presented in this poem when describing this symbol. A rose in most contexts represents undying love or romance however the author of this piece of art completely abandons this ideal and instead focuses on how she is like a rose that is never picked and instead is left to wither away and die. This type of symbolism is meant to convey the author’s true meaning behind the rose which is that love can become this fake concept in which the person is only infatuated with the idea of being infatuated. In comparison the poem “Sea Rose” by H.D. also accurately represents the flawed emotion that is love through phrases such as “Can a spice-rose drip such acid fragrance hardened in a leaf?” (lines 14-16), which describes how romance and longing can become stale after time and how the beauty that everyone views love as can actually become a vice in the end. This poem does convey it’s point in a very persuasive and elaborate manner; however I still believe Puente’s piece does a better job at really hitting the heart of the ironic symbolism.

In Puente’s poem a line that truly embodies the challenge of the traditional symbol of the rose is the phrase “Most times I am forgotten. Rarely chosen for eager hands on Valentine’s day- but I am my own” (lines 17-20). This quote touches on the idea that roses are meant to symbolize relationships and passion, but in reality there will always be downsides to the emotions and experiences that come with this overwhelming feeling. By referencing Valentine’s Day the author clearly understands the connotations that come with this object however as the poem continues it is clear that she disagrees with the symbolization as a whole. This piece is centered around the idea that the roses that are not chosen are the ones that are able to experience true independence, but are destined to wither away alone with only their scent as a remembrance.

Jamey Cain

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Shakespeare’s “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” is an interesting poem in the sense that it does the complete opposite of what a Shakespeare poem is thought to do, which is indulge in poetic devices to describe the love of the protagonist in said poem. In this poem, the speaker details some negative aspects they find with their lover: “Coral is far more red than her lips’ red” and “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun” are some of the descriptions that come to the mind of the speaker. These lines wouldn’t necessarily be found in the “world’s best love poem”, however, once the speaker reveals that he finds his love to be “rare”, the negative descriptions of the lover found in the beginning of the poem don’t necessarily mean anything anymore. 

The sequence of events paralleled in the previous paragraph can also be found in the BBC Comic Relief video featuring Catherine Tate and David Tennant. Tate portrays an unruly and seemingly dimwitted student while Tennant portrays the lecturer of Tate’s character and things begin to spiral out of control as Tate’s character continuously interrupts the lecture. When the professor threatens to fail her, she erupts in sudden chatter, ending her rant by perfectly reciting the aforementioned poem. The parallel between this sketch and the poem relate to the fact that most would not make out the student to know the poem, given her actions in class, while most would not want to fall in love with the subject of Shakespeare’s poem. They are both underestimated because they do not fit the ideal representation of what they are “supposed” to be, but that does not matter because the student knows what she is capable of while the speaker of the poem knows that their lover will bring out their happiness.

Even with the parallels between both mediums, the meaning of the poem certainly takes a different meaning once recited by Tate’s character; her character’s irate state can also be seen through Shakespeare’s point of view. In a time where love poems were filled with all different sorts of beautiful words, one can see this as Shakespeare becoming irate at the idea that poetry should be limited to describing just the beauty in things. Instead, his poem becomes a “rant” to his audience in an effort to set forth the idea that said audience fails to see the beauty in the mistress because she is not described as so, the same way Tate’s character rants at her professor for underestimating her true potential because she does not fit the description of the perfect, model student.

Physical and Mental Harm

By Randy Hernandez

The poem I have decided to analyze and to help answer the question is “My Brother at 3 A.M. by Natalie Diaz’s. When first reading the poem we see a man who is panicking as he is having hallucinations of a devil figure watching him. He is depicted to be sitting on the front porch “weeping on the steps” (line 1). His mother comes to the door to confront him of why he is in that state at such a ridiculous time of the night. When reading more into the poem we see the mother asking questions as she is very confused as she isn’t understanding or lost for the reasoning her son is in the front door. The speaker then leads to characterize the brother at to have “…lips flickered with sores” (20) This stood at me, its the only physical characteristic that was used to describe the brother. I then looked up what can cause sores on the lips as I couldn’t think of anything which can cause such a physical trait. What I found that having sores on your lip is a key symptom for people who  have an addiction, three related to drugs such as Meth, Heroin, and OxyContin. We can’t specifically say which one he is on but we can assume he is addicted to some type of hard core substances. There’s also this setting the speaker sets to be very dark and just give the poem a tone of being very gloomy. When doing this it only adds on to the effects the poem has on the reader and gives the reader an understanding of what is occurring in the poem. This is accomplished with how the mother was “in her nightgown” or the “Stars had closed their eyes or sheathed their knives”. The use of personification of the stars can lead to a bigger picture to help with the issue of the brother dealing with addiction at night. The use of the concept of drug addiction relates back to the body as it has everything to do with the human body and connects to the social identity of a drug addict.

Diaz’s shows the effects it has on the body and even on the loved ones of the victim. She also shows the mental state of a drug addict to the reader and how they are affected not only physically but mentently also. This sets how those who struggle with drug addiction have been silenced or even marginalized. This is more prominent towards the end of the poem as “Mom finally saw it, a hellish vision,” the mother was able to see the devil but not the one her son sees. She sees her son to be the devil figure. This gives the impression of the mother as she sees no point of return for her son. He is in the point of his life where he no longer can be helped this is emphasis at the end of the poem as she says “O God, O God”. The repetition of these words show how the mother is no longer hopeful for her son. The tone of these words show the mother to have a sense of guilt as she sees her son in a state where he is need in help but she believes she isn’t capable of doing anything for him. There’s also the use of Irony as the brother in the fist stance says the same words “O God,O God” as his mother says in the end the poem.