"Making A Fist"

This was a short poem about the relationship between a mother and daughter. Furthermore, it’s about a moment that they shared that the daughter has forever held onto. As her mother was struggling in the car one day, her mother stated that making a fist showed that she was still alive. The act of making a fist gave the daughter hope in the future and reminded her of the times she had with her mother before it was too late. This text is poetry that focuses on the uncertainty of life and unknown amount of time we have left until death. This vibe this poem gives off is not the brightest, it makes the reader reflect on his/her life and the uncertainty of the end. Also, it may spark the thought of the reader’s personal relationships around them. Due to this dark vibe, it makes the readers re-think a lot of things in their life. Personally, it made me think about my own relationship with my mother and how our time may be running out. I am a daughter and I do think this text was made for daughters with living mothers. The beginning of the poem began when the daughter was seven-year-old and jumped forward quickly. So, I think this poem is directed towards daughters with older mothers whose time may be running out. I supposed this text can be directed towards sons too, honestly, anyone with a parent or guardian. Those who may not be interested in this are people who have potentially lost their parent already or are not on good terms with them. What prompted this text was the loss of the daughter’s mother and the need to remember and share the memory they shared of making a fist. The speaker of this poem was a seven-year-old daughter who is still living and grieving the loss of her mother. The author is a woman named Naomi Shihab Nye who was an Arab- American. I do think the author wrote this poem through her own eyes because the poem mentions the action of crossing borders and that is one thing Naomi Shihab Nye did struggle within her life. Lastly, the message coming from this poem is about how no one knows how much time is left, with themselves and with their loved ones. It’s important to remember the memories shared with the lost but also create new ones with the living.