June Jordan's poems are written in such a way that there is an intense longing in her words, but she also utilizes her poems in order to keep a record of her pain, something June Jordan herself claims she will never do. Her poetry serves as a record of this pain, and Jordan also utilizes the body in a manner that claims the meories and emotions of a text.
Jones writes: "I am a soul adrift / the whole night sky denies me light / without you" (8). What parallels can we draw between this poetic opening to texts we have read this semester? The first connection that I see in these lines is to Gayl Jones' Corregidora, when Ursa attempts to refashion her identity following her hysterectomy. Ursa's suffering is the direct result of a violent action, Mutt pushing her down a flight of stairs, but the suffering that Jordan records is a similar pain of absence, the departure of her lover. There is a similar problem here in that the speaker experiences a lack of tenable identity when she is alone and is only able to define herself in relation to her lover.
These feelings, even if they are not resolved, are addressed in Jordan's "Resolution #1,003." The title alone is haunting as it suggests the many times that she attempts to refashion herself either after a break-up or other similar disappointment. "I will love who loves me / I will love as much as I am loved" (14). To what extent are the speaker's problems the result of an intensity of feeling? The vow that she will love as much as she is loved suggests that she will not again be caught in a situation where she feels more for her lover because this will only result in pain and suffering.
In "Onesided Dialog," Jones writes of the rejection that the speaker fears: not being wanted. The speaker puts herself out there, but does not believe that her affections will be rewarded in any way. In this one-sided dialogue, the speaker fears that not one will want to "steal" her: "You're wrong. It's not that I gave away my keys. / The problem is nobody wants to steal me or my house" (43). What elements of violence (or at least intrusion) do we see in Jones' poems?
There is also an element of timelessness in Jordan's poems, which operate both in terms of with and without a lover, but exist in relation to relationships. She considers time to occur in this dichotomy, in or outside a relationship, a viewpoint which makes other aspects of time useless. One such example is Jordan's "When I or Else," which is a fluid poem that considers time in relation to another. The fluidity of the poem is the result of the speaker considering a multitude of viewpoints, but also that she sees herself in comparison to a partner. In what ways does this viewpoint (here and in other Jordan poems) affect her poetry and need for a connection?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I see a parallel between Hermakhonon's Veronica and the lines "I am a soul adrift / the whole night sky denies me light / without you" from Jordan's poem (8). Veronica is searching for identity in Africa and to some degree her desire to belong is denied. I would even argue that she sabotages her opportunities to make a home for herself. These lines also speak to Veronica's romantic relationships, which have left her in the dark in terms of personal growth and self-love.
ReplyDelete