After reading Words Under The Words by Naomi Shihab Nye my preconceived notions on poetry were shattered. For one of the first times in my life I enjoyed reading poetry. Her contrasts of emotions, feelings and thoughts, coupled with her ability to weave a web of words made this book enjoyable. Evidence of her travels as well as her Palestinian-American heritage show through in portions of the book and make her poetry very diverse. A common theme I picked out between the two poems: “You Have to Be Careful” and “What He Said to His Enemies” is trust or lack there of.
After reading “You Have to Be Careful” I received the impression that the author was looking for someone to trust with her secrets. Throughout the stanzas of this poem many types of listeners are described, most notably the talkative one. Evidence of this is shown in part of the first stanza: “You have to be careful telling things. Some ears are tunnels.”(1-2) These represent the people that will hear one thing and before you know
Massive branches breaking. (1-2)
The worlds room was so small? (14-15)
The use of the word “patient” in the second line represents great diction by Nye. Patience is exactly the type of mood presented at this point in the poem. The speaker is definitely taking time and waiting for the right person as if they have one in mind. In another odd sense the speaker gives off a feeling of trustworthiness by opening up to the reader with their cautiousness.
This signifies someone or something being followed or stalked for a long period of time. Later on the poem intensifies into the thoughts of the prey and the narrator eventually questions his enemy’s intelligence as shown here:
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