Not an Elegy for Mike Brown

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2014

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Troy

Most of the poem’s symbols carry the theme of mythology and the Trojan War, but the central, organizing image is Troy itself. The extended metaphor begins with a reference to “a white girl” (Line 12), or Helen of Troy, who is evidently worthy of greater attention than are the countless Black murder victims. Accordingly, there is then the Black “Troy” (Line 14), who contrasts with Helen because he is murdered and forgotten instead of immortalized through memory and myth.

The speaker then pleas, “are we not worthy / of a city and ash?” (Lines 15-16), alluding to the city of Troy burning down during the war. Further, “[are we not worthy] of 1000 ships / launched because we are missed?” (Lines 16-17). These lines move beyond Homer’s Iliad in a reference to Christopher Marlowe’s 17th-century play, The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus. The play includes the dead spirit of Helen as a character, and Dr. Faustus (who has summoned her spirit) asks, in some of the most renowned lines of English literature: “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships / And burnt the topless towers of Ilium[?]” Faustus’s description of Helen refers to her legendary physical beauty, but it also relays her timeless, celebrated status.

The speaker demands a “war” (Line 20) and a “song” (Line 22), alluding to the Trojan War and the song, or epic poem, of the Iliad (and, by extension, the Aeneid, an epic that opens with the burning of Troy). The “sweet smoke” (Line 24) in the final line again recalls the burning city of Troy.

The White Girl

Smith’s extended allusion to Helen of Troy establishes her, the “white girl” (Line 12) as a symbol of purity and chastity within the poem (Line 12). In Greek legend, Helen of Troy was said to be the most beautiful woman in Greece and the indirect cause of the Trojan war (“Helen of Troy,” The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica (2020)). The paraphrase of the character as “white girl” (Line 12) renders Helen’s youth and whiteness her defining traits—traits historically symbolizing purity and innocence. Smith specifically adds this phrasing and image into the poem to create opposition to the central image of a Black boy—an indirect gesture at how, for every positive white stereotype, there exist multiple, negative stereotypes for Blackness. Ultimately, the juxtaposition of a white girl with a Black boy presents many contrasts: Smith shows the white woman as helpless and vulnerable, making the Black boy appear threatening by comparison; the white girl is protected while the Black boy is preyed upon; the white girl is immortalized through myth, the Black boy forgotten.

A Song

The symbol of the song ties in with the theme of mythology. Approaching the poem’s closure, the speaker proclaims, “I demand a war to bring the dead boy back” (Line 20) and then, “I at least demand a song” (Line 22). These demands are a call to remember and honor Brown and all the others he represents.

The “war” (Line 20) is a plain reference to the Trojan War, but the “song” (Line 22) alludes to the famous opening lines of Homer’s Iliad: “Sing, Muse, the fatal wrath of [Achilles]” (Homer. The Iliad. Translated by James Morrice, 1809). Traditionally, when an epic poet invokes the muse (or its equivalent), the appeal implies that the story is too great to be expressed by mere human faculties, so the poet enlists divine assistance. This Homeric allusion highlights the contrast between the story of Helen and the stories of the untold murdered Black men and boys; while Helen’s story is so grand that it’s proper expression requires divine aid, the general American public barely commits these racist murders to memory. When the speaker asks for this mythologizing song, they ask for memorializing. However, similar to Smith’s poem, this “song” (Line 22) is likely “not an elegy”; the poem’s central allusions imply that the song would be an epic poem. The implicit situation of Black trauma within the epic genre gives this Black experience a dignity and import it rarely finds acknowledged in American society.