C'81

I did a little research on Alice Notley and found out she reconstructs the mysteries, and emotions of her past in this collection of poems that charts her growth from young girl to young woman. She erects structures of image and feeling to house the memories that swirl around her in the present. Her poems mirror and transcend the times they evoke. In the book, she explains the stages of her life and to the identities she has assumed which is as child, youth, lover, poet, wife, mother, friend, and widow. Mysteries of Small Houses is kind of an autobiography of her life but the intention was to explore the concept of the self, and explore the concept of the “I” pronoun through the exploration of her life.

            I decided to choose “C.81” as well because it was the most relatable poem in the book. I come from a really poor family so the fact that Notley elaborated on this idea of poverty and struggles in her life made me admire her very much. I have seen my family struggle to have a plate of food in their table day by day and its something harsh to experience. The first stanza of the poem, “People with more money than us don’t seem to trust us… we’re always looking to borrow five ten twenty dollars… they think it all “goes for pills” how much do they think pills cost. We have no expensive habits, clothes travel, no checking account” These lines made me a bit sentimental and upset at myself at the same time. We should feel fortunate that we have a roof over our heads, food in our tables, and not much but some money to survive and live a more or less decent life. Sometimes I see bums in the train stations or even in the middle of the streets asking for money, and people just walk by and not even look at them. I personally always give them a dollar, I don’t know what they use it for but I feel good with myself knowing I did not ignore them. Poor people struggle a lot and those that can help I believe should not hesitate in giving a hand to those in more need that you are.