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All poems are unique in that they have their own message and implement various rhetorical and stylistic devices in order to effectively portray their purpose. Each of the five poems “If Walls Could Talk”, “Black Words, White Eyes”, “Lies”, “L.I.E.S.”, and “Honestly”, respectively, explore the implications of the suffering of people, segregation, religion, inauthentic societal constructs, and the consequences of living in a vastly politically correct world. 

The poem “If Walls Could Talk” discusses the complexities of religion, and how it is intertwined in the suffering and oppression of slavery. “If Walls Could Talk” is a found poem using “Bible Defense of Slavery,” by Frances Ellen. The first two lines of the poem introduces the subject of the poem: the “servants” who have been subjected to persecution; it is also a double entendre for the human race as a whole, who, in God’s eyes, are nothing more than mere servants to his divinity. Furthermore, the use of the phrase “stones speak” introduce the meaning of the title–the idea that if walls were granted the ability to communicate to us what they have seen, they would tell us about the “horrors” that are unfathomable. The poem further discusses the relationship between slavery and religion, as it states, “Light guides youth; Brings Slavery truth.” For many, this is a hard pill hard to swallow, as this line highlights the sad truth that many people who owned slaves were people of god. Despite the values of Christianity, and the holy “light” that is intended to guide followers along a moral path, many white Christian, God fearing males were also slave owners. This poem brings light to not only the hypocrisy of religious followers throughout history, but also the pain and suffering of slaves despite the values their slave owners preached; if walls could, in fact, talk, we would still couldn’t fathom the true volume of the suffering of the past. 

The Haiku, “Black Words, White Eyes” is inspired by Joyce A. Joyce’s “Black Canon.” Joyce emphasizes the responsibility of the black literary critic to give a comprehensive reading to the people who do not understand the black experience. The haiku attempts to cultivate Joyce’s message expressed in 3,734 words in just 17 syllables. The poem is purposely short in order to highlight the power that few words can have, similar to the ways that the black literary critic’s words have immeasurable power. The poem states, “Understanding words; Our skin changes the meaning; We must help them see.” The simplistic diction of the poem articulates the idea that understanding one another should, in itself, be a simple process; however, the complexities of understanding is revealed when one realizes that no amount of words will ever be enough to truly capture centuries of torment. In order to understand a unique perspective, we must understand not only what an author’s words mean, but the underlying assumptions and experiences of an entire race. It is only then will others truly begin to comprehend the suffering and experience of the black community. 

The poem entitled “lies” is an elegy to religion, exploring the disillusionment that comes with the loss of faith, and the modern issues that further complicate faith. The poem starts off with the cause of death: the personal realization that the holy books are written by men. Each stanza in the poem indirectly calls out the absurd and almost outlandish claims of various religions that the narrator refuses to believe. The structure of the poem is intended to highlight key features of varying religions which serve as their foundation, yet also serve as the components which cause the narrator’s disbelief. The repetition of the word “dead” emphasizes the morose yet direct tone; despite the loss that the narrator feels, there are no euphemisms for death, highlighting the necessity to fully address a difficult circumstance. The 6th stanza brings forth a problem we all face in modern society: “The 20^thcentury,” where everything seems to have become a gray area, and we do not know “what is even right”; however, we are still expected to live in a world where sexual orientations that defy biological law coexist with religion. 

The fourth poem is entitled “L.I.E.S.” Due to the fact it is an acrostic poem, it limits this poem to 4 lines. The poem decides to tackle inauthentic societal constructs, each line representing a letter in the word “lies.” The poem has a sarcastic tone, although this can be easily misconstrued if the reader neglects the acrostic word spelled out. The poem alludes to well-known and widely accepted mantras such as “In God we trust” and “Everyone is equal,” while also addressing the desire for love, happiness, and criticizing the belief system which encourages the blind acceptance of these concepts. The final line enforces the narrator’s perspective about the world we live in–a world in which facades and fronts are the new alternative to genuineness and honesty.

The final poem is a free verse poem, entitled “Honestly,” which explores the implications of living in a vastly politically correct world. It is a personal take on society and is intended to be a conversation between the reader and the narrator. The poem is meant to shed light on things we secretly all know deep down but refuse to admit or face. The poem begins with a realization of the lies of our society, and the way we “stretch ourselves out, the way rubber bands do” and the internal conflict we face when we “snap.” The initial tone is introspective and disappointed with reality; however, there is a tone shift where it states, “Let’s get aggressive, get violent.” The immediacy of the tone shift from sad to angry highlights the urgency of the topic, and the tumultuous emotional state of coming to harsh realizations. The aggressive tone is continued as it calls out an oversensitive society, and offers a counterintuitive approach of thinking, stating “he said a word and I put meaning behind it.” This defensive nature enables and contributes to the problems of a petulant society. The poem is direct yet also lyrical, in order to make a call for action, and encourage readers to be open to the ways in which they may also be contributing to the problem at hand. The poem stacks on issues we all are a part of; however, it takes several turns at the end. The narrator admits the problems are numerous it is difficult to locate the root cause; however, it goes on to say, “I know we can’t solve it,” which is one of the most definitive statements within the poem. Concluding with a pop culture reference, “Jesus take the wheel,” the narrator admits that regardless of any intervention, we are all sinners.

The five poems respectively explore my personal take and the implications of the suffering of people, segregation, religion, inauthentic societal constructs, and the consequences of living in a vastly politically correct world. Robert Frost once said, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” This project was just that, collecting emotions putting them into thoughts and squeezing out poetry. Once a pen hits paper emotions flow and thoughts fill up and your bound to create something truly meaningful.