I Go Back to May, 1937, Essay Example

I see them standing at the formal gates of their colleges,

I see my father strolling out

Under the ochre sandstone arch, the

Red tiles glinting like bent

Plates of blood behind his head, I

See my mother with a few light books at her hip

Standing at the pillar made of tiny bricks,

The wrought-iron gate still open behind her, its

Sword-tips aglow in the May air,

They are about to graduate, they are about to get married,

They are kids, they are dumb, all they know is they are

Innocent, they would never hurt anybody.

I want to go up to them and say Stop,

Don’t do it—she’s the wrong woman,

He’s the wrong man; you are going to do things

You cannot imagine you would ever do,

You are going to do bad things to children,

You are going to suffer in ways you have not heard of,

You are going to want to die. I want to go

Up to them there in the late May sunlight and say it,

Her hungry pretty face turning to me,

Her pitiful beautiful untouched body,

His arrogant handsome face turning to me,

His pitiful beautiful untouched body,

But I don’t do it. I want to live. I

Take them up like the male and female

Paper dolls and bang them together

At the hips, like chips of flint, as if to

Strike sparks from them, I say

Do what you are going to do, and I will tell about it.

(Sharon Olds, 1987)

My Childhood Experience Living In Hong Kong with my Dad

Why I like this poem

My love for this poem is linked to me being able to identify with the writer’s pain and confusion about how family relations are expected to be, especially, when immature parents are involved. Precisely, the poem conveys the author’s concern for how fathers interact with their daughters. My home country is Hong Kong. Even though my parents were not divorced it was better they had. It would appear that why they did not actually separate legally was because they simply wanted to maintain the image of both parents in a home for me think that everything was fine. However, I came to realize that this was not the truth. The irony of their relationship was evident since I felt that they never did love each other and I was caught in the midst of a make believe comedy. I never heard my parents tell each other, ‘I love you’ and they never took the time to tell me either.
The reason why I felt this way, mainly, is because my dad was involved in an extra-marital affair with someone in China. This was explained to me by my mom. As she recalled the incident I could just see ‘Her hungry pretty face turning to me, her pitiful beautiful untouched body’ (Olds, 1987). It was as if while she was raging my dad was insensitive and verbally brutal.

From a very early age I could recall my dad visiting Mainland every week. My mom was very concerned and they would quarrel about this issue. My dad never spoke the truth about this affair. I was devastated for my mother because she worked very hard to provide for me.

As such, the home was in perpetual disagreement as the author seemed to have been indicating in this piece of poetry. Therefore, while this might be acceptable among certain cultures it was very uncomfortable for me living in an atmosphere of parents arguing all the time. Actually, it made me develop a hatred for my dad, which essentially should not be.

Somehow, I feel robbed of a peaceful childhood and I envied my friends who had loving, peaceful homes as well as parents who expressed love for each other despite disagreements. Seriously, I blame my dad for this because he created the upset my mother experienced and never explained his actions neither showed any remorse for it.
However, I was relieved to have moved away from them to study abroad. I feel such peace and tranquility in my life, now, that they are not physically there with me everyday. But I do miss them and realize what peace there is in harmony. When I returned to Hong Kong for the summer holidays it was such a difference because I had the privilege for the first time while in the US to experience a period without daily arguments

But here was I back into it again. The same old feeling returned fresh into my consciousness. I felt disturbed and regretted that I did go home for the vacation. I am usually so embarrassed that every time I go outside of the house, I hide from neighbors who I know hear them all the time loudly calling the attention of everyone. It makes me just want to live away from my parents forever.

As the author goes through the paces of this poetry I remember and feel the emotions in these words ‘I want to live. I take them up like the male and female; paper dolls and bang them together; at the hips, like chips of flint, as if to strike sparks from them, I say do what you are going to do, and I will tell about it” ( Olds, 1987).

Elements of the Poetry

This poem incorporates figures of speech which portray the passion of the writer. They include imagery, metaphor and simile. Imagery can be literal as well as figurative (The Literary apprentice, 2000). In this poetry the writer captured literal as well as figurative imagery several times. Statements such as ‘swords tips aglow;’ “plates of blood;”arrogant handsome;’ pitiful beautiful;’ hungry pretty’ are all imagery; ‘arrogant handsome;’ pitiful beautiful;’ hungry pretty’ are all imagery;’ that can be considered figurative since it implies oxymoron while ‘swords tips aglow;’ “plates of blood’ could be interpreted in a literal context.

Metaphor is evident throughout the poem when phrases such as ‘strike sparks from them’ and “Paper dolls and bang them together.’ The writer utilized this device to express her emotional disgust of how she would react to the foolishness youths engage in when they marry, have children and do not care much about their feelings within the family structure.

Silvia Hartman (2006) argues that in many instances an entire poem is a metaphor quoting much of the poetry devices in Shakespeare’s plays (Hartman, 2006). If one were to examine Rebecca Old’s (1987) ‘I go back to May 19 37’ even though she is telling a story it can be interpreted as a metaphor since who knows the reality of 1937 and whether all the incidences depicted are figurative or literal. Then maybe this poem is a metaphor containing metaphors.

The author intersperses her feelings in symphonies of similes punctuating segments of the poem as if allowing the reader to take fresh breaths of air. ‘Red tiles glinting like bent plates of blood,’ ‘Take them up like male and female’ and ‘at the hips like chips of flints’ Some poems like those containing metaphors could be evaluated as being simile poems since the tone indicates that the flow and rhythm depicts such a type of composition (Lorcher, 2012). In my opinion this is not a simile poem.

In this poetry the tone and mood definitely convey some degree of disgust mingled with unexpressed sadness, but as one reads the impulse to grieve becomes imminent. This is why immediately the words spoke to me as I link the situation at home with my parents arguing. Perhaps, should they look back at their college youth years they could see me as the invisible unborn kid in the background soliloquizing, ‘I want to go up to them and say Stop,

Don’t do it—she’s the wrong woman.

Narrative poems simply tell stories. There is a beginning, a body and an end which summarizes the events in the story. Lyrics are written in a sequence whereby it can be put to music easily and have a ballad type rhythmic connotation. When ‘I go back to May, 1937’ is carefully analyzed even though it may not carry a conclusive ending that summarized explicitly the events of the story, it can more be considered a narrative. The rhythmic patterns are not obvious to qualify as a lyric.

When considering the authors’ perceptions of life as a child and how perhaps, her parents were quite immature at parenting, it brings to mind my home in Hong Kong with my parents who argue all the time. I wish it could stop. The pain and confusion about how family relations are expected to be, especially, when immature parents are involved is till something I question daily as poems like these speak to me. I promise to be a better parent for my children.

Works cited

Hartmann Silvia. Metaphor Poems and Examples of Metaphor Poems (2006). Web 12th March, 2012 from http://silviahartmann.com/metaphor-poem.php

Lorcher Tent. Poetry Study Guide: Examples of Similes. Bright Hub Education.2012. Web 12th March, 2012 from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/45285-study-guide-poetry-with-similes/

Old Rebecca. I go back to May, 1937.Poetry. Foundation Website.1987. Print The Literary Apprentice. Figures of Speech. College of Du Page.2000 Print