Journal 1: Literary Critic “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note"

In his free verse poem, Baraka illustrates the change that we must confront in our lives through the contrast of the world a man (the speaker in the poem can also be a woman) “sees” and the reality of his life. Although the poem does not have a rhyme scheme, it has a unique structure and diction that gives the reader a hint about its purpose. From the beginning of the poem the man is defined as a victim of change. The man expresses that “the ground opens up and envelops [him]” in order to evoke sympathy in the reader and express the immensity change brings to his life. The poet has an example in a stanza followed by one line as a stanza. Since the poem starts in the poem in the past, the one line stanzas bring the reader into the present and serves to make comparisons of emotions.
Through imagery and specific examples that establish a connection with the reader, the poet is effective at conveying his message of the confrontation and acceptance of change. One of the changes that the poet conveys is death though the metaphors of the stars in the third stanza. People are the like stars in the sky because their life in this planet is temporary. Similarly, the stars constantly change positions and leave a “hole” in the sky. The man counts the “holes [the stars] leave” in the sky which can be a representation of him holding on to the people he lost to death through reminisces. Through the representation of this image in a tone of calmness, this example illustrates the acceptance of death.
In line 11 “Nobody sings anymore” the poet describes that in the present nobody has faith. Singing can be an interpretation for faith based on the image of paying followed after this line the poet explains in detailed. The poet utilizes contrast again in the last stanza where the man apparently sees her daughter praying but she is actually praying since she was on her knees with “her own clasped hands.” This rich imagery of the daughter presents the idea that as time passes people lose their faiths, however there is still hope as some, like his daughter, are faithful. This idea relates to change because up until this point the man had accepted change but he cannot accept the reality that others are losing their faith.