Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

MY VOICE, by RAFAEL CAMPO Poet Analysis Poet's Biography

"My Voice" by Rafael Campo is an introspective poem that delves into the complexities of desire, cultural identity, and the power of storytelling. Through the metaphor of a Cuban song, Campo explores the tension between longing for one’s cultural roots and the necessity of confronting and sometimes repressing certain fantasies or desires that may not align with one’s current self or circumstances. The poem serves as both a personal and collective reflection on the nature of longing and the ways in which art and narrative can express and modulate that longing.

The poem begins with the speaker’s attempt to "cure" himself of the desire for Cuban songs by writing one about the need to suppress fantasies, particularly those deemed "unhealthy." This opening paradoxically highlights the irresistible pull of these very desires and the cultural roots they signify, suggesting that the act of suppression itself acknowledges their deep significance and power.

The reference to the sea as a metaphor for need—vast, deep, and insatiable—immediately establishes the thematic and emotional landscape of the poem. The sea becomes a symbol of the natural human longing for connection, belonging, and fulfillment, a need as fundamental and unending as the ocean itself.

Campo then weaves in elements of Cuban folklore and myth, using stories of a lost Carib boy, a bird sacrificing flight for song, and a powerful queen to illustrate various facets of desire and sacrifice. These tales serve as allegories for the struggles inherent in the human condition: the loss and abandonment, the trade-offs between different forms of expression and achievement, and the assertion of strength and identity in the face of adversity.

The song’s turn towards morality and the repeated invocation of the sea's depth and beauty underscore the poem’s meditation on the ethical dimensions of desire and the natural, life-sustaining role of longing in human existence. The sea's nourishment and its aesthetic allure become metaphors for the essential, life-affirming aspects of needing and desiring.

The poem's conclusion, with the speaker unable to bear hearing the song any longer, reflects the overwhelming nature of such deep, unfulfilled longing. The final identification of the song of "needful love" as the speaker's voice captures the essence of the poem: the articulation of desire and cultural connection is not just an expression of individual longing but defines the speaker's very identity and mode of engaging with the world.

"My Voice" is a poignant exploration of how personal and cultural identities are shaped by the desires and longings we carry within us. Through the creation of a Cuban song that both expresses and seeks to cure these longings, Campo highlights the inextricable link between desire, art, and the construction of self. The poem invites readers to reflect on their own "songs" of needful love and the ways in which such expressions of longing inform their identities and relationships with their cultural heritage.

POEM TEXT:

To cure myself of wanting Cuban songs,

I wrote a Cuban song about the need

For people to suppress their fantasies,

Especially unhealthy ones. The song

Began by making reference to the sea,

Because the sea is like a need so great

And deep it never can be swallowed. Then

The song explores some common myths

But the Cuban people and their folklore:

The story of a little Carib boy

Mistakenly abandoned to the sea;