“Hades Welcomes His Bride” – A.E Stallings

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Come now, child, adjust your eyes, for sight
Is here a lesser sense. Here you must learn
Directions through your fingertips and feet
And map them in your mind. I think some shapes
Will gradually appear. The pale things twisting 5
Overhead are mostly roots, although some worms
Arrive here clinging to their dead. Turn here.
Ah. And in this hall will sit our thrones,
And here you shall be queen, my dear, the queen
Of all men ever to be born. No smile? 10
Well, some solemnity befits a queen.
These thrones I have commissioned to be made
Are unlike any you imagined; they glow
Of deep-black diamonds and lead, subtler
And in better taste than gold, as will suit 15
Your timid beauty and pale throat. Come now,
Down these winding stairs, the air more still
And dry and easier to breathe. Here is a room
For your diversions. Here I’ve set a loom
And silk unraveled from the finest shrouds 20
And dyed the richest, rarest shades of black.
Such pictures you shall weave! Such tapestries!
For you I chose those three thin shadows there,
And they shall be your friends and loyal maids,
And do not fear from them such gossiping 25
As servants usually are wont. They have
Not mouth nor eyes and cannot thus speak ill
Of you. Come, come. This is the greatest room;
I had it specially made after great thought
So you would feel at home. I had the ceiling 30
Painted to recall some evening sky–
But without the garish stars and lurid moon.
What? That stark shape crouching in the corner?
Sweet, that is to be our bed. Our bed.
Ah! Your hand is trembling! I fear 35
There is, as yet, too much pulse in it.

The content in this poem focuses on the Greek mythological story of Hades and Persephony. The content in this poem is very all over the place as it is comparing and contrasting all sorts of things. The speaker of this poem is Hades, and it is in the first person point of view. The story begins as Hades is waiting on Persophones arrival, and he is anxious. Hades reflects the darkness and the death vibe the underworld has and constrasts it with the vibrant and full of life vibe that persephone has. A.E stallings uses a mixture of different litterary techniques throughout the poem. Stallings mostly uses vivid imagery to get a sense of what the underworld feels and looks like. The imagery helps add to the themes of the poem like, separation, darkness. The imagery also helps describe the persephony’s transition from earth to the underworld. Persephony and Hades are not just mythological beings in this poem, they are given real, and true human emotions in this poem. They are personified in a way to give the story a little more raw emotion. There is an obviois allusion in this poem, as it is a story based off of the story of Hades and Persophone of old Greek Mythology. The diction in this poem helps add to the complexity and the tension in the story. The diction in the poem at times takes example from old words that were commonly used in Greek Mythology. I’ve seen and read many different Greek Mythology books and movies, and this peom shows a different side of the story of the relationship betwen Hades and Persephone. The complex relationship when Persephone returns to the underworld is really an interesting addition to the relationship between Hades and Persephone.

“When People Ask How I’m Doing” – Rudy Francisco

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I want to say

My depression is an angry deity, a jealous god
a thirsty shadow that wrings my joy like a dishrag
and makes juice out of my smile

I want to say

Getting out of bed has become a magic trick
I am probably the worst magician I know

I want to say

This sadness is the only clean shirt I have left
and my washing machine has been broken for months

but i’d rather not ruin someone’s day with my tragic honesty
so instead I treat my face like a pumpkin.

I pretend that it’s Halloween
I carve it into something acceptable
I laugh and say,

“I’m doing alright.”

This poem is one that probably relates to most if not everyone on earth. Usually humans tend to hide their true feelings when asked to share them. In this poem, Rudy Francisco says all of the words we usually hide deep down, but then contrasts it with what we usually say. For example “I want to say this sadness is the only clean shirt I have left and my washing machine has been broken for months” “I instead treat my face like a pumpkin and carve it into something acceptable and say I’m doing alright.” The speaker’s tone in this is really passionate, he speaks from the heart and from experience and it’s really cool to see. A tone which comes from experience is one which speaks to the reader. The title of this poem is “When People Ask Me How I’m Doing” . The significance of the title is that the author throughout the poem speaks on the issues of giving half hearted answers on this topic. The title sets the message of the poem with a phrase about the meaning of the work. Throughout the work, Francisco uses metaphors and other analogies to compare himself to the other items or or people. Francisco also uses personification to bring some items to life during the poem to give more life to the story itself. Francisco’s diction during the poem makes it easy for the reader to tell that he is being sincere and thorough about the story. Rudy is very genuine in this poem, and it is very important to the tone of the story and for the mood that the reader catches while reading this story. This story shows examples of asyndeton, which makes the story flow together, instead of separating it into different parts. Literary techniques are important to any story, and Rudy Francisco in this poem, and in others, typically does very well. Francisco tends to use personification a little in this story, but at the same time he doesn’t it’s very interesting. He personifies the objects in the story, by comparing his life as those objects. This makes the story come to life, literally. The story of this poem does not exactly have a shift. The story stays consistent throughout with Francisco talking about his life’s problems if he could really speak about his issues. Most poems have a shift in the story, and this poem not really having one makes it much more interesting. The structure of the poem is different, it has 4 lines or so, then it breaks. This separates the different items or people that Francisco compares himself to. In reality this poem is really relatable to personal experience at least for me. Sometimes I feel myself closed off from society and I think I am not the only one who does that. Even sometimes my parents ask me how i’m doing or how is my day and I sometimes cant bring myself to tell them that it is not ok. I will hide my feelings deep down and not tell the people closest to me how I am doing, and after reading this poem I see that this is not the right thing to do. Holding out feelings deep down is also holding us back in life and this is not beneficial to our mental health. What I can take out of this poem is using Rudy’s examples, and trying to do the opposite of what he does. I need to starting opening myself up to the world, instead of closing myself off from new opportunities to better myself. Rudy Francisco did a wonderful job on this poem, and has shown the people who read his work, who he really is.

Rudy Francisco

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Rudy Francisco is one of the most recognizable names in Spoken Word Poetry. He was born, raised and still resides in San Diego, California. At the age of 21, Rudy completed his B.A in Psychology and decided to continue his education by pursuing a M.A in Organizational Studies. As an artist, Rudy Francisco is an amalgamation of social critique, introspection, honesty and humor. He uses personal narratives to discuss the politics of race, class, gender and religion while simultaneously pinpointing and reinforcing the interconnected nature of human existence.

Rudy Francisco seeks to create work that promotes healthy dialogue, discourse and social change. Furthermore, Rudy has made conscious efforts to cultivate young poets and expose the youth to the genre of Spoken Word Poetry via coaching, workshops and performances at preparatory schools and community centers. Rudy has also received admiration from institutions of higher education. He has conducted guest lectures and performances at countless colleges and universities across the nation.

Rudy Francisco has shared stages with prominent artists such as Gladys Knight, Jordin Sparks, Musiq Soul Child, and Jill Scott. He is also the co-host of the largest poetry venue in San Diego, competes in domestic and international poetry slam competitions and had the honor of being nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ultimately, Rudy’s goal is to continue to assist others in harnessing their creativity while cultivating his own. Rudy Francisco is the 2009 National Underground Poetry Slam Champion, 2010 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion and appeared on TV One’s “Verses and Flow”