Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Naomi Shihab Nye’s "Feather" is a portrait of Mrs. Esquivel, a woman whose presence radiates warmth, memory, and resilience. The poem weaves together moments of everyday life, cultural heritage, and quiet acts of caretaking, presenting Mrs. Esquivel as a figure deeply rooted in both the past and present. Through a blend of imagery, direct speech, and shifting perspectives, Nye captures the way a person can embody history and community, becoming a living bridge between generations.

The opening lines immediately situate Mrs. Esquivel within a familiar setting: "She’s walking up the street from Sanitary Tortilla / with her pink mesh shopping bag." The detail of the shopping bag suggests a routine, a connection to a specific place and way of life. The name "Sanitary Tortilla" evokes a Mexican-American neighborhood, reinforcing her cultural background. This grounding in the everyday is central to the poem—Mrs. Esquivel is not an abstract symbol but a real person moving through a recognizable world.

The second stanza introduces her home: "Mrs. Esquivel of the waving plants, / front porch lined with leaves." The mention of "waving plants" gives a sense of movement and care, as if the plants themselves respond to her presence. The image of her dancing with sheets in softer light adds to her ethereal quality, positioning her between the tangible and the poetic. The line "She came here from the old days. / Slipped out of the old days like a feather." emphasizes her connection to a past that seems both distant and ever-present. The metaphor of a feather suggests weightlessness, fragility, and grace, as if she carries history with her effortlessly.

Nye expands on Mrs. Esquivel’s journey: "Floated here with her aluminum pot lids / and blue enamel spoons tied to her wings." The domestic objects tied to her wings transform her into a folkloric figure, someone whose migration is marked not by grandeur but by the tools of daily survival. The blending of the mundane with the magical is a hallmark of Nye’s poetry, reinforcing the idea that everyday life holds profound beauty and significance.

The poem then shifts into a reflection on time and change. "She believed in the screen door, / its tiny holes letting in breeze. / She preceded thieves and reasons for locking." These lines convey a world that was once open, trusting, and communal—a world that has since changed. The screen door, traditionally a symbol of hospitality and openness, contrasts with the modern necessity of locking doors. Mrs. Esquivel represents an earlier time when safety was assumed, and life moved at a different pace.

The second section of the poem introduces a more conversational, almost stream-of-consciousness style. Mrs. Esquivel speaks:
"Honey how’s the little one? I see him come out / on the porch in his red shirt, / pick up the hose, shoot it straight / in the air at the bananas. / You got any ripe yet?"
Her words reflect a deep attentiveness to the lives around her. She observes small, seemingly inconsequential moments—a child playing with a hose, the ripening of bananas—but in doing so, she affirms the importance of these details. Her speech is informal, affectionate, and filled with curiosity, reinforcing her role as a nurturing presence in the neighborhood.

She continues, describing her visit to see the President at the Alamo:
"I walk over to see the President of the United States / at the Alamo and he don’t look like much. / He stand up high on a little stage and look down / into our faces."
This anecdote, both humorous and pointed, contrasts the distant authority of political figures with the grounded wisdom of everyday people. The comparison to the "curly-tail dog sit in the middle / of the street every night when the lamps / go on" suggests skepticism toward power. The dog’s indifference mirrors the way the President seems removed from the people he addresses, reinforcing the theme of community versus institutional authority.

The final section of the poem returns to Mrs. Esquivel’s presence in her own space:
"Sometimes the grass grows so tall / in the vacant lot beside her house. / Fancy pink vines tie knots / around the heads of weeds."
Here, nature takes on an unruly beauty, much like Mrs. Esquivel herself—resilient, adaptive, and uncontained by rigid structures. The imagery of "swimming through the field at sundown" enhances her dreamlike quality, as if she moves through life with a quiet but undeniable grace.

Her call at the poem’s end—"Hey! Hey you! It’s time to come home!"—is both literal and metaphorical. She calls to the animals and lost things in the overgrown lot, but it also resonates as a call to the people around her, a call to return to something essential, to community, to belonging. The response—"Here I am."—suggests that this connection, though fragile, endures.

"Feather" is a tribute to an everyday matriarch, a woman who embodies history, warmth, and resilience. Through rich imagery and shifting perspectives, Nye presents Mrs. Esquivel as both an individual and a symbol of continuity, someone whose presence anchors a neighborhood even as time changes around her. The poem’s structure mirrors this fluidity, moving from description to dialogue to reflection, capturing the rhythms of life itself. Mrs. Esquivel’s final call—"Hey! Hey you! It’s time to come home!"—lingers as an invitation to reconnect, to remember, and to acknowledge the quiet figures who shape the world with their presence.

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