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TallulahLefkowitz
OConnor
HonorsEnglish
14March2016
JacquelineWoodson:FiveExplicatedPoems
becausewerewitnesses
Intheliteralsense,thispoemtalksabouteverythingthespeakerwasneverallowed.She
couldnevercelebrateholidayslikeChristmas,Halloween,andbirthdayslikeeveryoneelse
could.Whenthechildreninherclasswouldbringintreatsfortheirbirthdays,shemustleavethe
classroom,pretendinglikeshedoesnotwanttostay.Shewasneverallowedtovote,fight,or
curse.Shewillneverbeabletoeatthebirthdaytreatstheotherchildrenbringin,andshewill
nevergotowar.
ThispoemsaysalotabouthowAfricanAmericansfeltandfeelabouttheinequalities
theyface.Asachild,thespeakerwasneverallowedtocelebrateholidaysinthesamewaythat
thewhitekidswere.Smallnormalitieslikethisareincrediblyimportanttokids,sonotbeing
allowedthemmadeherfeellessthan.Laterinlife,shewasnotallowedthingslikevoting,
fighting,andcursing.Shefeelsthatifshewasnevergrantedthesebasicrights,thenshewill
nevergotowar.Whyfightforacountrythatneverfoughtforher?
Thispoemwasbeautifullyandsimplywritten.Itcomparesnotbeingallowedabirthday
treatasachildtonotbeingallowedtovoteasanadult.Itopenedmymindtoallofthesmall
opportunitiesIwasgivenasachild,beingmiddleclassandwhite,thatotherswereleftoutof.
Thelastthreelinesareextremelypoignant:Wewillnevertastethesweetnessofaclassroom

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birthdaycupcake/Wewillnevertastethebitternessofabattle(Woodson4).Shewillneverrisk
herlifeinhelpingacountrythatneverdidanythingforherbutpushherdown.

rivers
TheHockingRiverandtheOhioRivermoveawayfromeachother,inopposite
directions.Thispoemtalksaboutalloftheplaceseachriverpassesthrough,andeverythingeach
riverseesandexperiences.TheybothflowawayfromthedangeroftheSouth.Onceeachriver
hasjourneyedforlongenough,theyrememberwheretheycamefromandcirclebacktoeach
other.
Theriversinthispoemsymbolizethespeakerandherrelationshiptowhereshecomes
from.Sheleaveshomeconfidently,withtheintentionoftraveling,seeing,experiencing.She
journeysthroughtownaftertown,learningeachonesstory,whilestayingawayfromtheSouth.
Aftershefeelsshehasseenenough,sheremembersthecomfortshehasinherhomeandfamily,
andgoesbacktowhereshecamefrom.
Woodsoncomparesafastflowingrivertoherselfandheradventuroustendencies.
Thisgivesthereaderavisualrepresentationofhersoulandtheactualplacesshewent.This
poemconnectswithotherslikehowtolisten#7,andhelpsonegainagreaterunderstandingof
whosheisasapersonandapoet.Thepersonificationofbothriversshowsthereaderhowasshe
growsfartherfromherhome,physicallyandemotionally,herhomegrowsfartherawayfrom
her.

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ghosts
InthedowntownofthespeakershometownofGreenville,theypaintedoverthewhite
onlysignsastheywerenolongerinuse.Onthebathroomdoors,however,whoeverpainted
overthesignsdidnotuseenoughpaint,becauseonecanstillseewhiteonlyunderneaththe
paint.Thesewordsstillkeepthespeakeroutofthebathroom.
Thispoemisrichwithsimple,yetpowerfulfigurativelanguage.Itisfairlyliteralinits
meaning,statinghowtherewasnotenoughpaintusedtocoverupthewhiteonlymessages.
Thesemessagesarelikeghosts,keepingherfromfeelingcomfortableenteringthebathroom.
TheremainsofearlydiscriminationagainstAfricanAmericansisvisibleeverywheretangible
androttingintheheartsofthosethatlivedthroughit.Itstillholdsmanybackfromdoingthings
theirancestorswerenotallowed.
Woodsondescribesthewordswhiteonlylikeaghost.Thisisapoignantwaytoputit,
showingthereaderhowthepastcanaffectthepresent.Ghostsarethelivingdead,justasis
racisminthe1930sand1940sis.Justbecausesomethingisnolongeralaw,ornolonger
generallyacceptedinsociety,doesnotmeanthatitnolongerexists.Theseghostsare
everywhere,remindingusofhowfarwe'vecome,andhowfarwehavetogo.

journey
ThespeakersfatheristellingheraboutthewaysoftheSouth,andhownoWoodson
wouldbesubjectedtothatlevelofdisrespect.Whenhemethiswife,thespeakersmom,hegot
heroutoftheSouthasquicklyashecould.TherewillneverbesomeoneintheWoodsonfamily

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whositsatthebackofthebus,orhastoyessirandnosirwhitepeople.Allofthechildren
arestrong,anddeservetobeasgoodastheyare.
Thispoemisquiteliteral,asitisasimpledescriptionofastorythespeakersfatheronce
toldher.Thepoemasawhole,however,representssomethinggreater.Blackpeoplearesubject
tosuchhatred,violence,anddisrespect,itisdifficulttokeeponesheadup.Thispoemfocuses
ononefamilysstory,butitringstrueformany.Nopersonshouldeverhavetoforcethemselves
beneathanother,nomatterwhoistellingthemto.Herfathertalksabouthowyoucankeepyour
SouthandyoucankeepyourSouthCarolina.Onecankeepit,buthewillnotlivewithit.
Thewordchoiceinthispoemisstrong,direct,anddecisive.Itgivesthereaderasenseof
thefeelingsbehindthewordsanger,frustration,anddefiance.Thedignityofonefamilythat
never,andwillnever,letdown.HerfathersayssocertainYoucankeepyourSouthCarolina.
Onecanpracticallyfeelhisstrengthinhisvoice.

reading
Thespeakerisnothersister.Thewordsshereadsinthebookscurveintoeachother,
nevermakingmuchsense.Shehastoreadthewordsoverandoveragainandletthemsinkinto
hermemoryuntilsheunderstandsthem.Theteachertellsherthatshemustreadfaster,better,
likesheisolder.Butshedoesnotwanttoreadlikethis.Shewantstokeepthestorywithher,
makingitapartofher.Shewantseverystorytobememorablelongaftershehasreadit.
Asawhole,thispoemisrepresentativeofthebattleinfindingonesuniquevoice.The
speakerhasbeentoldallofherlifethatshemustreaddifferentlyolder,faster,better.Noone
everstoppedtoconsiderthefactthatmaybeshedidntwanttoreadinthoseways,andfeltbest

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lettingthestoriessinkinovertime.Thisreflectsonthewaysthatwehavetaughtourchildren,
andthepressuresonehassuccumbedtothroughoutoneslife.Ifwecontinuetopressureyoung
studentstodothingsthesamewayaseveryoneelse,eachpersonsuniquevoicewillbecome
lost.Thespeakerwillnotallowthistohappentoher,anddoesthingsherownwaydespite.
Thispoemprojectsanextremelyimportantmessageaboutourcurrenteducationsystem.
Everykidthinksdifferently,andnochildlearnsinthesameway.Ifwecontinuetoforcethe
same,uniformtestingoneverychild,wewillendupwithagenerationofdependentthinkers.It
isimportantthatasanationwecelebrateoriginalityandintelligence,insteadofjusthightest
scores.