by quapan

Adolescence 2

Adolescence 2

Although it is night, I sit in the bathroom, waiting.

Sweat prickles behind my knees, the baby-breasts are alert.

Venetian blinds slice up the moon; the tiles quiver in pale strips.

Then they come, the three seal men with eyes as round

As dinner plates and eyelashes like sharpened tines.

They bring the scent of licorice. One sits in the washbowl,

One on the bathtub edge; one leans against the door.

“Can you feel it yet?” they whisper.

I don’t know what to say, again. They chuckle,

Patting their sleek bodies with their hands.

“Well, maybe next time.” And they rise,

Glittering like pools of ink under moonlight,

And vanish. I clutch at the ragged holes

They leave behind, here at the edge of darkness.

Night rests like a ball of fur on my tongue.

 Interpretation:

     In the first stanza the author is waiting for someone or something to happen. “The baby-breasts are alert.” Letting us know she is young and her body is experiencing something. In the first Stanza she gives a description of the place she is sitting in.  It is a lonely place or a private place. She describes the condition of the place. In line three she may be in Venice an Italian place as she gives reference to the blinds as it slices up the moon.  In line three she gives a description of the tiles on the wall and their color. She is suggesting that the tiles tremble or they are breaking maybe because in her imagination everything is breaking down in her world and now everything in her childhood life is fading away. In the second line she is nervous and anxious about who or what is coming.

     In the second stanza “they come” referring to cockroaches. In her imagination she is being interrogated by “The three seal men.” referred as cockroaches. The word seal means to confirm something so in her imagination the cockroaches seal the deal of her adolescence. In line six the author is suggesting that the cockroaches smell like candy. She remembers the scent of her childhood it smells sweet. In line eight “Can you feel it yet?” Sums up her anticipation and anxiety/Can she feel her puberty spurt? Yet! They whisper suggests that it is something she doesn’t want anyone to know about it is their secret.

     In the third stanza maybe their hands patting may indicate as a sign that they are ready to go. They say “Well maybe next time.” It suggests maybe she will accept the fact that she is going thru puberty at a later time. It is so dark in gloomy in her mind and in her imagination they disappear like shiny little lights.

     The fourth stanza indicates the three seal men leave some type of impression. She tries to hold on tightly to her imagination as it leaves her in her own reality. She is growing up. She feels it is an unpleasant place. She is left alone to grow up and she feels it is a dark heavy place. In the end the night sleeps and she is speechless about what has happened to her.

Biography: 

Rita Dove

     She is known for her book, “The Yellow House”, which she wrote in 1980.  Rita Dove is a brilliant poet, story writer, and script writer.  She became very successful for her articulate work. Rita Dove had a passion to read and to increase her knowledge. Her parents were very supportive when it came to her education. She was born in 1952 and  She was raised in Akron, Ohio in an African American household consisting of herself, two younger sisters, an older brother and her mother and father.      
     As Rita Dove got older she continued to exploring her interest in writing.  She attended many schools and she was recognized by many people. She always kept the dream of becoming a writer and a poet.    As years progressed Rita Dove was given the Pulitzer for, “Thomas and Beulah”, a book about her grandparents, and “a collection of poems that dealt with their lives.”  Dove’s second surprise was also the first African American to be honored as U.S. Poet Laureate in 1993 and she held the title until 1995. 
     She was also appointed Poet Laureate in 1994.  Dove went on to receive many more prestigious awards such as the National Humanities Award in 1996 as time progressed. Her poetry interest readers because the reader can identify with her and her life as a child.

Reference:

Websites:

Rita Doves Biography       http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/dov0bio-1

Rita Doves Bio                  http://www.afropoets.net/ritadove.html

Rita Doves Poet                http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/185