Emplumada By Lorna Dee Cervantes: Hardships Of A Latinx Woman In America
Emplumada by Lorna Dee Cervantes is a compilation of poems that explore the struggles and harsh truths of her experiences as a Latinx woman in America. While each poem is unique, poignant, and powerful in its own way, “Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person Could Believe in the War Between Races” provides blunt, moving commentary regarding the realities of the oppression that members of racial minorities face daily.
The poem follows the subject, presumably Cervantes herself, answering a white male who asked her how she could believe in a war between races. The poem addresses the intricacies and nuances of racism. The author’s usage of metaphors, free verse form, and descriptive diction serve as devices that allow her to present and reinforce her message in an impassioned, thought-provoking manner. The speaker creates a metaphor surrounding war and builds upon it over the course of the poem. The speaker explains that while they do not believe in a war between the races, there are racial tensions and conflicts that are undeniably ingrained into society that cannot be ignored.
Throughout the poem, the speaker references war and aspects of warfare and connects them to the oppression of minorities. On page 36, the speaker states that they are “marked by the color of their skin” and that “the bullets are discrete and designed to kill slowly”. The speaker sees themselves as constantly vulnerable and target for discrimination, and the bullets that are designed to slowly kill them and people of color take form in laws that are created to reinforce institutional, systemic racism in this country. The speaker describes their “wounds” as if they are battle scars created as a result of the trauma they have experienced at the hands of racial discrimination. The “bullets bury deeper than logic” and the speaker “can not reason these scars away”, meaning that racism defies logic and leaves permanent damage on the individual affected by the discrimination, and as the speaker explains, they cannot rationalize the discrimination they have faced even though they may wish that they could.
The speaker references war for the final time in the final lines of the poem, “I do not believe in the war between the races/but in this country/there is war”. The metaphor of war aids the speaker in enabling the reader to understand the severity and danger people from marginalized minority backgrounds feel. The war metaphor was allowed to fully flourish due to the free verse structure of the poem. As with every other poem in Emplumada, this poem follows free verse form. The poem is composed of several different stanzas, but there is no rhyme scheme present. The piece reads like a speech that could be given to a crowd at a political rally or a rant. On page 35, the speaker has an aside to the white male that asked them how they could believe in the war between the races: (I know you don’t believe this. You think this is nothing but faddish exaggeration. But they are not shooting at you. ) This aside also serves as an example of enjambment; the insertion of this text allows the text to feel more assertive. When reading this portion aloud, the reader feels as though they are delivering a final blow or reality check in a heated discussion. Two additional examples of enjambment can be found at the end of the piece, “that this is not/my land” and “I do not believe in the war between the races/but in this country/there is war”. These particular examples of enjambment bring forth a sense of finality to the speaker’s thoughts and provide the answer to the initial question posed to the speaker as well. The first two stanzas begin by using the phrase “in my land” and in both of these stanzas the speaker describes their ideal home country; the phrase in my land allows the reader to understand that this idealized world is the complete opposite from the world the speaker finds themselves in at the present moment.
The poem’s meter is also varied, as some stanzas are long and wistful, while others are blunt and brief. The form also presents an interesting dichotomy, seeing as the speaker is free to air their grievances and speak their truth, but does not live a truly free life due to the trauma, discrimination, and systemic oppression they have endured. The free-flowing form of the poem allows the author to make some interesting choices in terms of diction while creating a solid, bold argument as to why inequalities and inequities between the races exist. Throughout the poem, the author’s diction utilizes emotionally-charged words. These emotionally-charged words also lay the groundwork for intense imagery. The first stanza packs a heavy punch when the speaker immediately creates the image of an idealistic utopia “the barbed wire politics of oppression have been torn down long ago”.
The speaker is alluding to the United States/Mexico border, a point of ongoing political tension. Yet, the speaker’s image does not solely focus on the physical barriers between the two countries, but rather, the emotional, cultural, and ethical barriers that had been built as a result of generations of conflict. The speaker continues to lament their ideal country to the reader as more imagery is uncovered. The reader is exposed to various descriptions of tragedies, “everywhere the crosses are burning, sharp-shooting goose-steppers around every corner, there are snipers in the schools”. These vivid descriptions allow the reader to visualize the scene and feel as if they are there, and the images of burning crosses and goose-steppers are both associated with the Ku Klux Klan and members of the Nazi regime, two of the most notorious organizations associated with white supremacy and racist ideologies.
Additionally, the image of snipers in schools portrays another example of a vulnerable population being placed in danger, thus connecting to the speaker’s assertion of “bullets…designed to kill slowly”. The speaker personifies the bitter reality of living as a racial minority in this country by explaining how their “own days bring [me] slaps on the face”; the specific decision of describing reality as a slap to the face creates a surge of empathy and sense of shock in the reader.
“Poem for the Young White Man…” is strengthened by prompting emotional responses in the reader due to the diction used throughout the work. “Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person Could Believe in the War Between Races” effectively uses a multitude of poetic devices in order to portray the unavoidable oppression members of racial minorities and all marginalized groups face each day in this country. The speaker echoes sentiments that are common throughout minority communities, mainly, a lack of connection and feelings of fear in the areas in which they reside. While the speaker does not live in their idealized utopia, they feel that in some way, this is their country, seeing as it is where they have forged their life. Nevertheless, the speaker cannot ignore the inequalities they witness, despite how hard they may try to do so.
Lorna Dee Cervantes beautifully dissects the constant turmoil that people of color are all too familiar with. One can only hope that one day, this country will become dedicated to repairing relationships with marginalized communities; and begin to flourish as the emplumado does after molting.
