Blog #3

I compared the poem “Counterfactual”, written by Clint Smith, to “A Bigger Splash”, which was created by British artist David Hockney. The poem sets the tone for the importance of child-like play, and the innocence we often wish to forever hold onto. “Counterfactual” and “A Bigger Splash” both compliment each other in the sense that they show how important it is to not take life for granted, and enjoy the little and large moments. In Smith’s poem the tone shifts from lighthearted to dense and nerve wracking. Similarly to the shift in the poem, the image I chose shows an idea of playfulness, and then a crash of the splash.

Smith speaks on the differences that occur between the way white children are able to live compared to black children. Smith details the harsh reaction he receives from his father for simply playing with water guns with his friends. This moment in the poem addresses the harsh reality of racial disparities that occur within our world. The lens that society views white people is very different from the lens that society views black people, according to Smith’s father at least. In the image I found it interesting how the splash and the diving board contrast so well with each other. I decided to use this photo, because I found that the contrast with the splash and diving board complimented the big shift in the poem that occurred when Smith’s father was displeased with his actions. 

In the poem Smith states, “he derided me for being so naive.” This moment in the story brings insight into how upset the father was. The difference in this moment is how Smith didn’t fully understand why his father was upset. Smith was more focused on how his father had embarrassed him in front of his friends. The poem is full of contrasts that are both intense and difficult to understand. Some of the contrasts also occur from societal issues that the poem brings about. The reason I think the image so well suits this photo is because the common societal issues of racism and perception the poem introduces, ties really well to the realism of a pool setting demonstrated in the photo. It makes one feel as though they are there relaxing on a calm sunny day, until suddenly, “SPLASH,” a huge wave of water crashes over you from the pool deck. The unsettling feeling of fun and uncertainty that this image creates, in my opinion, is a good tie into what Smith is demonstrating in the poem through his expression of what his childhood looked like.

Smith’s poem shines light on the racial judgements we make in our world, and the differences between the leisurely life Smith wishes he could live, and the harsh reality his father enforces on him. Similarly to Smith’s poem the photo depicts a calm before the storm type of feeling. The pool brings about memories of playfulness, a happiness everyone yearns for, but the reality is that life can come crashing down on us at any second, which I believe the large splash in the middle of the painting represents. Smith’s poem is an insight into reality and the image gives insight into realism, both strong factors in the way society operates. 

Blog #2

I chose to discuss three poems written by Clint Smith. Each poem is in a different category that I determined by analyzing their ability to be understood. “Shedding” is categorized as hard, “When Hiding in the Mountains Isn’t Enough” is easy to understand, and “the drone” is just right.

To start, the poem “Shedding” is hard to understand. This isn’t just because it is a complex poem, it is because the meaning is lost in the words. Throughout the poem as you read you are going along a journey of someone cleaning a shower. As you read it is a web tangled between someone simply just “scrubbing the shower once a week” and someone who doesn’t know whether what they are cleaning is coming “from my body” or from “ the things that it has previously left behind”. 

The understanding of this poem seems dark and distraught, but the true meaning of the poem isn’t shining right in front of you…instead it is hidden. However, it isn’t hidden in a fun way, it is hidden in a way that you may never understand what the poem truly means. This poem is hard. 

I don’t like this poem because of how hard it is to truly understand, but you can tell a lot about Smith from this poem. Smith, in his lifetime, has dedicated his work to showing the truth about the world. Smith took away the blinders we all had about our world, and renewed our sense of what the world truly is. Smith’s poems are honest, they represent injustices that occur everyday. Despite this poem not being the most indicative of something that has a really urgent call to action, it does show how life is hard work. The phrase “blood, sweat, and tears” truly does feel represented in this poem.

“Shedding” is a hard poem to understand because it could mean so many different things, but the poem being hard to understand feels like it was purposeful. The poem is hard, but so is life. For instance when Smith writes, “I get on my hands and knees & scrub” we can see the hardship of the cleaning itself. We don’t always understand why certain things in life happen to us, and this poem is an addition to the hard things in life. Overall the understanding of this poem is hard to understand, but its message and theme are more apparent throughout the poem.

In addition to the hard poem, there is also an easy poem to understand: “When Hiding in the Mountains Isn’t Enough”. This poem’s true meaning sticks out like a sore thumb; you don’t even have to read the entire poem. This poem is easy to understand based on its sense of longingness and remembrance. You can tell that the author is trying to show a yearning for something, maybe that something is a person, maybe not, but there is certainly something being remembered.

In the poem we see a description of someone trying to forget, but as they try to forget it seems that they only remember more. The first line of the poem is, “I have tried to bury your syllables”. This shows a clear and distinct need to try and forget. Immediately reading the first line one can already establish a clear line of reasoning within the poem, which is why I so strongly categorized it as easy. 

