This week for my pick a poet I chose “White Lies”, by Natasha Trethewey. I am, as usual, absolutely entranced by the way Trethewey talks about growing up as a poor black family in the South. It’s such a different experience than any I’ve ever and will ever know.
The poem’s title is a brilliant play on words. The poem does actually talk about white lies, little ones for that don’t hurt anyone, but it also talks about Trethewey literally lying about being white as a child. She discusses growing up poor and how she lied to white people about the part of town where she lived, and where she got her clothes. And then she goes on to say when a white girl in her class told her, “Now we have three of us in this class.”, she just went along with it. (lines 17-18) Her mother would punish her when she lied by washing out her mouth with soap.
In the end, she uses my favorite line of the poem, “Believing her, I swallowed suds thinking they'd work from the inside out.” (lines 28-30) I can picture in my head this little girl, mouth full of soap, eyes closed, praying that the suds will purify her of her lies. Trethewey’s descriptions always feel powerful to me and are often easy to picture because of her clear details.
I love the way Trethewey writes with nostalgia that transfers to the reader, even when the exact experience isn’t a shared one, you can find yourself connecting to the feelings. I remember what it was like to lie as a little kid and to feel so awful immediately after. When you’re little you almost want to get caught because you’re terrified of what might happen because of your lies. So I understand why she almost wanted to have her mouth washed out.
How do you feel about telling white lies?
I remember reading this post, but I guess I forgot to leave a comment. The poem is really interesting, though. People tell white lies all the time, or tell real lies under the guise of white lies. Either way I appreciate honesty most of the time. That being said, sometimes the truth isn't needed in a situation as it would upset someone more than a lie. I do think that line about the little girl hoping the suds would purify her from within is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteEven if it wasn't the main focus of the poem, I think it was intriguing to see lies used as a tool to have more control is a society biased against someone. Were those lies really unethical if they were only necessary because of the ingrained bias against her?
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