Feelings and how they influence our lives
The poem "The Best of the Body" analyzes the way in which feelings influence our lives, in particular sadness, love and anger. The most powerful feeling is described as being sadness and the narrator attributes to it the power to influence all the other feelings a person may experience. Another link is described as existing between love and anger, the first feeling often times being the result of angry feelings a person has towards another. Still, even though some of these emotions have a negative connotation, the narrator describes them as essential and a learning opportunity through which we can grow and develop.
Racism
The author of the poem was born during a transition time, a period in history when the Jim Crow laws were being slowly abolished, one by one, and the African community in America gained more right and moved towards equality. This dd not meant racism was eradicated, in fact, it was far from it and the African community continued to suffer greatly because of the racist ideas which continued to be promoted by certain political groups. Because of these reasons, racism is one of the central themes in many of the poems written by the author, some analyzing the author's personal experiences and some the experiences of other people. One such poem is "Botanical Fanaticism", a poem in which the narrator describes both her experienced and the way in which her mother was treated. Through this poem, the narrator also shows the way in which the racist experienced a close member experienced can in time influence the whole family.
The creative process
"The Culture of Near Miss" is a meditative poem on the creative process through which the visual arts are created. In this poem, the narrator is inside as a beautiful gallery art, contemplating a beautiful painting. As the narrator looks at the painting, the narrator sees the soul of the painter, displayed on the canvas in front of everyone to see. Creating art is described as being the result of a soul becoming fragmented. The creative process is a long and tedious one, often going unnoticed by the art lover who only sees the end result. Still, the narrator focuses on the work behind the scenes and how the unseen process may be at times the most important process in creating a masterpiece.
