At the end of the poem, Jones paints a picture of his “burning house,” indicating that he must walk back to the place that causes him grief and struggle, (Jones 8). This fire serves as a metaphor for what his home life is truly like. Similar to a fire burning and causing destruction, that is what has happened inside Jones’ home. It is apparent that he is looking for an escape, as shown by him leaving the house in the first place. Earlier in the poem, the readers get the picture of two boys in the woods together. But the other boy left Jones “alone to pick pine needles from [his] hair,” (Jones 8). Jones is dirty from being in the forest, shown by his “mud-stained knees,” and he has been deserted by the other boy who is supposed to care about him (Jones 8). When putting these two images together: Jones being abandoned in the forest and his burning home; readers get the sense that he is unfamiliar with being treated well. When he was younger, learning from his parents set his expectations very low. So, as he is growing up, he continues to gravitate toward the people that treat him poorly. And despite all this, Jones still manages to return to his home. He knows something will happen if he does not. His father forces him to leave the house, but he returns because he knows he and his mother need each other. My question for the boy is why does he not try to put out the fire, solve his problems? Fires leave burn marks, but the less a fire burns, the less damage will be caused. How long has the boy’s house been burning? Does he even know how to put out the fire? Will he ever take action?
Tag: desire
Call for freedom
“To quiet this body,
you must answer
my tendrilled craving.”
(KUDZU)
I believe that these lines from Saeed Jones’ poem “KUDZU” express a queer person’s desire to openly live their sexuality and be accepted by society. However, at the same time they represent the huge emotional struggle going along with the process of living openly queer.
I reached that conclusion because the line “to quiet this body” is one hand directly referring to the lyrical I’s body, but, on the other hand, it is also a metaphor for their sexuality, which is currently being hidden and not openly expressed. Additionally, the other two lines give an idea of how hard the lyrical I is struggling to hide their sexuality and not indulging themselves in their desires. Especially the word “craving” emphasizes the deep lust and is strengthened by the word “tendrilled” showing the rising need to break out of the system. Furthermore, the direct addressing of the reader “you” and the use of “must” implicates the desperate necessity of the lyrical I to fulfill their (sexual) needs.
With the knowledge I have about the author, I imagine Jones writing this poem from his own experience. I assume that he is referring to society when he says “you” and is addressing the struggle of being black and gay, but not being able to openly express his sexuality (yet).