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)."