Even if that wasn’t enough to convince someone that it was easy, when you continue to read the poem you see more and more how the theme of memory sticks out. In the poem Smith writes, “Until I forget that you are even there”. I found this to be interesting because throughout the whole poem no matter how hard the person seems to try to forget, or want to forget, they can’t. The poem is beautifully mastered, but it isn’t quite complex enough for it to be anything but easy to understand. 

Smith uses a mixture of emotion, and words to show the reader the true meaning of the poem. I find that Smith’s use of emotions are very indicative of Smith’s background and life. Smith uses his poems to show the world from his view. In the poem it states, “Thought this soil & granite would suffocate the explosion beneath my feet”. The quote is full of emotion and Smith grew up seeing things from a different lens, and through many different emotions. I believe that because of this, some of his poems are rather easy to understand. This poem is one of the easy ones, filled with emotion, a bit of mystery, and a great understanding of its true meaning. 

Lastly, I found “the drone” to be a poem that was “just right”. The meaning of this poem wasn’t immediately clear, but it was able to be understood after some thought. The drone is used as a metaphor for the way we observe things in life, and the carelessness that some people have towards the world.

Smith uses his experience with adversity to use the drone to show the negativity of this world. Smith has seen all of the wrong we have done to the world, for the world, and against others. The drone is not a toy, but it “looks as if it might be a toy”. The drone is a negative force in the poem, and as you read you can see this more and more clearly, making the poem easy to understand.

Smith also does something unique in this poem, and messes with the formatting of the words within the lines. This adds to the feeling of the purpose of the poem. The poem is shifty, sometimes clear, sometimes vague, but always purposeful. Smith details information about the drone in a contradictory way to show the difference between people’s perception of the drone, and what the drone is actually capable of. 

In the text it states that, “the drone scoffs at sovereignty,” which shows the blatant disrespect the drone has, but why should it have respect, it is simply a scrap of metal. The drone holds as a metaphor for how blatantly disrespectful we are of our world, and to each other. The drone is not more powerful than a person with too much power. 

The understanding that one person can have with this poem allows for it to be “just right”. It isn’t easy because it doesn’t just say that “the drone is evil just like the world”, but it does say that the drone is, “the drone is going to kill next”. The drone is evil, and so is the world. Clint Smith has an appreciation for the world, but also knows there are constant forces of evil living in our world. This isn’t the easiest theme and meaning to find in a poem, but it certainly isn’t the hardest…it is simply “just right”. 

Blog Post #1

“No More Elegies Today”

Written by: Clint Smith

In Clint Smith’s poem “No More Elegies Today, ” discussing a little girl’s experience versus common negative violence in her world allows the reader to unlock a new outlook from Smith’s storytelling. The poem depicts the positive moments in life, “a little girl jumping rope,” but then goes into how “It will not be a metaphor for dodging bullets.” The comparison between the little girl jumping rope and the comparison of dodging bullets immediately stands out while reading the poem. The comparison is easily understood as the common use of a positive, everyday activity being used to manipulate the innocence that comes attached to gun violence in this world. I think this sets up the poem for a better understanding of the reader and allows insight into the message that Smith is sending, mainly about how positive moments need to be kept near and dear, while also acknowledging the crippling violence that our world endures. This understanding is important to the poem because it shows the true intention the poem has, which is to shine a more positive light on the more pleasurable moments of life. 

Smith’s poem deals with a deeper understanding of how violence can cripple our world but wants the overall takeaway to be that the positive moments in life should shine brighter, and hopefully mean more. Despite this, some parts of the poem are more difficult to understand, and this is because they could have multiple meanings to them. Smith’s writing in the poem is more versatile and sometimes could have more than one message to the reader. For instance, when Smith says, “But rather the way her feet barely touch the ground,” it can give the impression that Smith is trying to either pass a message about the little girl representing a world always on edge or could simply be discussing the way the simplest activity’s in life can bring such a joy. I like the way poems can have multiple interpretations through various readers and viewpoints, but I find this to be a bit difficult to understand with poems such as this one when it is clear that the author has a specific way they would like it to be interpreted. 

After some thought, there are certain portions of the poem that I think are more unique to the poem and have grown on me. I have been able to better understand what Smith means when he says, “cultivating an energy of their own,” or “sounds like the entire world is giving her a round of applause.” When I first approached these quotes I believed they were alluding to maybe a more negative or overwhelming connotation, but as I read more and understood better, I came to see it describes the more positive energies experienced by the little girl and her friends. The energy cultivated allows for the fun and positive experiences discussed in the poem, and the quotation about applause adds to the positive light on the little girl just enjoying all that life has to offer her innocence. 

For me, this poem opened my eyes because I realized everything doesn’t always have to be inherently negative, or even perceived that way. Even the most negative situations can leave someone in a better place, it just may take some time to reach that point. Everything in our world tends to be viewed through the most negative lens, and I think Smith brilliantly highlights the misconceptions and overuse of negativity in our world. I related heavily to this poem through the mention of gun violence at the start, and it made me realize life can be more about learning from the tragedies and enjoying the positive lights that shine brighter over the atrocities of our world.

Word Count: 621