Poetry Response # 1

Minstrel Man
By Langston Hughes

Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter
And my throat
Is deep with song,
You do not think
I suffer after
I have held my pain,
So long?

Because my mouth
Is wide with laughter
You do not hear
My inner cry?
Because my feet
Are gay with dancing,
You do not know
I die?
Poem Response

The author if this poem talks about how he disguises his pain by pretending to be having tons of fun. He’s putting up façade where hides his sorrow and no one is able to see what really is going on behind that mask. He explains that others cannot see his pain and cannot tell his suffering because of his immense laughter and because he dances happily. I believe that this is a poem to whom all can relate because it happens to often. I can really relate to this poem because every time that I feel sad or I’m just having a bad day I don’t want to show it therefore I act cheerful and happy as a way to disguise my unhappiness. I hate it when people ask me “what is wrong, why are you looking so sad” so I would much rather pretend I’m happy. I don’t want to show that I feel defeated or sad, I want to show the opposite. I believe that many people also feel the same way, usually we connect feeling pain and sorrow with being powerless therefore we hide our pain and show otherwise. Like for example when I girl break ups with her boyfriend and his very hurt. He will go to the club and dance with many different girls as a way to hide his pain and suffering and demonstrate that he still in control of his life and situation. To show his friends that he is over his ex girlfriend and that he can move on with his life very quickly. Then when he gets home he feels extra bad and cries because he misses his ex girlfriend. When we create facades like these its when people aren’t ale to see or understand how we really are feeling which in the long run might hurts us because we arent able to express our emotions freely.