I Am Offering this

Poem Jimmy Santiago

Baca

Calla Lyons • Nov 2020

I Am Offering this Poem
by Jimmy Santiago Baca Keep it, treasure it as you would

I am offering this poem to you, if you were lost, needing direction,

since I have nothing else to give.
Keep it like a warm coat,
when winter comes to cover you,
or like a pair of thick socks
I have nothing else to give you,
the cold cannot bite through,
so it is a pot full of yellow corn
I love you,
to warm your belly in the winter,
it is a scarf for your head, to wear
over your hair, to tie up around your face,
I love you,
in the wilderness life becomes when
mature;
and in the corner of your drawer,
tucked away like a cabin or a hogan
It's all I have to give,
in dense trees, come knocking,
and it's all anyone needs to live,
and I will answer, give you directions,
and to go on living inside,
and let you warm yourself by this fire,
when the world outside
rest by this fire, and make you feel safe,
no longer cares if you live or die;
I love you,
Remember,
I love you.
In "I Am Offering This Poem," Baca talks about a poem someone
writes for a friend to offer love and comfort, even though they can
not give material objects. Poetry does not have money value, but it
still has value. It helps show others that we care, it expands our
horizons, and it shows the world in a whole new way. Throughout
the piece, Baca uses figurative language to compare the poem and
its repeated line, "I love you," to other things that bring love and
comfort. This poem is telling the reader that they are safe because
someone is caring for them. The speaker is poor in this poem, but
he is rich in words.
The methoper “socks the cold cannot get through” means that these words
will add protection from the harsh outside world. The socks and fires
symbolize the feeling of safe and cozy. I think of fire when I read this line,
which goes with the line of resting by the fire. Socks are uasully a gift given
by family, something homemade. This line represents love and tenderness in
a familitic way.
Corn is a very simple meal, but it
is filling. This metaphor is
another directly related to
comfort, happiness, and
wellbeing. A “pot full of yellow
corn” can give the reader
something to warm their belly in
winter. In this stanza, as in the
first, we're introduced to a cold,
harsh environment. In this world,
humans go through suffering, but
the person in this poem does not
want his beloved to suffer. To
protect the reader, he is giving
something to warm her/him up in
winter.
“Keep it, treasure this as you would if
you were lost, needing direction, in the
wilderness life becomes when mature;”
The compass symbolizes sense of
direction and guidance, from the writer of
the poem to the reader of the poem. I
believe this line symbolizes that even
when we are lost there is someone
looking out for us. As humans get older
life gets harder. The writer is telling his
beloved, if you need direction my love
will be there.
The simile that is used here, “in the
corner of your drawer, tucked away
like a cabin or a hogan in dense
trees, come knocking, and I will
answer, give you directions”. The
writer is telling his beloved that he
will always be there to support
her/him if she/he asks. The poem
later talks about how love is all you
need to live. This poem represents
love, that is what the writer is
giving his beloved. when the world
outside is hostile and doesn't care if
we "live or die." When that bad
stuff hits the fan, all his beloved has
to do is to remember that the
speaker loves her.
Generic stock pictures found on google slides