On the Pulse of Morning

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the theme of my English class this semester would be “Journey, Identity and Changing Perspectives in the American Experience”.  This class began just 10 days before the new President’s inauguration and my professor was very aware of the irony in this situation. He made it very clear that the issues discussed in the poems and plays we would read are just as applicable today, and important to discuss. One of the first poems we read in class was On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou, which was publicly ready at Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993.

This poem has stuck with me since I read it. It speaks of a rock, a river and a tree that have witnessed many generations coming and going. The rock allows us to stand on its back, but not hide in its shadow. The river calls us to rest by its side, but to give up war. The tree describes the waves of people it has seen who paid for their descendants to be rooted here. This poem speaks of the struggles that our country has gone through but looks forward to a peaceful time and the equality that it must bring.

“Lift up your hearts/Each new hour holds new chances/For a new beginning./Do not be wedded forever/To fear, yoked eternally/To brutishness.” This stanza in particular felt special to me. With all the negativity surrounding the past election and with the results now set in stone, this stanza sounds like the battlecry that many people need to hear to elevate their spirits and instill love and courage in the community. Maya Angelou writes about survival in many forms, and On the Pulse of Morning is no exception.

So far, my English class has stuck to the original theme, and it has been an encouraging, informative, invigorating experience. The messages these plays and poems convey are very relevant, and show the power of literature as social commentary.