Reservation Grass

Todays discussion got me thinking about the meaning of Reservation Grass. This poem follows the theme of Diaz's book by incorporating poverty, drug use, and heritage. The poem makes significant references to Walt Whitman. The lines "We-myself and mine-toss it in a pot and wonder how it will feed us all-witness and wait-but never worry, never fret, never give a damn, over mowing the grass" got me thinking about the true meaning of the poem. There are two possible ideas of what this poem may mean. The first, by saying to not care over mowing the grass, this may be implying that Diaz and the rest of those impacted over the drug use and the remains of their ancestors in the yard should completely forget and not worry about the things that have happened in and around their lives. Secondly, the poem may be implying that the ones effected should not worry about the past thats buried in the yard while mowing it-when the subject is brought up-but should always think about it to make sure that the ancestors are always remembered, and the drug use will not be forgotten as a reminder of what should not happen, and a lesson learned.

The first idea of completely forgetting about these situations is a compelling conclusion to this poem. The rest of the book is rather depressing with the theme of drugs and poverty. Diaz's emotions and harsh critique seems to lead to the conclusion that all of the past should be forgotten. However, I believe that the main conclusion of this poem is that Diaz and the rest of those effected should not be troublesome when society questions them about the past. They should always be aware of the past to understand where they come from, and where not to go in the future. I believe this because firstly and simply, Diaz would not have written an entire book if those should forget about what has happened. Also, nobody should forget about the past because they were harmed by it. Having a past means that you have learned something, and Diaz has learned quite a lot from her family and life.