Sienna Tohar - week 15 - Pick-a-Poet

    This week, I’ve chosen to read “Ode to Ugly Things” by Leila Chatti. Its concept is quite simple, yet universal and can often branch into complexities of its own. There lies beauty in everything. For me, it’s an idea that I was taught at a young age, and I feel like because of that, it’s allowed me to be comfortable with having a more positive outlook on life, and that’s what I feel like this poem is all about.

Neither the sentence structure nor the vocabulary is too difficult or complex to understand, and I think it ended up being that way purposefully, as if emphasizing the simplicity in grasping the concept of finding beauty in all things (even those that appear “ugly” to us). And by this, Chatti means even the smallest details, like going back to a memory of “[a] sister, third grade, her braces, each band a yellow figure-eight, her favorite color,” highlighting the beauty of something nostalgic that doesn’t only tell the reader something about this person, but also how much the narrator has observed in her life to come to appreciate the smallest things, remembering them for much more than they simply were. This again is showcased when Chatti describes a beetle’s broken husk “crushed...cracked like a walnut, broken shell,” and “sleek as obsidian just cooled.” Making comparisons through such similes shows how she’s able to relate two completely different things and connect them by their small fascinations. There’s even a hint of irony when relating one thing that’s “crushed” and another that’s “sleek,” and uniting them somehow. 

She even manages to bring out the beauty from the “ugliness” of “mold on two-week old pita bread” and its “soft green bloom on the dark back shelf.” Once again, there’s a great sense of attention to detail showing just how carefully she analyzes everything to pick out each thing’s little charming traits. Irony is also present in that the mold on bread is described as a bloom in a dark area, placed somewhere on a back shelf, devoid of light and possibly forgotten (yet, there’s still something beautiful and fascinating about it, allowing and inviting observers to find little joys and excitement throughout their daily lives). 

Chatti goes on to describe the glimmering wetness of blood, “always bright and shining” and the wailing of ambulance sirens along with “its lights spinning.” I found it so interesting, though, that near the end, she describes how there’s even beauty in a situation so heartbreaking, frustrating, and difficult to come to terms with as what she describes as “your husband” (notice how “your” places you, the reader in this image, almost forcing you to find the “beauty” in the anticipated ugliness) with “another woman.” She tells the reader, “see how their faces, for a moment, is something like joy” despite the act of being betrayed by a significant other/spouse who vowed to you. 

To find so much beauty in these “ugly” situations is not easy and requires constant hope, positivity, and even patience, but I think Chatti demonstrated it almost effortlessly, highlighting such small details and what brings out the faint glory in each of them. 

Do you have trouble or enjoy finding beauty in “ugly” or ordinary things? Until next time!