The Hero
The narrator begins the poem by claiming we go where we feel we would find something we like. We will avoid everything we perceive as being dangerous and we will thus keep our distance.
The narrator presents then the hero who according to the poem does not like the various things normal people would keep their distance from either. While a normal person would complain about the things he has to suffer, the hero remains silent and suffers alone, without letting those around him know about his pain.
Next, the narrator mentions various heroes: Jacob and his son Joseph, Cincinnatus, and Regulus. The narrator goes then to claim that the black man and woman are also heroes, standing up for themselves and not being afraid in a society that does not accept them for who they are. The narrator also mentions Moses, the pharaoh, and also El Greco. He then ends the poem by claiming these people are real heroes because of what they did and because of the way they reacted and behaved.
No Swan so Fine
In the poem, the narrator describes the statue of a swan near a fountain at Versailles. The narrator is amazed by the beauty of the swan and describes the gold with which the swan was built and also the other creatures surrounding it. The poem ends with the line "The King is dead’’, drawing a parallel between the swan and the dead King. Just like the beautiful swan was just a sculpture, without any life in it, the King was dead and gone from the beautiful palace.
Black Earth
This poem opens with a stanza in which the narrator compares herself with a hippopotamus or alligator that stays on the banks of some river just to please themselves. Similarly, the narrator confesses she does various things just because she wants to and not because they have any practical value.
The narrator feels dragged down by the mud in the river but the narrator claims she is used to it and thus it does not bother her. The narrator claims the mud enriches her life and makes her a better person.
Moore's narrator compares her skin to that of an elephant and claims her back is filled with history. Her power is described as being her reluctance to give in and agree to what others tell her to do and also her reluctance to fit into a mold. The narrator describes her soul as being powerful and as being resilient to everything that happens around her.
Then, the narrator nurtures her soul, and she hears everything that takes place around her. She compares herself to a tree trunk in this matter. The narrator ends the poem by claiming that even the strongest tree can be affected by pressure from the outside and be subjected to change in time.
