Poetry is a form of art for a reason. Art with words. Like a painting, the goal of the creator is to formulate some type of underlying meaning, to stimulate the thoughts of a reader. In the poem “Lady Liberty” by Tato Laviera, the contemporary and previous issues/flaws of the United States of America are highlighted. Tato Laviera is a Puerto Rican poet and playwright known for his work that explores the experiences of immigrants and marginalized peoples. This poem in particular is a powerful meditation on freedom and the immigrant experience. It is a celebration of the Statue of Liberty, which has served as a symbol of hope and freedom for many immigrants who have come to the United States, but it is also a reflection on the realities of marginalized peoples’ struggles and discrimination.

The poem really emphasizes the misinterpretations people have regarding the state of America. The Statue of Liberty is used as a symbol of America, due to the fact that from a distance, the statue looks perfect, however upclose there are imperfections, outlined in the lines “The fractured torch hand, the ruptured intestines, palms blistered and calloused, feet embroidered in rust”. This is the exact same situation regarding how people view America.  From far away or from outside, America seems perfect, with the “American Dream”, however when people come up close, and actually experience what America has to offer, the flaws are evident. Several issues have plagued America in the past, and in modern day, such as racism, crime, poverty, gun control, and inflation. In the poem, there is a direct reference to how America’s own actions create repercussions on itself. This is shown in the lines “discolored verses staining her robe”, which is referring to how America’s own policies have discredited its greatness, such as how the Declaration of Independence only accounted for white males, essentially leaving out other groups. With the reference to celebrating the 4th of July, and the one-hundred year anniversary of Lady Liberty, Laviera is emphasizing Americans to not celebrate success, but to celebrate how far they have come, with the remembrance of what still needs to be improved. The 4th of July and Lady Liberty can truly be celebrated once America becomes a unified nation of peace and acceptance, living together as Americans; not as white people, not as black people, not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Americans.

When reading this poem, it really opened my eyes to the current flawed image that America has as a nation. Being the most powerful nation on Earth, one would expect it to be flawless, but that is not the case. By all means issues do occur all over the world, but it is still our duty as global citizens to identify those issues, and spread awareness, so that together societies can acknowledge things to be fixed. Then we can celebrate. “When individuals look past their thought of self perfectionism, they look inward and assess their core values, allowing themselves to see what they lack.” After reading this theme statement, it made me realize how essential it is to use this in our lives. Self-perfectionism is very dangerous, because it can create false ideals about ourselves. We should always be trying to improve and better ourselves. Nobody is perfect, and there always will be things we can look inward and assess ourselves about.

Another poem that stood out to me in a significant way was “We Shoot Children Too, Don’t We?” by Dan Almagor, an Israeli poet. The poem is a powerful and emotional reflection on war’s violence and tragedy, particularly the impact of war on children. It is a work that draws attention to the innocent victims of war as well as the human cost of war. Most importantly however, is the emphasis on the blatant state hypocrisy that is occuring, by Almagor’s own nation, Israel. In Almagor’s writing, he is having a moment of self reflection regarding the actions of Israel, such as whether or not the actions are morally correct, shown in the lines “Who do we think we are? Who gave us the right?”. The hypocrisy of Israel is directly referenced in the title, where the writer is asking himself how Israelis can accuse Palestinians of causing suffering to their nation and people when they have been doing that to them for the last forty years. 

In this poem, Almagor has turned his focus away from his own nation, and put value towards Palestinian people. He has used words to illustrate his process of trying to empathize and put himself in his enemy’s shoes, such as mentioning how the Palestinians are no less human. They have the right to live in peace, play in peace, and “love their wives and children” .The theme to be taken away here is to acknowledge the value of other people, not only yourself. There may be things that benefit you as a person, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of somebody else; they are the same living entity with a beating heart and a functioning brain. Almagor promotes the power of self-reflection before discrediting somebody else, since both people share the same value in God’s view. I feel like this is a very important principle to have in life. For me, learning how to understand different people and empathize with them is one of the biggest revelations that I have had, which has made me a better person. No matter how wealthy, strong, or smart someone is, we are all equal to God.

Images:

Self-Reflection: Moving Beyond “I Yam What I Yam”

https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-day-the-statue-of-liberty-was-damaged-by-a-terrorist-attack-1ca64488b97a

https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202206/02/WS62980589a310fd2b29e6061c.html

https://www.statista.com/chart/16516/israeli-palestinian-casualties-by-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank/