- Feb 2019
-
www.poetryfoundation.org www.poetryfoundation.org
-
The Child Who’d Rather Play than Study.
A young child would rather spend their time playing than learning a second language.
-
called “Patterns of Love in Peoples of Diaspora,”
saying "called" refers to possible titles of the stories?
-
The author places each of his own quotations/thoughts in their own stanza. I believe he is doing this so his audience is sure to not overlook any. They are important/significant enough to be by themselves.
-
same old story
Perhaps the author is using the phrase "same old story" to signify that this knowledge from his father is well known/common among other people.
-
in spite of the languages he used
The author doesn't understand the point of his father that learning a second language is beneficial, which he was not even spared himself.
-
Am I inside you? I asked once lying between her legs, confused about the body and the heart.
The author yet doesn't understand the difference of physically being inside someone and feeling someone's presence inside
-
All throughout the poem, the author uses multiple words/terms to describe immigration.
In stanza 5, "Displaced persons" In stanza 14, "Diaspora" In stanza 15, "Loss of the homeplace"
-
If you don’t believe you’re inside me, you’re not
The girl speaking means you can't force yourself to feel something you don't naturally feel already
-
You’re always inside me, a woman answered, at peace with the body’s finitude, at peace with the soul’s disregard of space and time.
Perhaps the repetition of "inside you" is meant more literal than physical. I believe the author is using the phrase "inside you" to represent a feeling you feel within your mind/soul.
-
Loss of the Homeplace and the Defilement of the Beloved
In the stanza right before this one, the author uses the term "Diaspora" which is defined as a group migration from their home/country. Perhaps the author is using this idea as a way to describe the term above/make connections to the term above
-
inside and outside
opposition
-
Diaspora,
Dictionary.com lists "diaspora" as "any group migration/flight from a country/region"
-
inside you
The author repeatedly uses "inside you" to refer to multiple things
-
“Survival Strategies and the Melancholy of Racial Assimilation.”
I believe the author is using quotations to distinguish his own thoughts/ideas
-
ancient story
The author again shows relevancy by using "ancient" and "yesterday evening" when referring to the same story
-
previous century
The author uses "previous century" (stanza 2) and "yesterday morning" (stanza 3) as opposites to show how the same story is still relevant in today's reality.
-
wisdom of learning a second tongue
In the beginning of this stanza, the author quotes his father telling him the benefits of learning a second language.
In stanza 4, the author expresses something as "survival strategies". Perhaps the author is referring to learning a second language as a survival strategy?
-
second tongue
second tongue = second language
-
People have been trying to kill me since I was born,
The author uses italics instead of quotations to signal someone is speaking, which visualizes to the reader. It is easier to see someone talking when it is italicized, versus if it was in quotations, it may be not as easy to see/gets lost.
-
Immigrant Blues
Immigrant = The author himself is an immigrant so perhaps it's about his transition as an immigrant? Blues = blues can also be sad, maybe the sad difficulties of being an immigrant?
-
Author-- Li-Young Lee He is an immigrant from Indonesia born of Chinese parents
Tags
Annotators
URL
-