February Poetry Blog

The Raincoat – by ada limon

The poem “The Raincoat” begins with a childhood memory where the baby struggled. The speaker had a crooked spine that required therapy and care. Inside of this poem, the mother dedicates herself to help find solutions, such as taking her child to massage therapy, driving long distances for treatment,  or even osteopathy. During these drives, she encourages the kid to sing, which would make the experience feel more normal. However, at this time the child does not realize the hard work that the mom is doing to care for them. The poem shifts to the present though and the speaker is now an adult. They reflect on those moments with a new understanding. One day, the speaker sees a mother shielding her daughter from the rain with her own coat. This act shows a powerful symbol of protection for the speaker, showing how his mom always cared for them. “My whole life I’ve been under her raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel that I never got wet.” The poem shows the sacrifices from parents that people do not usually see. It shows how we do not always recognize what they do and how it affects us until later in life. 

Mary Cassatt’s painting “The Child’s Bath” reflects the same themes of care as “The Raincoat”. In the painting, a mother is cradling her child and washes its feet. In the moment of this painting, the mother is completely focusing on her child and showing full protection. Like the poem, the painting shows the deep love and protection that a parent gives on their child. It also shows the sacrifices that a parent makes that the children often do not remember. Both the poem and the painting explore the same ideas that love is quiet and that parents make sacrifices. In the poem, the mothers sacrifices are revealed overtime as the speaker finally becomes an adult. In the painting, the mothers care is shown with her actions. Both of these suggest that love is found in everyday moments. Cassatt’s composition helps to highlight the mothers care through her posture and attention to the child. She leans in, focused on the childs needs and is very caring. Similarly, the poem contrasts short moments with the steady presence of care, showing that love is not always dramatic but sometimes quiet and not noticed until later in life The poem’s final words, about always being undre the mothers raincoat without realizing it, connects deeply with the image of the mother in the childs bath. Both of these work to help encourage reflection on the sacrifices of those who care for us. 

All in all, both the poem and the painting emphasize how parents care for their children, showing how care is often found in small moments everyday rather than large gestures once in a while. The mother inside of “The Raincoat” and in “The Child’s Bath”, both remind us to recognize and appreciate the love that was always there for us, even when we did not see it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Child%27s_Bath

Ada Limón’s categorized poems

Charles Hoch , 4A

Ada Limón has poetry across a wide range of themes, going from an easy to understand text to deep and complex. She mainly talks about powerful emotions and how she feels on certain topics, while also referring to climate change and how the world has been affected due to industrialization. Three of her poems exemplify her text: The Unspoken, How to Triumph Like a Girl and The Leash. 

I categorized How to Triumph Like a Girl as “easy to understand” as it uses straightforward language and it presents the theme clearly. In the poem it speaks about the strength of women through a metaphor of horses. Limón uses the image of a female horse to invoke a sense of confidence and power while also showing how it can be relatable to people. The poem also celebrates the beauty of triumph through grace. Limón uses her emotions to help describe the poem, showing clear imagery. “Like running 40 miles per hour is as fun as taking a nap, or grass”. Ada Limón’s background helps me to look into the context of environmental issues in this poem. The poem’s message is about perseverance, as climate change becomes more relevant like the race in the poem. Ada Limón’s portrayal of triumph through grace can help to show the struggle of climate change, but also shows how its possible to find determination during this time. This shows how we can fight back and take action and adapt in the fight against climate change.

The Unspoken, falls under the “Hard to understand” category. While it may not directly mention climate change, its exploration and silence can show as a metaphor for the lack of environmental support and lack of action on climate issues such as pollution. The poem shows what is left unspoken in human relationships, while also showing struggles that people face that remain unregarded or ignored. This poem can be interpreted as a silence around the climate crisis. Limón could potentially use this to show the environmental degradation. The poem has confusing themes, such as silence and unspoken emotions which lead to a deeper meaning. 

