Hang On
This week I read the poem Hang On by author Rae Armantrout. This poem is about the significance of items that seem to not have much significance such as "an empty shopping cart parked on the ledge above a freeway" and "acorn barnacle[s]."
Armantrout discusses that barnacles are decorations that are brittle and belong in the bottom of a fish tank. At first I was somewhat confused why Arrmantrout wrote an entire poem dedicated to degrading useless objects. Though the last part of the poem was quite interesting. After listing a barnacle's useless characteristics and functions, she ends the poem with the line "for some unlikely eye."
Typically when I read poems I like to search for a deeper meaning. Whether there is symbolism carefully embedded throughout a poem or an extended metaphor. I believe that this poem is an extended metaphor about hidden gems in society. It is very upsetting but humans tend to judge others due to external characteristics. Such as socioeconomic status, how someone physically looks and the social construct of "how popular someone is",
This poem sheds light upon how fast people are to judge one another. If you look closely at a barnacle and understand how it survives, you may realize how exceptional this crustacean is. Barnacles have innovative methods to conserve moisture while gathering food by opening its calcium shell based on the tide flow. Also barnacles are strategically choosing locations where they could collect the most nutrients for itself.
Just like humans, when you look at someone, you could make assumptions, but in reality, you have no idea how intelligent, creative, sweet, charismatic, talented, and incredible a person could be. What defines a human is not their exterior, rather their heart, brain, and free will.
I genuinely believe that everyone has something amazing to contribute to this world. Therefore, just like a barnacle, no one is useless. We all have a purpose in life.
Why do you think this author wrote a poem discussing barnacles?
This poem brings light to an issue that I think is overlooked by society. Nowadays we care about popularity of monetary value, but most of the time the little things that have a personal connection are much more valuable.
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