I have never quite read poetry the way that Naomi Shihab Nye writes.Even though it is just the beginning of my journey in reading Nye's poetry, I feel that I have really gotten a lot of information out of her words. It shocked me that someone so different from me (through culture, age, religion, and race) could relate to me on a level so well.
What I have learned about Nye is that she is a Palestinian-American, a melting pot of both cultures, exotic and unknown and something common and familiar.
The introduction took on a whole different turn of 9/11 for me. Being an American born and raised in this country, I grew up wondering, why would foreigners do such a horrid thing to our country? What gave foreigners that have most likely never visited the U.S. the incentive to destroy the World Trade Center and take over thousands of innocent people's lives? I just assumed these men from Afghanistan were the culprits, that the U.S. has to learn how to be more cautious about other "worlds" and cultures. After 9/11, that is expected. But Nye really opened my eyes to 9/11. After all, she herself is from the Middle East. While the American culture automatically assumed everyone from that background were to blame for the happenings of that day, and that everyone unlike Americans were evil, I didn't realize there was still a person.. a VOICE behind this background. Nye is that voice. While it is understandable that Americans could feel that way, people from other cultures like Nye's are still people like Nye and myself. My interpretation of the beginning was that like here in the U.S., not all Arabs are bad.Same concept goes for Americans. Not everyone can be good, and not everyone can be bad. Reading the introduction made me realize something. How did Nye feel knowing that she came from a background where her heritage was constantly being bashed because of other's mistakes? What was it like for her when she came to America? Did people, such as peers, teachers, and others look down upon Nye because she was Palestinian? That is definitely something to think about. I myself have felt judged before, as well, as I know most people have. In a time where unity was needed most, people were turning their backs on one another. Just because of one person's mistakes, doesn't mean that we should shun all. That's something I definitely learned from the beginning, which was refreshing because she was in a neutral state writing that particular piece and was not bashing either culture, but stating her opinions on it.
Nye also explains her childhood growing up, which I feel is vital to understanding a person and where they come from. For example, I can relate to her in the poem "My Father and the Fig Tree." Growing up, her father had a connection with fig trees, and often told stories to his daughter about them. As most fathers do, he instills dreams and hopes in his small child. Nye writes, "At age six I ate a dried fig and shrugged. That's not what I'm talking about! he said. I'm talking about a fig straight from the earth." What is the significance of this statement? What does this have to do with 9/11 and Nye? Analyzing it I realize that like myself, everyone has something that acts as a constant that can not be changed, such as the father and his opinions in the fig tree. Nye's mother never understands why her father doesn't decide to plant one of his own. On page 1, Bye writes, "What a dreamer he is. Look how many things he start and doesn't finish." One factor I noticed about Nye's writing is at first it doesn't make sense. For example, to the audience, how does this relate to 9/11? What is important about a fig tree and what does it represent? I realize now all of these little factors symbolize something.
Who isn't a dreamer? When ever I'm down or in doubt, I feel that I can't finish whatever it is I've started. What's the point if I feel like I can't attain those dreams? Whether you're a native to the U.S. or of Palestinian descent, everyone has dreams and goals. This line in the 3rd stanza is my interpretation of an underlying message that people can connect in that sense. That everyone has dreams and goals they feel are attainable at times.
"The Words Under the Words" really spoke to me; it is a poem that takes a while to understand for some, but it connected to me so quickly. In all of Nye's writing, there are underlying messages and symbols, some harder to understand than others. Here Nye writes about her grandmother and her words of wisdom. On page 4, Nye writes "Answer, if you hear the words under the words- otherwise, it is just a world with a lot of rough edges, difficult to get through, and a pocket full of stones." I absolutely adore this line because it's true. Everything said in life has an underyling meaning- a joke, a thought, an idea, an assumption. When someone passes judgment on another, let's say for example Naomi Nye, there is a meaning implied. By bringing her grandmother's wisdom into her book of poems makes the now present reader really ponder and wonder what is really meant when a comment is made about them or a thought or opinion. That definitely related to me.
While what I may have said it unconventional, they are definitely points to consider. I feel by Nye's connecting her childhood and her culture back to today shows there are more than just the culprits of 9/11, but actual people existing in that culture that relate to regular people like myself and Nye, no?
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