Once again Natasha Trethewey has my complete attention with her beautiful imagery. In the poem I chose this week, “South”, she describes the scenery of where she grew up in Mississippi. But as the poem continues, it goes from a commentary on local nature with some reference to the past to a history of racism within the state. She speaks specifically on the role Mississippi played in the Civil War in terms of slavery and how it was confederate.
Trethewey starts the poem with a quote from E.O. Wilson (who I had to look up), a biologist and writer. He wrote, “Homo sapiens is the only species to suffer psychological exile.” It’s quite powerful in the context of the poem. Upon further research I found Trethewey also used this quote to explain a poem she selected for the New York Times once, I guess she’s a fan! (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/magazine/after-the-voices.html) She says the line for her connects the past and the present. Again in the context of this poem that makes sense, as that is exactly what is happening here.
As I said in the beginning of this post, her imagery is really what caught my attention. She writes in the most stunning vibrant way possible. When she describes something, you see it. She reflects on the flora of Mississippi, “each flower a surrender, white flags draped” (lines 6-7) Can’t you just picture in your mind the floating white flowers, a picture of purity, yet here a symbol of violence?
“South” is clearly a reference to the South in the civil war when the poem is fully read. She describes the slaves, picking cotton, treated as if their lives had no value at all, and how their bodies were thrown into graves unmarked. It’s sad, it’s horrifying, and yet it’s beautiful, her view of the natural landscape of her home and all the plants growing in harmony.
How do you feel about the contrast between beauty and horror?
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