Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

June Jordan’s "Letter to the Local Police" is a satirical poem that cleverly uses the form of a formal letter to address themes of control, order, and the natural world's resistance to human-imposed structures. The poem opens with the speaker expressing gratitude for the law and order maintained by the local police in their new community of Saratoga Springs. This seemingly mundane opening sets the stage for the humorous and critical tone that follows.

The speaker details their initial satisfaction with the community's orderliness, emphasizing a vigilant search for anything that might disturb this peace. This exaggerated vigilance highlights the absurdity of expecting total control over every aspect of life, particularly the natural world. The speaker's tone is formal and overly polite, which amplifies the absurdity of the complaint that follows.

The crux of the poem is the complaint about the "regular profusion of certain unidentified roses" growing wildly and without discernible purpose. The speaker is disturbed by the roses' "perpetual near riot of wild behavior," their "indiscriminate coloring," and their "promiscuous cross-fertilization." This description anthropomorphizes the roses, attributing to them qualities of rebellion and moral laxity. The language used here is deliberately exaggerated and humorous, reflecting the speaker's attempt to impose human values and order onto the natural world.

The speaker’s complaint about the roses not demonstrating "the least inclination toward categorization, specified allegiance, resolute preference, consideration of the needs of others, or any other minimal traits of decency" is a satirical critique of the human desire to categorize and control nature. The roses, in their wildness, resist these attempts at control, thriving in their natural, untamed state. This resistance is presented as a moral failing in the eyes of the speaker, further highlighting the absurdity of their perspective.

The poem also touches on themes of surveillance and the imposition of authority. The speaker's mention of not seeking out the rose colony but still being exposed to it suggests an underlying desire to police and control even what is naturally occurring and visible in public spaces. The mention of children potentially viewing the roses "with or without suitable supervision" hints at a broader concern about exposure to natural, uncontrolled elements, further underscoring the ridiculousness of the speaker’s need for order.

The reference to the speaker's wife’s concerns about the "seriously licentious phenomenon of honeysuckle under the moon" adds another layer of humor and critique. The wife's separate but similar concern about the natural world's behaviors being a civic disturbance highlights the shared desire for control and order within the family, extending the satire to a broader societal critique.

The poem concludes with the speaker expressing confidence that the police will devise an appropriate legal response to the roses, offering their assistance if needed. This conclusion underscores the poem’s satirical tone, as it is ludicrous to imagine legal action being taken against natural phenomena like roses and honeysuckle. The formal sign-off, "Respectfully yours," maintains the exaggerated politeness that runs throughout the poem, reinforcing the absurdity of the complaint.

In "Letter to the Local Police," June Jordan uses satire and humor to critique the human desire to impose order and control over the natural world. The poem highlights the futility and absurdity of these attempts, celebrating the wildness and resilience of nature in the face of human attempts to categorize and tame it. Through the exaggerated complaints and formal tone, Jordan effectively critiques societal norms and the often ridiculous ways in which people try to impose their values on the world around them.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...