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