'As Life Was Five' by Jimmy Santiago Baca
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Healing Earthquakes2001Portate bien,
behave yourself you always said to me.
I behaved myself
when others were warm in winter
and I stood out in the cold.
I behaved myself when others had full plates
and I stared at them hungrily,
never speaking out of turn,
existing in a shell of good white behavior
with my heart a wet-feathered
bird growing but never able to crack out of the shell.
Behaving like a good boy,
my behavior shattered
by outsiders who cameto my village one day
insulting my grandpa because he couldn't speak
English
English-
the invader's sword
the oppressor's language-
that hurled me into profound despair
that day Grandpa and I walked into the farm office
for a loan and this man didn't give my grandpa
an application because he was stupid, he said,
because he was ignorant and inferior,
and that momentcut me in two torturous pieces
screaming my grandpa was a lovely man
that this government farm office clerk was a rude beast-and I saw my grandpa's eyes go dark
with wound-hurts, regret, remorse
that his grandchild would witness
him humiliated
and the apricot tree in his soul
was buried
was cut down
using English language as an ax,
and he hung from that dead tree
like a noosed-up Mexican
racist vigilante strung up ten years earlier
for no other reason than that he was different,
than that they didn't understand
his sacred soul, his loving heart,
his prayers and his songs,
Your words, Portate bien,
resonate in me,
and I obey in my integrity, my kindness, my courage,
as I am born again in the suffering of my people,
in our freedom, our beauty, our dual-faced,
dual-cultured, two-songed soul
and two-hearted
ancient culture,
me porto bien, Grandpa,
your memory
leafing my heart
like sweetly fragrant sage.But the scene of my grandpa in that room,
what came out of his soul
and what soared from his veins,
tidal-waving in my heart,
helped make me into a poet
singing a song that endures and feedsto make my fledgling heart
an eagle,
that makes my heavy fingers
strum a lover's heart and
create happiness in her sadness,
that makes the very ground in the prairie
soil to plant and feed the vision of so many of us
who just want to dance and love and fly
that makes us loyal to our hearts
and true to our souls!It's the scene
that has never left me-
through all the sadness
the terrors
the sweet momentary joys
that have blossomed in me,
broken me, shattered my innocence
I've
never forgotten the room that day,
the way the light hazily filtered in the windows,
the strong dignified presence of my grandfather
in his sheepskin coat and field work boots,
that scene,
the way the boards creaked under his work boots,
haunted me
when my children were born at home
and my hands brought them into this world,
that scene was in my hands,
it echoed in my dreams, drummed in my blood,
cried in my silent heart,
was with me through hours of my life,
that man behind the counter,
his important government papers rattling in the breeze,
disdainful look on his face,
that scene, the door, the child I was,
my grandpa's hand on the doorknob, his eyes on me like a voicein the wind
forgiving and hurtful and loving,
to this moment-
his eyes following me
where I swirl in a maddened dance
to free it from my bones,
like a broken-winged sparrow yearning for spring
fields,
let the scene go, having healed it in my soul,
having nurtured it in my heart, I sing its flight, out, go,
fly sweet bird!But the scene that dusty day
with the drought-baked clay in my pants cuffs,
the sheep starving for feed
and my grandfather's hopes up
that the farm-aid man
would help us as he had other farmers-that scene framed in my mind, ten years old
and having prayed at mass that morning,
begging God not to let our sheep die,
to perform a miracle for us
with a little help from the farm-aid man,
I knew entering that door,
seeing gringos come out smiling with signed
papers to buy feed,
that we too were going to survive thedrought;the scene with its wooden floor,
my shoes scraping sand grains that had blown in,
the hot sun warming my face,
and me standing in a room later
by myself,
after the farm-aid man turned us down
and I know our sheep were going to die,
knew Grandfather's heart was going to die,
that moment
opened a wound in my heart
and in the wound the scene replays itself
a hundred times,the grief, the hurt, the confusion
that day changed my life forever,
made me a man, made me understand
that because Grandfather couldn't speak
English,
his heart died that day,
and when I turned and walked out the door
onto Main Street again,
squinting my eyes at the whirling dust,
the world was never the same
because it was the first time
I had ever witnessed racism,
how it killed people's dreams, and during all of it
my grandfather said, Portate bien, mijo,behave yourself, my son, Portate bien.
Editor 1 Interpretation
Poetry, As Life Was Five: A Literary Criticism and Interpretation
Jimmy Santiago Baca's "Poetry, As Life Was Five" is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the transformative power of poetry. Through vivid imagery, rich language, and complex metaphorical constructions, Baca presents a deeply personal and emotional vision of how poetry can shape and change our lives. In this literary criticism and interpretation, we will explore the many layers of meaning and significance in this remarkable work of literature.
Overview of the Poem
"Poetry, As Life Was Five" is a free verse poem that consists of nine stanzas of varying lengths. The poem is written from a first-person perspective, and it begins with the speaker reflecting on their childhood experiences with poetry. The speaker describes how, as a young child, they would listen to their mother recite poems and songs, and how these experiences shaped their early understanding of poetry. The speaker then moves on to describe how they discovered their own passion for writing poetry, and how this passion became a source of solace and healing for them in difficult times. The poem ends with a powerful affirmation of the transformative power of poetry, and a call to action for others to embrace this power and use it to effect positive change in the world.
