Im trying to wrap my mind around the Rita Dove disrespect. There was a small faction of anti-establishment writers proclaiming Dove was “inaccessible.”

My thought—not knowing how to read a poem doesn’t necessarily make it inaccessible.

I’d also argue that the real reason these white readers are having a hard time accessing the quality of Rita Dove’s poem is b/c they are not familiar w/ the complexities of the Black femme experience.

My reading.

Let’s start w/ the title, which is listed as “Mirror Voiceover” but shows as “Mirror” on pg. 219.

Great titles give you the info you need to glean meaning from the poem and, in this case, how to read it.

From the title, I can infer that this is an internal dialogue.

Internal dialogue is complex AND the relationship Black femmes historically have w/ mirrors are complex, our beauty being used against us the entirety of our existence.

The author chooses to reflect on something in the “mirror,” which leads me to believe it will be personal.

Personal, in this context, means Black and femme. It’s important to note that any “I” in a poem is artifice. It’s only one carefully constructed version of the author, not the entirety of them. It is therefore not always reflective of the author’s true POV.

Some don’t agree, but I think the author’s lived experience is always a factor. W/ that in mind, I can infer from the title that we will be exploring what it “feels” like to look in a mirror as a Black femme.

I’ll point out key lines that lead to my theory on the poem.

“dissolve/ under powder pressed into/ my skin./ Oh, avalanche, my harbor”

The powder could be the incendiary kind, which would jive w/ the “blasted gaze” line or...

It could refer to the makeup that some Black femmes use to appear more appealing to others. I think both theories are supported by the mirrored line

“dissolve/ into pressed powder under/ skin, my/ harbor, my avalanche. Oh”

The first version of the line is more resigned, while the second version is more assertive in its tone.

We are seeing two sides of a thought abt a Black femme’s ability to be more than sad & angry, “can I/ I can” be resolute and more than—in this case—a mere human.

We see a subtle transformation in the penultimate lines:

“if all I am/ (Am I all?)/ is Woe is/ me”
and
“Am I all if/ all I am/ is Woe is/ me?”

It’s important to know that most English translations of the Bible refer to God multiple times as the great I AM.

Throw in the infamous 1968 “I am a Man” protest poster and we’ve got some options on the interpretation of the “Am I/ I am” question/statement.

But I lean more on the God theory, simply because the last line is a biblical reference: “is Woe is/ me?”

The version of this phrase is preceded by uncertainty, the second version is resolute in that it accepts it is only “woe is/ me” but wants to be more than that.

This where the Black femme interpretation really comes in.

Being a Black femme means that you are seen as both something beautiful & something dangerous. You are both tired of the worlds traumas & full of life. You are both in search of a “harbor” & capable of being your own place of safety. You are both strong—& weak. All the time.

Any reading Black femme can look this poem over and know what mirror Dove is talking about. We know what “shame’ll rebuild & memory dissolve” means inherently—no matter our academic learnings or geography or pay scale. We all know what that shame is.

When a poet like Rita Dove gives you a poem—you’re getting a whole lot more than a few pretty words and tricks of speech. The work, which is rather revealing and feels intimate, is crafted. Not made. Crafted.

It’s the difference between a commercial and a documentary.

Poetry lets you look into someone else’s mind and see how it works and excellent poetry makes you look back at yourself and learn something new.

Just saying.