Poem by Arna Bontemps

Reconnaissance

After the cloud embankments,
the lamentation of wind
and the starry descent into time,
we came to the flashing waters and shaded our eyes
from the glare.


Alone with the shore and the harbor,
the stems of the cocoanut trees,
the fronds of silence and hushed music,
we cried for the new revelation
and waited for miracles to rise.


Where elements touch and merge,
where shadows swoon like outcasts on the sand
and the tried moment waits, its courage gone--
there were we


in latitudes where storms are born.
                   ~~~~
     This poem, Reconnaissance, by Arna Bontemps, is trying to show the struggle that they went through to get to where they got in the Harlem Renaissance. The way she is showing this is by using imagery, for example every stanza in the poem is showing the different steps it took to get them to the point they got to. It goes from a cloud of embankments, to alone on the shore harbor waiting for miracles to rise, to latitudes where storms are born. i think all those sentences show a lot. One clear thing it shows is how they got from where they couldn't even see to places where storms were born like they made storms and got people excited.

     The theme that this poem covers is determination to fight against oppression. I think this poem shows a lot of strength even if it is not that direct i think the meaning behind the poem is really clear. Every stanza gets better and better and it seems that it started out not that great and the journey through the poem they gained so much at the end.

     Bontemps uses lots of imagery and and symbolism. She makes everything very easy to imagine in your mind and have such clear images of what she is saying. The way that she uses symbolism is she isn't saying anything specifically about the Harlem renaissance but you can tell that is showing the struggle they went through to fight against oppression and change the meaning of the term "Negro".

     The reason i chose this poem is because i really like the use of words and i likes how easy it was for me to get beautiful images in my head. I also like that even though it wasn't a very long poem it was very symbolic and it made so much sense after i analyzed it and reflected on what it could have done with the themes and just the time period and experience in general.

     I love this poem. It is a very elegant poem and it was very pretty images. I really like writing poems that people can imagine in their head very easily and that is how this one was for me. i felt as though she chose all the right words and showed the struggle very clearly. It was nice to read.