1. The Cane Fields
There is a parrot imitating spring
in the palace, its feathers parsley green.
Out of the swamp the cane appears
to haunt us, and we cut it down. El General
searches for a word; he is all the world
there is. Like a parrot imitating spring,
we lie down screaming as rain punches through
and we come up green. We cannot speak an R—
out of the swamp, the cane appears
and then the mountain we call in whispers Katalina.
The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads.
There is a parrot imitating spring.
El General has found his word: perejil.
Who says it, lives. He laughs, teeth shining
out of the swamp. The cane appears
in our dreams, lashed by wind and streaming.
And we lie down. For every drop of blood
there is a parrot imitating spring.
Out of the swamp the cane appears.
THE AUTHOR
This poem was the one that really sparked my interest in poetry. I remember listening to it in a poetry podcast from one of Spotify's own playlists. It was completely randomized, but I am more than thrilled to have discovered the talented Mrs Dove. The poem's name is "Parsley", but it's divided in two parts. It is a quite long, and deep poem, which is why I have decided to analyze the parts separately.
But before I get into analyzing and discussing this poem, let's talk about Rita Dove.
Being born as Rita Frances Dove in 1952, she was a child stuck in the eye of the burning storm that was the Civil Rights Movement in America, which would become the end of the gruesome centuries of violence, murder, slavery, torture and legal segregation that had roamed the american lands. It is to no surprise that this horrible and disgraceful part of human history has moved and affected many from different corners of the world. Through this revolution, these emotions, struggles and immense pain, something bigger has grown. Something powerful, something that has changed the meaning of freedom. A seed of art was planted during the African-American revolution, and sprouted in every soil one could see with the naked eye. Some of the best artists in the world, in my opinion and many others', are of African-American descent. Rita Dove was a very special sprout. She was not a rose, nor a daisy or a dashing tulip, she was a fierce and determined weed, making her home in the gardens of the american people, embedding herself in their hearts, and rolling on the waves of the revolution, she has made history, time and time again. In the 90s, she was the first African-American to be appointed the position of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She also served as Poet Lauretate in Virginia, and was the second African-American to win Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Shortly put, Rita Dove is a badass.
Now, as boring as it may seem to spend a few minutes to read about the author, this part is crucial to be able to fully understand a poem, and what the poet had in mind while writing it. It's almost as if you have to pretend that you are the poet, to truly be able to dive into a poem fearlessly.
THE POEM
The first word that kept on lingering in my mind, and still does, when I read this poem, is the word "parsley".
There is a parrot imitating spring in the palace, its feathers parsley green. "
Right from the start, Dove captures the reader in a tight, romantic and soft rope, suggesting staggering views of exotic animals and palaces. And what a lovely and unusual colour! Parsley Green. How come Dove picked such an unusual nuance to colour a parrot? Amazonian creatures surely are more vivid and vibrant than to deserve to be framed in such a dull and ordinary manner. As every word ever created by man, parsley can play a very symbolic tune in this poem. Being a herb, parsley was historically used as a popular remedy for healing (the romans used it to cure hangovers, so hey! A little ancient tip for ya!), and is said to remove bitterness and induce healing, well-being and increased energy. After all, nobody really hates parsley, do they?
Could the healing factor of this deep green nuance play a concious part in Dove's poem? That the parrot shares the same symbolism as that of a angel with stretched wings, bringing peace and healing to its surroundings?
One would wish. What a pleasure it would be to look at an angel personified in times of despair! But as the reader makes way through the poem, one quickly notices how the tone of the poem rapidly changes. " Out of the swamp the cane appears to haunt us, and we cut it down. El General searches for a word; he is all the world there is " With "El General", Dove refers to a general working for the dictator of the Dominican Republic in the 1930s, "Rafael Trujillo". More specifically, she refers to the month of October, 1937.
With force, Trujillo had made the Dominican Rebublic his personal empire. Other politic parties were erased and forbidden, mountains and districts were stamped and labeled with his name, and an extensive racist ideology ruled the country. As swiftly as a flick of the wrist, Trujillo ordered a massacre that killed over 20 000 ethnic haitians in the rebuplic. It was named "The Parsley Massacre", for Haitians had difficulties pronouncing the spanish word for parsley, "perejil", which was used by Trujillo's followers to distinguish the haitians from ethnic dominicans.
