When I think of this now,
I see how the past holds us captive,
its beautiful ruin etched on the mind's eye:
In this moment in her poem "Enlightenment," Trethewey is describing the way in which her father had some sympathy for Jefferson's outdated ideas, as they flattered his own conception of himself. Some part of him believed that he, by virtue of his whiteness, had contributed to making her better. She says the "past holds us captive" and compares it to a "beautiful ruin" because she wants to emphasize what the allure of Jefferson's thinking might have been. In doing so, she reveals how the appeal of outdated thinking can entrap individuals, as they attempt to justify it.
My mother irons, singing, lost in reverie.
I mark the pages of a mail-order catalog,
listen for passing cars. All day we watch
for the mail, some news from a distant place.
This scene comes at the end of the poem "Housekeeping," depicting a quiet moment of repose after the speaker has spent all day working alongside her mother. Here, the poem briefly shifts from the pronoun "we" to "I," as the speaker identifies herself separately from her mother. She does so in order to show that the day, and its labors, have elapsed. Finally, she says that they wait for "mail" and "news from a distant place," emphasizing the insularity of their world and the tedium of repeating the same tasks over and over each day. News and information from another place seems appealing to them because it might bring change to this repetitive schedule.
It seemed the angels had gathered, white men in their gowns.
When they were done, they left quietly. No one came.
The wicks trembled all night in their fonts of oil;
by morning the flames had all dimmed.
This moment comes at the climax of the poem "Incident," in which a Black family remembers a night in which Klan members burned a cross in their town. The phrases "no one came" and "by morning the flames had all dimmed," show the speakers attempting to repress the trauma of this disturbing memory. The personification of the wicks trembling "all night" suggests that this scene had a deep emotional impact on this family. The contradictory language in this passage characterizes the way they push away the memory of that night. The intensity of the fire imagery amplifies this tension, as the speaker cannot erase these specific details in the text.
I'm told
it's best to spare most detail, but I know
there are things which must be accounted for.
This line occurs towards the end of the sonnet sequence "Native Guard." The speaker is describing writing letters to various families of fallen soldiers. His superiors tell him to give only basic information, but he says that he is aware that "there are things which must be accounted for." This line is significant because the speaker shows his appreciation for the value of a soldier's life. Where his superiors view their deaths as routine and unremarkable, he knows their families deserve more information. This is central to the poem as a whole, as the speaker continually tries to account for people that are forgotten or passed over.
But in dreams you live. So I try taking,
not to let go. You’ll be dead again tomorrow.
This excerpt from "Myth" depicts Orpheus's efforts to preserve his memory of Eurydice. He notes that she only remains in his "dreams," so he tries to prolong his sleeping state as long as possible. Still, he finds that she will only "be dead again tomorrow." These lines show the circular nature of Orpheus's struggle, as he is unable to "let go" of Eurydice and keeps reliving the moment of her death. The repetitive quality of his suffering is all the more disturbing; he cannot move past the pain in any way.
