The Impact of Words

I have read enough to know that the images a passage of words invokes in my mind can vary wildly from how others perceive them. This had been proved to me many times, and it often turns out to be a good thing. I get to keep my original mental picture and, after listening to other’s assessments, can improve upon that image. Although I didn’t watch the election live, I did see a number of videos after the fact and sadly feel like I missed a great opportunity. When it came time for me to read Elizabeth Alexander’s poem I chose to listen to it while I read through it for the first time. Big mistake. Over the years I have come to understand poetry from the viewpoint of someone who can appreciate it while not really enjoying it.
As I have seen, poetry comes from many different inspirations, but there is always some sort of emotion and feeling behind it. Even with my own pathetic attempts there was a passion of sorts that simmered beneath the surface. When I heard Alexander reading her poem I was struck by the lack of fire in her voice. As I read along with her I realized just how powerful she could have made her words. With just the slightest bit of spirit she could have turned the poem into something that could move people. The words would have been the same, their meaning unchanged but the effect so much more powerful. But she simply plodded through the poem. She may have been trying for stately but it came off as detached, indifferent. The most annoying thing to my way of thinking is that she had everything she needed right there. The poem in itself isn’t bad. But the presentation made it seem so in my mind. Sadly this appears to be an opinion many share. Many people I have spoken to have expressed their disappointment with the reading. It would be interesting to hear if Alexander ever read the poem again, this time not in front of thousands of people.