Poetry of Witness

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After reading multiple poems from the “Poetry of Witness” section, I found two that were really powerfully written. “The Woman Hanging From The Thirteenth Floor Window” by Joy Harjo and "Charlie Howard's Descent" by Mark Doty. Both of these poems really spoke to me because they make me feel like I want to help these people with their situations. In “The Woman Hanging From The Thirteenth Floor Window”, the woman feels like she has no identity. She is no one. Hario writes, “She is a woman of children, of the baby, Carlos, and of Margaret, and of Jimmy who is the oldest. She is her mother's daughter and her father's son. She is several pieces between the two husbands she has had.”  This makes me think of people that I have known that have gone through a very rough stage in life once their kids leave the house or perhaps they divorce their spouse of many years. They feel like they are no one without these people. They need to find what makes their life worth living. In this poem, the woman does exactly that, only she is hanging from a ledge contemplating suicide. She goes through a few stages in her life, thinks of her childhood, her children, and all of the beautiful things she has in her life. The last line of the poem leaves the reader with the mystery of the outcome. Did this woman end her life, or begin it by climbing back upon the ledge?

The second poem, “Charlie Howard’s Descent” also evoked a true emotion in me when I read it. Mark Doty uses great detail and specific words to key the reader in on the situation. The young man in the poem is homosexual and is being teased. In lines 12-13 Doty writes“What could he do, live with one hand tied behind his back?” This line clearly shows the frustration that the young man felt. He was born this way, why were others so unaccepting and judgmental of him."They didn't believe him when he said he couldn't swim." And for the last time, this boy is not believed when he speaks the truth.

Here is a link to a book with a collection of poetry of witness titles "Against Forgetting"which is based on 20th century events. Very interesting.