POEM https://therumpus.net/2021/08/17/enough-beauty-in-bruising/
After reading “Painted Tongue” by Taylor Byas, I explored the ideas of leaving for college just as the poet explored self-discovery as a black woman from Chicago similar to the story of Dorothy as she travels on her own to get home in the Wizard of Oz. The poet quotes, “I find beauty in bruising” implying that the experiences in life may be difficult and sometimes painful but often leads you to a place of self growth and builds the person that you become. Similar to this, moving to college gives you endless opportunities to grow as a person without parental control. You learn lessons throughout the way and moving away can be initially difficult, but also allows you to challenge yourself. You find beauty in things you enjoy, people you hang out with, and within yourself through the bruising which allows you to build a foundation for the rest of your life.
Additionally, the poet compares the ideas of the touch of jewelry by their mother and dreamy touch by her father and how delicate this action is. The poet uses quotes such as, “where his thumbs would touch below my neck” and “touch her own gems…swivel in the light until they seem to sparkle” to establish the idea that children carry the things parents give them whether that be physically or emotionally. In comparison to college, kids take the things their parents teach them to navigate their new lives on their own while also carrying the symbolic pieces their parents give them including things like jewelry. This is significant because the physical objects and ways that you were raised impacts the way that you carry the weight of things handed down by parents. It can be a symbolic piece, but certain objects and experiences can also represent pain that kids have to navigate through college on their own. Later in the poem, the poet quotes, “like mother like daughter,” analyzing ideas of sometimes stereotypical similarities between a mother and their child. Although a mother and her child’s relationship oftentimes is a positive and intimate bond, kids strive away from being like their parents to try to define themselves and who they want to be outside of family ties. During college is when kids strive away from this narrative and build their own lives, often carrying the burdens their parents left behind unknowingly. This impacts the type of people that they become but also symbolizes why self-discovery comes from other things outside of building a life for yourself on your own.
Word count: 422