I found this poem on page 68 of our poetry book. I am not entirely sure this is a great poem for us to go over in class, as it does not take any special talent to decipher what it is about. It is rather short, spanning just 16 words. Nevertheless, this is a very powerful poem that I figured was worth sharing, since not everyone would see it. Because it is short and I doubt many of us read these posts with our poetry book open, I will copy the poem here:
“Mingled
breath and smell
so close
mingled
black and white
so near
no room for fear.”
I think those last four lines are especially meaningful, as it speaks to the diversity of New York, but more importantly, to the fact that you cannot fear others when you are always around them. Hughes explains that there is no way to hide from people of a different race and, unless you plan to always be fearful, you cannot be afraid of these people. You have to recognize that a person’s skin color is not related to the kind of person they are. This poem also goes beyond race and beyond the subway. New York is so diverse with many people of different religious beliefs and sexual orientations and they are all over the city, not just in the subway.
I think the poem connects with a point we made earlier in the semester about how people of different races and classes inhabit the same cities (although very different parts) but will still end up on the subway together. I also think the last line plays on how crowded the subway cars during rush hour, not necessarily about always being around different people all the time.
And here is another subway poem, by Ezra Pound
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.