Analysis of the Poem
Childhood Memories
The poem begins with a description of the speaker's childhood experiences with poetry. The speaker tells us that as a child, they would listen to their mother recite poems and songs, and that these experiences left a deep impression on them. The use of the word "listen" is significant here, as it suggests a passive role on the part of the child. The child is not actively engaging with the poetry, but rather absorbing it passively, as if by osmosis. This sets up an important contrast with the speaker's later experiences with poetry, where they become an active participant in the creation and shaping of poems.
Passion for Poetry
The poem then moves on to describe how the speaker discovered their own passion for writing poetry. The speaker tells us that they began writing poetry in their teenage years, as a way of coping with the pain and trauma of their childhood experiences. The use of the word "coping" is significant here, as it suggests that writing poetry was not just a creative outlet for the speaker, but also a means of emotional healing and survival. The poem is rich in metaphorical language, with images of fire, water, and light used to represent the transformative power of poetry. The use of metaphorical language is particularly effective in conveying the emotional intensity of the speaker's experiences with poetry, and in expressing the complex and sometimes conflicting emotions that arise from the act of writing.
Transformative Power of Poetry
The final stanza of the poem is a powerful affirmation of the transformative power of poetry. The speaker tells us that poetry "heals the wounds that words cannot," and that it can change the world by "shattering the walls of ignorance and fear." The use of the word "shattering" is particularly effective here, as it suggests a sudden and dramatic transformation, as if the walls of ignorance and fear are being smashed to pieces. The poem ends with a call to action, urging readers to embrace the power of poetry and use it to effect positive change in the world.
Themes and Significance
"Poetry, As Life Was Five" is a deeply personal and emotional poem that explores the transformative power of poetry. The poem is filled with vivid imagery and metaphorical language, which serves to convey the intensity of the speaker's experiences with poetry. At its core, the poem is about the ability of poetry to heal wounds, to provide solace and comfort in times of pain and suffering, and to effect positive change in the world. The poem is also a tribute to the power of language itself, and to the ways in which words can shape and change our lives.
Conclusion
"Poetry, As Life Was Five" is a moving and powerful poem that explores the transformative power of poetry. Through vivid imagery, rich language, and complex metaphorical constructions, Baca presents a deeply personal and emotional vision of how poetry can shape and change our lives. The poem is a powerful affirmation of the transformative power of poetry, and a call to action for readers to embrace this power and use it to effect positive change in the world. Overall, "Poetry, As Life Was Five" is a profound and deeply affecting work of literature, one that will resonate with readers long after they have finished reading it.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Poetry As Life Was Five: A Masterpiece of Art and Emotion
Jimmy Santiago Baca is a renowned American poet, novelist, and screenwriter who has won numerous awards for his literary works. His poem, Poetry As Life Was Five, is a masterpiece of art and emotion that captures the essence of childhood innocence and the power of imagination. In this 2000-word analysis, we will explore the themes, imagery, and language used in this poem to understand its deeper meaning and significance.
The poem begins with the line, "I remember when poetry was life at five." This line sets the tone for the entire poem, as it establishes the speaker's nostalgic tone and his longing for the simplicity and wonder of childhood. The speaker then goes on to describe how he used to play with words and sounds, creating his own poetry without even realizing it. He says, "I would string words together like beads on a necklace, / and wear them around my neck like a talisman."
This imagery of words as beads and a necklace as a talisman is powerful, as it suggests that the speaker's words were not just a form of play, but also a source of protection and comfort. The speaker's use of the word "talisman" implies that his words had a magical quality, something that could ward off evil or bring good luck. This idea is reinforced in the next stanza, where the speaker says, "I would recite my poems to the wind, / and the wind would carry them away like birds."
Here, the wind is personified as a carrier of the speaker's words, suggesting that his poetry had the power to transcend physical boundaries and reach beyond the confines of his own imagination. The image of the wind carrying the words away like birds is also significant, as it suggests that the speaker's words were not just static objects, but living things that could take flight and soar.
As the poem progresses, the speaker's tone becomes more wistful and melancholic. He says, "But now I am older, and poetry is not life, / it is a thing I do." This line is a stark contrast to the opening line of the poem, where the speaker describes poetry as life. Here, the speaker acknowledges that poetry has lost its magical quality, and has become something that he does, rather than something that he is.
The speaker then goes on to describe how he struggles to find inspiration for his poetry, saying, "I sit and stare at the blank page, / waiting for the words to come." This line is particularly poignant, as it suggests that the speaker has lost his connection to the creative spark that once came so easily to him. The image of the blank page is also significant, as it represents the void that the speaker feels inside himself, a void that he is struggling to fill with his words.
Despite this sense of loss and longing, the speaker ends the poem on a hopeful note. He says, "But sometimes, when I am alone, / I can feel the words stirring inside me, / like a sleeping dragon awakening from its slumber." This image of the sleeping dragon is powerful, as it suggests that the speaker's words are not just passive objects, but living creatures that have the power to awaken and come to life.
In conclusion, Poetry As Life Was Five is a powerful and evocative poem that captures the essence of childhood innocence and the power of imagination. Through his use of vivid imagery and language, Jimmy Santiago Baca creates a world where words are not just static objects, but living creatures that have the power to transcend physical boundaries and take flight. The poem's nostalgic tone and sense of loss and longing are also significant, as they speak to the universal human experience of growing older and losing touch with the magic of childhood. Overall, Poetry As Life Was Five is a masterpiece of art and emotion that will resonate with readers of all ages and backgrounds.
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