Men
When I was young, I used to
Watch behind the curtains
As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Young men sharp as mustard.
See them. Men are always
Going somewhere.
They knew I was there. Fifteen
Years old and starving for them.
Under my window, they would pauses,
Their shoulders high like the
Breasts of a young girl, Jacket tails slapping over
Those behinds,
Men.
One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
Were the last raw egg in the world. Then
They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a. Smile that slides around the fear. When the
Air disappears,
Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,
Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.
It is your juice
That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.
When the earth rights itself again,
And taste tries to return to the tongue,
Your body has slammed shut. Forever.
No keys exist.
Then the window draws full upon
Your mind. There, just beyond
The sway of curtains, men walk.
Knowing something.
Going someplace.
But this time, I will simply
Stand and watch.
Maybe.
Watch behind the curtains
As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Young men sharp as mustard.
See them. Men are always
Going somewhere.
They knew I was there. Fifteen
Years old and starving for them.
Under my window, they would pauses,
Their shoulders high like the
Breasts of a young girl, Jacket tails slapping overThose behinds,
Men.
One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
Were the last raw egg in the world. Then
They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
Air disappears,
Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,
Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.
It is your juice
That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.
When the earth rights itself again,
And taste tries to return to the tongue,
Your body has slammed shut. Forever.
No keys exist.
Then the window draws full upon
Your mind. There, just beyond
The sway of curtains, men walk.
Knowing something.
Going someplace.
But this time, I will simply
Stand and watch.
Maybe.
Maya Angelou
Commentary:
So, first I analyzed from just the title what the poem was going to be about. "Men" sounds just like it is. I just thought it was going to be about a woman or the speaker saying all the flaws that men have.
I read the poem in its entirety. I realized my prediction was wrong. The poem is actually about the speaker's lust or desire for men. She looks at them from a window. She " starves" for men. That starveness that she first felt towards men takes a pause as she realize that men do not look into her what she looks into them. She then restarts that lust for men as she still has hope to find men looking for the same thing she is.
In order to reach her main point, she uses figurative language in her poem.
First of all, Maya Angelou uses metaphor. An example of this is, "Wino men, old men. Young men sharp as mustard." Mustard, as everyone has tasted it knows, has a sharp taste. In this metaphor, I think Maya Angelou is comparing the taste of mustard to the appearance of the men that walk past the speaker's window. The appearance of the men may be elegant and showing off.
Another example of a metaphor that she used was when she said," Their shoulders high like the breasts of a young girl." Here she is comparing the breasts of young girls to the shoulders of men. They have nothing in common, but Maya Angelou says both are high. The shoulders of the men may be high because they are proud and self-absorbed and think they are the best thing in the world. The breasts of young girls are high because that is the nature of things.
Another metaphor she used was when she said, " one day they hold you in the palms of their hands, gentle, as if you were the last raw egg in the world." Here Maya Angelou is comparing the way that the men held the speaker to the way people hold an egg due to their delicateness. She is describing how the men touched her in her first sexual experience.
Men by Maya Angelou YouTube video
So, first I analyzed from just the title what the poem was going to be about. "Men" sounds just like it is. I just thought it was going to be about a woman or the speaker saying all the flaws that men have.
I read the poem in its entirety. I realized my prediction was wrong. The poem is actually about the speaker's lust or desire for men. She looks at them from a window. She " starves" for men. That starveness that she first felt towards men takes a pause as she realize that men do not look into her what she looks into them. She then restarts that lust for men as she still has hope to find men looking for the same thing she is.
In order to reach her main point, she uses figurative language in her poem.
First of all, Maya Angelou uses metaphor. An example of this is, "Wino men, old men. Young men sharp as mustard." Mustard, as everyone has tasted it knows, has a sharp taste. In this metaphor, I think Maya Angelou is comparing the taste of mustard to the appearance of the men that walk past the speaker's window. The appearance of the men may be elegant and showing off.
Another example of a metaphor that she used was when she said," Their shoulders high like the breasts of a young girl." Here she is comparing the breasts of young girls to the shoulders of men. They have nothing in common, but Maya Angelou says both are high. The shoulders of the men may be high because they are proud and self-absorbed and think they are the best thing in the world. The breasts of young girls are high because that is the nature of things.
Another metaphor she used was when she said, " one day they hold you in the palms of their hands, gentle, as if you were the last raw egg in the world." Here Maya Angelou is comparing the way that the men held the speaker to the way people hold an egg due to their delicateness. She is describing how the men touched her in her first sexual experience.
Men by Maya Angelou YouTube video
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