Monday, May 16, 2011

Joy harjo - "She had some horses"

In "She had some horses" Harjo speaks of the plight I believe of native american women. Being of such descent herself it only made sense. Each horse described a different identity such as:
"She had horses with full, brown thighs.
She had horses who laughed too much. 
She had horses who danced in their mothers' arms
She had horses who were much too shy, and kept quiet
in stalls of their own making."
Each women is different and this poem punctuates that . I t shows you the difference in personality but still binds them all together. When Harjo states the following this is why I think of plight.
"She had horses who whispered in the dark, who were afraid to speak.
She had horses who screamed out of fear of the silence, who
carried knives to protect themselves from ghosts.
She had horses who waited for destruction.
She had horses who waited for resurrection."
They were forced into different lives, losing many and not knowing what their future held. It was most likely filled with fear, pain and uncertainty which I feel Harjo brings out perfectly.As in those times a person was their tribe and the tribe was each person. All was one and when she states "There were horses I loved and horses I hated, and they all were one" I feel she is in fact talking of herself. She has each of these women in her each disposition, each hope and fear, and she both loved and hated it. At least this is what I got from this poem parts of it did in fact confuse me.

 

3 comments:

  1. I had i hard time grasping the concept to of this poem maybe the professor can provide a different interpretation for us. I thought the horses maybe represented each different side of the lady and her qualities.

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  2. I also wrote about this poem, I loved your analysis. I found the poem to have a different meaning, and related it to her experiences with people outside her culture. But I see your side as well.

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  3. Yes. But see my comments on Adam's blog (current) and Dianna A's (previous classes)

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