"Who has not Congress, lobster, love, luau,
the Regency Room, the Statue of Liberty,
runs. A sloppy amalgamation."
Brooks identifies a certain betrayal in her experience of American life. She notices the people around her are unhappy and demonstrate a similar sense of betrayal. Although they believed the American dream, they soon found it was only for the rich. The Congress doesn't care about them. The Regency Room -- a fancy ballroom -- does not permit them access. All of these symbols represent disappointment to the working class because they are not necessarily symbols of freedom for all, as promised.
"But could a dream send up through onion fumes
Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes
And yesterday's garbage ripening in the hall,
Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms"
In this text Brooks muses about the ability of neighbors to peek into each others lives. She wishes she could send her dream -- her message of solidarity -- into their apartments like a scent, penetrating between walls. Since the scent would have to overpower the smells of cooking and trash, she next proposes communicating through song. In any sense, she recognizes that her life is not separate from her neighbors because mere walls cannot restrain the overlap of the senses.
"Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood,
Tin flatware."
Brooks recognizes the quiet dignity of the old couple in this poem. Their surroundings are humble, but they are not defined by their surroundings. The details of their circumstances reflect long, memorable lives which have been full of powerful events.
"Whose hours at best are wheats or beiges
Lashed with riot-red and black.
Tabasco at the lapping wave.
Search-light in the secret crack."
Brooks bemoans her own situation. She feels trapped by her city and her job, unable to transcend the oppression of the working class or of African Americans. She characterizes her life as hidden and dull, but still painful and spicy. These elements are the result of a dead-end job with no hope of promotion.
