Critique of Roque Dalton's "Poema de Amor"

Roque Dalton's
"Poema de Amor"
A Love Poem Not Like Any Other

Typically, when someone is about to read a poem called "Love Poem," he or she will expect it to be about love. Usually the love some would expect is dealing with, but not limited to the theory of love, the feeling of love, the experience of love, being with or without love, and etc. When reading "Poema de Amor (Love Poem)," by Roque Dalton, there is a different type of love taking place. A love that when first reading, you do not expect it is there. "Poema de Amor," is a poem that defies the reader’s expectations from the title. One might say that it is a bizarre brotherly type love and that is why the title is, "Love Poem."
Roque Dalton was a leftist Salvadoran poet and journalist who is widely praised in Latin American. His work almost always caught the reader’s attention and made the reader more aware of his or her surroundings. He often fought against the government which eventually had gotten him exiled from Salvador. It is rumor that he had went under plastic surgery, so he would be able to return to the city without being recognized. That alone shows how much love he has for his country. However, when he did (officially) return, he decided to join the guerrilla group. In the end he was assassinated by the same group. Just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Dalton died fighting to have his voice heard and to have equality practiced within of his own nation. Even though Nelson Mandela did not die, you can still put him within the same category because of the cause he was fighting for.
Dalton also is credited with the following quote: "Poetry, like bread, is for everyone." What he had said is what he applied to his writing. He wrote his poems for everyone to read. His poems and other works was a way to have his voice get heard. A voice he wanted heard not just within his own nation, but all over. His poems included a lot of political issues that were in conflict with the Salvadoran government and military. When even more covered up repression occurred he continues to write, so that others can be more aware. Dalton and his work during the revolution in Latin America will always be an important mark in Latin America history; especially in Latin America literary history.
One of Dalton's most famous piece of work was his poem, “Poema de Amor
(Love Poem)." The title of the poem is abnormal for the poems' content. Some might say that it does not fit, while others might say that they can see that type of love. The people who might say the title does not fit the poem might also say that the poem is ironic. Ironic because the do not believe that the love is there. The majority of the lines in the poem speak very low on its contents. Therefore, people would not see the hidden love inside the poem. The last two lines of the poem are actually the lines that is becoming to the title.
The vibe of the poem is almost a negative perception of Salvador. There is not one positive line in this poem. If someone has never been in Salvador and/or knows nothing to very little about the country, then he or she might think that it is a horrible place. That is the environment the poet lived in and he wanted to highlight what was actually going on in his country. Because the poet went back to Salvador after he was exiled, it should be easily understood that there was something he loved about his country. Furthermore, readers can come to the conclusion that Dalton wants you to be aware of something other then the cuisine, music and architecture of his country. He wanted the readers to know the truth.
One part of the poem that comes in the most conflict with the poem itself and what a reader might expect of a love poem is:
"the spongers, beggars, pot-heads,
the stupid sons of whores,
those who were barely able to get back,
those who had a little more luck,
the forever undocumented,
those who do anything, sell anything, eat anything,
the first ones to pull a knife,
the wretched the most wretch of the earth,"
That excerpt from the poem does not show any kind of love I mention the reader might expect. When reading this part, I do not understand whether the poet wants you to look down upon the Salvadorans he describes or if he wants you to pity them. What I do know is that you can not turn a blind eye to the negative portrait he paints to the reader.
The next two lines and also the last two lines are what actually what bring the title of the and the poem itself together. The last two lines of the poem are when he calls the citizens of Salvador he have been writing about:
"my compatriots,
my brothers."

