Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Alicia Suskin Ostriker's "Sonnet. To Tell the Truth" is a stark, unromanticized reflection on the harsh realities of growing up in public housing, offering a nuanced and ambivalent sense of attachment to a place marked by both the ordinary and the painful. Through vivid imagery and a candid tone, the poem captures the physical and emotional landscape of these spaces, balancing moments of nostalgia with a clear-eyed acknowledgment of the difficulties and cruelties that were also part of life there.

The poem begins with a direct and somewhat resigned admission: "To tell the truth, those brick Housing Authority buildings / For whose loveliness no soul had planned." These lines immediately set the tone, suggesting that any beauty found in these structures is unintentional, almost accidental. The buildings are described as standing "like random dominoes," emphasizing their lack of design or purpose beyond their function. They are "worn out and facing each other," a phrase that conveys both the physical deterioration of the structures and a sense of isolation or entrapment. Despite this, the buildings form the "enclosure that was our home," indicating that, for better or worse, this was the environment in which the speaker grew up.

The next lines delve into the sensory details of these spaces, particularly the "Long basement corridors" that connected the buildings. These corridors, with their "special smell" of "old bicycles and baby carriages," evoke the particular, often overlooked, elements that define a place. The mention of storage rooms and elevators adds to the sense of a lived-in space, one that has been worn down by the passage of time and the lives of its inhabitants. The elevators, "used by kissing teenagers," introduce a moment of human connection and intimacy, contrasting with the otherwise bleak description of the environment.

The playground, described in terms of its "iron swingchains, fences, iron monkey bars," and "iron seesaw handles," continues the theme of a rough, industrial landscape. The repetition of "iron" underscores the hardness and durability of these objects, but also their potential for harm—objects that leave "a strong iron smell on my hands and in the autumn air." This smell, combined with the "cries" that "rang" through the playground, paints a picture of a place that is both formative and fraught with tension. The playground is a site of childhood, but it is not one of softness or safety; instead, it is a place marked by the harshness of the materials and the intensity of the experiences that occurred there.

The poem takes a darker turn with the mention of "where they chased the local Mongoloid, yelling 'Stupid Joey! Stupid Joey!'" This painful memory reveals the cruelty that was also part of this environment, where a child with disabilities was taunted and persecuted. The use of the term "Mongoloid," now recognized as offensive, reflects the time in which these events took place and the casual cruelty that was often directed at those who were different. This moment stands out in stark contrast to the earlier, more neutral descriptions, bringing into sharp focus the darker aspects of life in this place.

The final line, "Now I’ve said everything nice I can about this," serves as a bitter conclusion to the sonnet. It acknowledges that, despite the attempt to find something positive or redeeming in the description of the Housing Authority buildings and their surroundings, the reality is harsh and unforgiving. The speaker has tried to convey a sense of attachment or even affection for this place, but ultimately, the negative aspects—poverty, decay, cruelty—are inescapable.

In "Sonnet. To Tell the Truth," Ostriker presents a complex and honest portrayal of life in public housing. The poem does not shy away from the difficulties and unpleasant realities of this environment, but it also recognizes the formative role it played in the speaker’s life. The sonnet form, traditionally associated with love and beauty, is subverted here to explore a less glamorous but no less significant subject: the hard, unlovely places that many people call home. Through its vivid imagery and unflinching honesty, the poem invites the reader to consider the ways in which our environments shape us, for better or for worse, and the complicated emotions that arise from our connection to those places.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...