RESPONSE ON “BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME”      

This poem was vey detailed and it left me with a sickening feeling in my stomach. At first I thought the poem was about nature and then once I got into it, it started to make since to me. What I got out of the poem was a black man being tarred and feathered. Back in the 50’s, when people did a crime they got put to death. When a black man did a crime he got publicly humiliated and tarred and feathered.

In the story To Kill a Monkingbird there was a black man that was tarred and feathered. This poem relates to that part. The first part of the poem it seemed as though someone was describing the event. The second part of the poem was written in the first person. This poem left disturbing images in my mind.

I thought when he said “my skin clung to the bubbling hot tar, falling from me in limp patches” was the most disturbing part. I actually felt the tar on my skin like he did. Overall the poem made me feel sad. It made me wonder why the heck people would do that to a person.