Why “Praise Song for the Day?”

Elizabeth Alexander’s poem, “Praise Song for the Day” was chosen to be read for the inauguration of President Barack Obama because her poem encompassed this abstract idea of “hope” and brought it to the forefront with imagery we can all relate to in one form or another. The first stanza emphasized our daily lives, walking by one another without recognition, going “about our business” and never truly knowing another individual we pass on our way. It reminded me so much of my daily trek around campus. Perhaps this is the first stanza in the poem because it represents how we can be closed off and interpersonal before something comes along to unify us.

In the second stanza, the speaker mentions the constant noise that surrounds us. The line, “each one of our ancestors on our tongues” seems to say that we all have a story to tell about who we are and how we came to be. Most of our beliefs and values come from our parents, our “ancestors,” who have instilled in us the things they find to be most important. The first two stanzas seem to represent our individuality.

Next, the speaker portrays different people all working to fix something. While each task mentioned belongs to someone completely different from the next, the task is this: “repairing the things in need of repair.” This line makes me think of the many times a day we find ourselves fixing something. The act of repairing something is never finite. Things constantly need repair, and just when one problem has been resolved, another one arises. To me, this is the line that relates to the inauguration the most. Every president sworn in on the day of inauguration has stood before the American people with an idea to repair something. For many of us today, our hope for the country is what needs to be restored.

The next stanza refers to the music people try to make. I find it interesting that in the second stanza the poem refers to the constant chaotic noise surrounding us, and then shifts to the creation of music in the fourth stanza, possibly symbolizing the act of coming together from our differences to make something happen. This is similar to my definition of music—different sounds coming together to produce an organized pattern of sound in time.

The speaker also emphasizes the different words we use each day, describing them as “spiny or smooth” and “whispered or declaimed.” She speaks of the words people live by, quoting scripture and the Hippocratic Oath. In the end, she raises the question of “love” being the “mightiest word.” The poem is concluded by expressing that new things are always possible. They simply begin with a new idea and a new word. The repetition of the phrase “Praise song” ties together the theme of hard work and determination constantly pushing us forward toward a better tomorrow.