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"Identity"
Julio Noboa Polanco
Let them be as flowers, always watered, fed, guarded, admired, but harnessed to a pot of dirt. I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed, clinging on cliffs, like an eagle wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks. To have broken through the surface of stone, to live, to feel exposed to the madness of the vast, eternal sky. To be swayed by the breezes of an ancient sea, carrying my soul, my seed, beyond the mountains of time or into the abyss of the bizarre. I'd rather be unseen, and if then shunned by everyone, than to be a pleasant-smelling flower, growing in clusters in the fertile valley, where they're praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands. I'd rather smell of musty, green stench than of sweet, fragrant lilac. If I could stand alone, strong and free, I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed.
Read the following excerpt:
"Let them be as flowers, always watered, fed, guarded, admired, but harnessed to a pot of dirt."
What do these lines suggest about the "flowers" mentioned in the poem?
Part A: What theme does the poem suggest about beauty?
Part B: Which quotation best supports this thematic interpretation?
What metaphor does the speaker use to represent himself in the poem?
What is the speaker's attitude toward being "common"?
Part A: Read the following excerpt:
"growing in clusters in the fertile valley, where they're praised, handled, and plucked by greedy, human hands."
What topics or motifs are being suggested in this section?
Part B: How does this imagery reinforce the speaker's perspective?
What theme is most prominently explored in the poem "Identity"?