G. Brooks Poetry Analysis Essay/Reflective
Brooks’ Universal Issues and the Appeal to a Broad Audience
Brooks’ poetry, so rich in personal detail and authenticity, often does not have to justify the moral side of issues like other poems usually do. Her work, for me, seems less confessional and more like realistic humanity, a difficult feat to accomplish when so much of the material speaks of inner turmoil, lost loves, and wistful sadness. Honest in tone and filled with common and often disturbing themes, the poems were ones I was able to connect with. “The Mother” and “The Sundays of Satin Legs Smith” are two poems that speak to me in terms of universal longing and pain. I have never had an abortion, but I know several people who have. In fact, last year I had an 11th-grade student who was pregnant, and I told her that I would gladly adopt the baby. She said she would consider it, but she ended up having the abortion. For a couple weeks after she got back, I kept wondering what that child would have been like; but then, I had to force myself to put it out of my mind. “The Mother” brought back all the joys of having a child and all the disappointments of not having a second one.
“The Sundays of Satin Legs Smith” reminds me of that sinking feeling when you realize that the man you are with is not who you thought he was. You still love him, which makes the pain of a failed relationship that much harder to accept. I think of a couple specific men I dated before I got married (thank God I did not marry them), and I wonder at the decisions of women – the willingness to overlook the bad things because they are desperate to have somebody – anybody to fill the void. In “The Mother,” the speaker’s obvious pain and regret comes close to excusing her from the act of killing a child (for some readers it might exonerate her completely). In line one, the speaker confesses to a horrific action while simultaneously, with the pronoun you, imploring the reader to mentally relate to her experience. When the speaker
Brooks’ poetry, so rich in personal detail and authenticity, often does not have to justify the moral side of issues like other poems usually do. Her work, for me, seems less confessional and more like realistic humanity, a difficult feat to accomplish when so much of the material speaks of inner turmoil, lost loves, and wistful sadness. Honest in tone and filled with common and often disturbing themes, the poems were ones I was able to connect with. “The Mother” and “The Sundays of Satin Legs Smith” are two poems that speak to me in terms of universal longing and pain. I have never had an abortion, but I know several people who have. In fact, last year I had an 11th-grade student who was pregnant, and I told her that I would gladly adopt the baby. She said she would consider it, but she ended up having the abortion. For a couple weeks after she got back, I kept wondering what that child would have been like; but then, I had to force myself to put it out of my mind. “The Mother” brought back all the joys of having a child and all the disappointments of not having a second one.
“The Sundays of Satin Legs Smith” reminds me of that sinking feeling when you realize that the man you are with is not who you thought he was. You still love him, which makes the pain of a failed relationship that much harder to accept. I think of a couple specific men I dated before I got married (thank God I did not marry them), and I wonder at the decisions of women – the willingness to overlook the bad things because they are desperate to have somebody – anybody to fill the void. In “The Mother,” the speaker’s obvious pain and regret comes close to excusing her from the act of killing a child (for some readers it might exonerate her completely). In line one, the speaker confesses to a horrific action while simultaneously, with the pronoun you, imploring the reader to mentally relate to her experience. When the speaker