Finally, The Leash is under the “Just right” and refers to the relationship between protection and the unpredictable nature of life. The poem talks about the joy and innocence of the dog while showing a danger that the speaker is protecting it from. The speaker is very cautious as it’s aware of the risks and pulls the dog away to prevent potential harm. However this poem could also refer to conveying a sense of unease and a reflection of destruction on the environment. The contrast between the dog’s joy and the speaker’s caution shows how people could dismiss climate change and instead focus on different opportunities.  In conclusion, Ada Limón’s poetry offers a powerful reflection on the relationship between human life and the environment, showing the largescale effects on the destruction of climate change. In The Unspoken, she explores a silence that surrounds environment crises which helps to encourage readers to reflect on unspoken aspects of climate change. How to Triumph like a Girl speaks to the aspects of required to confront climate challenges, while The Leash directly engages with the impact of climate changes. The Leash shows vivid imagery referring to humanity and the natural world, telling readers to look into the urgency of climate change.

Word count: 553

This picture refers to climate change and how people are fighting to battle against it. https://unsplash.com/photos/people-walking-on-street-during-daytime-UHVndV0rsqw

Hard to understand https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/ada-limon-the-unspoken/620848/  – The unspoken, Ada Limón

Easy to understand

 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/149814/how-to-triumph-like-a-girl – How to triumph like a girl, Ada Limón

Just right

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147505/the-leash – The leash, Ada Limón

Sources about Ada Limón

“Salvage” – Ada Limón

https://poets.org/poem/salvage-0

Charles Hoch , 4A

In the poem “Salvage” by Ada Limón I can immediately notice her grief and dispassionate emotion that is portrayed through imagery, juxtaposition and a sense of reflection. She uses phrases such as “half-burned from the fires, half-alive from nature’s need to propagate” to create a tone for the rest of the poem as well as showing the potential overall meaning. The image of something being “half-burned” helps to show what is happening to the environment as humans cause devastation related to climate change, while “half-alive” shows how nature is trying to fight back against the harmful ecological damage caused by humans. Another piece that I initially noticed was the title “Salvage” which can potentially suggest helping something that is either broken or lost, and could possibly show Ada Limóns attempt to get or help something. The author’s mood,tone,actions and title are very important as they highlight what the poem is about and how the author regrets her actions on the environment.

Although the meaning of the poem is clear, certain aspects of it are very hard to understand and know the overall meaning for the images that she depicts. Ada Limón states “red and velvety like the animal’s neck she resembles.” This part of the poem remains confusing as it seems disconnected from the overall meaning of the passage and it directs the reader away from what they are trying to point out. However, I think that it may potentially relate to the overall beauty of nature and how people need to respect the beauty of life. This could likely be the meaning as it highlights that people need to care more about nature with the upcoming climate change dangers that are present. 

Ada Limón constantly refers throughout her poem to the battle on climate change and feels remorse for what she has done throughout her life. She states “I am reminded by the righteousness I had before the scorching of time.” This line shows that Ada Limón knows that climate change is constantly progressing and killing life which has been exemplified throughout the text; however, she knows that she cannot change the time anymore as it has progressed too far and the damage that was done on the planet is almost irreversible. With this, she wants to apologize for all the wrong that she has done to the environment as a whole.  “And because I cannot apologize to the tree, to my own self I say, I am sorry.”  Ada Limón knows that she cannot apologize to the earth and the trees for what she has done, but she still wants to apologize because she knows what she has established in nature was wrong.

Throughout this poem I have made lots of connections as I understand how climate change is affecting the earth overall. Many species are in risk of extinction, water is rising yearly and new temperature records are happening annually. I wish to apologize, both for myself and on the behalf of others, for the impact that we have collectively done on the environment. Limóns work can help to show a reminder that we must acknowledge our past mistakes and help the planet for future generations to come. It helps to inspire a sense of urgency to help protect the environment, and it expresses actions that will shape the future of our ecosystem.

Word count: 558

https://unsplash.com/photos/people-walking-on-street-during-daytime-f3iV8JVrsP8