He calls the people he just talked negative on his brothers. That is where the twist is in the poem. That is where the poem becomes a love poem. That is where “Poema de Amor," becomes a poem unlike any other because it is different. Just as a reader would not expect such a negative start of this poem, a reader would not expect the last two lines to be what they are. The twist is a shocker, yet it belongs because of the title. It has a huge impact because most people would not want to be affiliated with these people. For example, if someone was to make a list about everything negative there is on an apple but at the end of the list it says that the apple is his or her favorite fruit with the title being "My Love for Apples." A start and ending like that would not be expected. It is almost ironic and hypocritical, but it is neither. What it can be referring to as is a love for everything and not just the positive or just an abnormal type of love.
This type of love is abnormal because a reader would not expect love to be there. I think that the author feels as if he was part of a brotherhood. An invisible brotherhood that does not really exist but it is there. I believe that this brotherhood is also patriotic because of Daltons' love for his country. Usually when you love your country, you love the people in it too. I can say that Americans are greedy, self-absorb, and power hunger, but then say that they are my sisters and my brothers because we are linked. We are linked not by blood, but by nationality. Dalton is part of the Salvador brotherhood. That is why he calls the Salvadorans he speaks negative of, "his compatriots/ his brothers." Being linked together forms some sort of love. A love that you would not expect is there but it is there.
Being linked together also forms some sort of bond; an unbreakable bond. The bond was unbreakable because his love for his country was unbreakable. He carried his love for his country to his death; therefore, even Death itself could not break that bond.
It is hard to believe that the bond can be that strong with the images he portrayed in the poem. A part of the poem that has some of the most striking images is:
" those who were riddled with bullets crossing the border,
those who died from malaria
or scorpion bites or swarming bees
in the hell of the banana plantations.
those who got drunk and wept for the national anthem"
When I read those lines, I can almost get three of the five senses activated: sight, sound, and touch. Sight is the strongest amongst the three; it is the strongest throughout the entire poem. Visually I can see the people getting shot and being riddled with bullets as they try to cross the border. I can see the people being attacked by the scorpions and the bees while all taking place in the banana plantations. I can also get a visual of the drunks crying. I can hear them crying too. I can hear the slurred off-toned crying of the drunks for the anthem. I can also hear the bullets fired from the guns during the crossing. Now touch is the hardest sense to receive while reading those lines because it is very subtle. It is subtle because it is more on the mental side then the physical. It is almost like a reflex; your reflexes occur when you read something that can physical happen to a person. It would be extreme to say that would get a reflex from the first line because not every one has been shot, so not everyone has felt that sort that sort of pain. However, in the third line you can almost feel the bite of a scorpion, stung of a bee, or something much similar. More then likely you can relate to them and that is why you would feel it. If you did not have the strength of the images in this poem, there would be a completely different affect in the beginning of this poem.
Together everything makes this poem a love poem unlike any other. With its abnormal content and the twist for an ending makes the poem completely unique. The only type of love in this poem is an abnormal type of brotherly love. The love was form through the bond of the poets' nationality. That makes the poem different but also gives the poem its title, “Poema de Amor (Love Poem)."

Mother Nature: The Outdated Villain

One of the things that differentiate women from men is that, women are the ones that produce the offspring. In order for women to have children, they have to have a monthly menstrual cycle. Therefore, the targeted audience for the Tampax Pearl® with Leak Guard® advertisement is women.
Have you ever worn an outfit, and then once you were out on the town you realized that you were not in the current fashion? Or have you ever been embarrassed to pull out your cd player because everyone else around you had already upgraded to a mp3 or iPod. Something’s like the classic black dress will never be old-fashion, while something’s like a polyester green suit will. Then there are something’s that never become outdated, but should be like periods. Periods should be out-of-date, but all the scientists in the world have yet to find a way without destroying the chance of reproduction. Sure there are birth controls out there that will stop a cycle up to about three months, but birth control is not for someone who wants to get pregnant. There is also a procedure called a hysterectomy that will stop the cycle completely, but the cost is that you can never have children again. There are also several restrictions that are in enforced to get a hysterectomy. Unlike the vasectomy (which is the male equivalent to the hysterectomy), a woman can’t just go whenever she wants to get the procedure. She has to be over a certain age, had to many children, or her reproductive system is a risk to her health. The restrictions alone should be outdated and annulled because they were probably created by some man who was a sexist misogynist. However, a hysterectomy is not for a female who wants kids. Cycles will never be outdated for women who want kids because their period will always be needed. So what is out there for the women who want to have children one day, but don’t want to have their monthly menstrual cycle? For woman who wears a tampon repetitively throughout her menstrual time span and it is her preferred choice, the tampon is the closest way of stopping the cycle. Even though a woman would still have the cycle, it would be less problematic for her. That’s what being depicted in the advertisement for Tampax Pearl®; a way to Outsmart Mother Nature.
Laying peacefully on a bright all white bed is a young girl sleeping; she appears to be worry free. The young girl also appears to be in the current fashion. Even though the girl is sleeping, she is wearing make-up. She has on eye shadow, eyeliner, what seems to be blush, and a light pink shade of lipstick. Her make-up suggests a natural look, which is a trend in today’s fashion. At a first look it appears that her hair is all wild, when in reality her hair is a current trend for African American females; the trend is all natural hair. Even the silver clutch and light purple sheer scarf hanging on her head board, and the assortment of finger nail polish and pearls on her night stand, suggests that the girl is keeping up with the current fashions. The girl is also portrayed as being innocent by being young, pretty, and having a natural look. Her all white bed and the pastel color scheme suggest purity. And the only dark color shades in the room is the green that Mother Nature has on and the present wrapped in bright red with a neon pink bow, which implies that the young girl is the victim.
Whenever there is a victim, there is a villain. Mother Nature and the present she brings is the villain. Mother Nature in the advertisement is depicted as an older woman. She is wearing a multi-colored dark green polyester suit which suggests that she is out of fashion. Also her wavy dark hair and sinister smile implies that she is up to no good. However, there a few things that keeps her in style. What keeps her in style is the style of her hair, her blue eyes, and her very fashionable shoes; but those minors things aren’t enough.
What is portrayed in the advertisement is not just that females are the victims and Mother Nature is villain, but that by using Tampax Pearl® with Leak Guard® you have a way of outsmarting Mother Nature by stopping her the closest way possible. The advertisers portray their product as a way of putting menstrual cycles as out of date. The caption on the advertisement says, “Don’t let Mother Nature interrupt your dreams.” However, it is implying for female to not let their monthly menstrual cycles interrupt their life.