"Perejil" was the word that El General was searching for.
A simple, mispronounced "R", that led to the deaths of thousands of innocent lives, was what he was searching for.
It is of this event that Dove speaks about in this fragile poem that whispers about a horrific scene, and thus the colour of "parsley green", which in this context has turned into another shade of black.
Remember when I talked about parsley being used as an herb for healing and well-being?
Trujillo actually used the word "Remedy" when speaking of the ongoing massacres in the republic. In a speech he gave on the 2 of October, 1937, he says: "Three hundred haitians are now dead in Bánica. This remedy will continue"
Such a delicately chosen word by Trujillo. Other extremists would speak of "cleansing" or "annihilation", but Trujillo specifically chooses a word associated with medicine and treatment to cure diseases. He wanted to cure the republic from the haitians, with an innocent herb that would roll on their tongues, and lead them to their deaths, thus healing the nation. The "parsley" that was lingering in my mind ever so gracefully and tranquil before, isn't all that gracious anymore.
There are two phrases that are reoccuring in the poem that clearly stand out. "A parrot imitating spring" and "Out of the swamp, the cane appears"
Let's start with the second one first (rule number one of poetry: BREAK THE RULES).
With "the cane", Dove refers to the many sugarcane plantations in the Dominican Republic, where slaves spent, and lost, their lives. These fields come to "haunt" the slaves, no matter if they are awake or asleep. They try to cut them down, to find yet another cane rising up just as high as the previous one. Even at the end of the poem, when the slaves lie dying on the fields, the canes still haunt them, and are edged deep in the brains of the dying people, forever preventing them to have peace, even after death.
"And then the mountain we call in whispers Katalina."
Now this sentence has me quite perplexed. I cannot figure out the meaning of Dove mentioning a certain "Katalina".
I did some research, and the only thing related between Katalina and the Dominican Republic, is Isla Catalina, an island which has become a very popular tourist destination, and is located roughly 100 km east from the capital Santo Domingo, where Trujillo eventually died. During his reign, the capital was renamed "Ciudad Trujillo", or "Trujillo City". However, Isla Catalina is quite flat, having it's highest peak at only 19 metres above sea level, so it doesn't fit in the context of the mountains in the poem.
Therefore, I find it hard to believe that this is what Dove refers to.
Some speculate that Katalina is actually supposed to be the word Katarina, but used as yet another method to mock the haitians for their pronounciation of "R".
This seems like a possibility, but then another question arises: who is Katarina?
I must say, this is a puzzle I am unable to solve. However, Dove refers to it as a scary scene that makes the children gnaw their teeth of fear, while this mountain emerges. They don't even dare to speak loudly, for they carefully whisper about it, painting a very vivid picture of the fear that the slaves experienced. As if everything was against them; even the rain felt like lashes, and the parrot's screeching was unbearable.
"We lie down screaming as rain punches through and we come up green "
"We come up green". As if one could hear the prayers of the slaves, the longing for freedom. Even the softest rain can feel like lashes, everything speaks of death and fear. Everything speaks of Trujillo's twisted and deadly dream. Yet, they know, that they will become one with nature and with the sugarcanes that have tormented their dreams for so long.
A violent scene plays out. El General smiles a horrific grin, and the slaves lie down, awaiting the last moment of existence. As blood taints the fields, the sugarcanes still rise high as ever, and the parrot is still imitating spring, as if unaware of the ghastly event taking place.
The parrot and the role it plays in the poem is deeply symbolic, and acts almost as a glue that keeps the poem together. To fully be able to comprehend and explain this phrase, one must also analyze the second part of the poem, "The Palace", for it is an important thread in this story.
So, you get a breather - for now. But I hope that you'll be excited soon enough for Part 2!
Credits: Picture: Oscar Keys (https://unsplash.com/@oscartothekeys/portfolio) Poetry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43355/parsley
Don't worry if you got lost along the way. One does not have to understand every single bit of a poem to be able to enjoy it.
Keep reading, even if you don't fully understand everything! In time, you will!
/Emily
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