Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Laying the Waves," a poem by Natasha Trethewey inspired by a photograph taken by George Butler, the act of hair straightening in a dim basement becomes a lens through which one can explore themes of identity, transformation, and pain. The poem serves as a meditation on the personal and cultural implications of altering one's appearance, suggesting that the process is laden with complex emotions and meanings.

The setting is depicted in vivid detail: "a basement of masonry brick, pipes and wires / hemming the roof," illuminated only by "two bare bulbs." It's a humble, perhaps even squalid, environment, which underscores the rawness of the moment. This isn't a glamorous salon; it's a space of utility and necessity, a place where the act of hair straightening becomes both a ritual and a rite of passage. The description of the setting establishes a weighty atmosphere, wherein the characters exist within the enclosures of darkness, wires, and pipes-symbolizing, perhaps, the societal limitations they're trying to negotiate.

Trethewey masterfully brings us into the intimate physicality of the scene. The man applying the hair relaxer, or "lye," is so immersed in his work that "his afro graz[es] the ceiling." The person in the barber's chair "closes his eyes to it-barely / a tingle now-the lye combed through / to his roots." The poem doesn't shy away from the pain involved in the process; it's an agony that goes beyond the physical, digging into the roots of identity.

When the man opens his eyes "again, his eyes will blink into focus. / With a mirror, he'll look for himself / in strange light, feel / change-the stinging newness." This is a transformative moment, wherein the subject seeks his reflection, not just in the mirror, but also in the unfamiliar light that the "bare bulbs" cast. It's a moment that resonates with layers of emotion: relief, recognition, even a certain type of victory-"Yeah, he'll nod. Yeah."

The poem's power resides in its nuanced treatment of its subject matter. While it could be interpreted as a critique of the societal pressures that lead people to alter their natural selves, it also dignifies the individuals who make these choices. It does not judge, but it does shine light-like the bare bulbs in that basement-on a moment that is too often relegated to the shadows, too often dismissed as mere vanity. By focusing on this intimate, painful act of transformation, "Laying the Waves" explores what it means to search for oneself amidst a tangle of societal expectations and personal desires. It asks us to consider the complex ways in which identity is forged, altered, and reclaimed-sometimes in the dimmest of lights, sometimes in the sting of change.

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