I Am Glass Poem Analysis

Being broken is something that is apparent in Nikki Giovanni's poem "I am glass." This poem says that life is beautiful even after weathering. I feel like this poem is the perseverance of love. I think it is about how when someone is broken they can mend themselves and ease though the pain. "I am glass" is an amazing poem. It talks deeply about getting hurt and healing. Each line in the poem seems to have a symbol or a hidden meaning which is very interesting. Symbols and metaphors play a big part in this heart-heavy poem. It is not about the happy side of being loved it is about the heartbreak and the pain that love can bring.

Anything can hurt, words and actions alike. Giovanni said,"I am glass / You can see through me... Any little pebble

can cause a scratch," (1-4). This is the opening line and it starts the poem with a thoughtful line. I feel that this is the line that caught my attention. The word glass is a symbol for herself and that she is ready to be hurt. Being transparent can mean that all of her secrets are out in the open ready for anyone to see. The word pebble is also a symbol for a word or an action. Almost every word in these three lines is a symbol. I think that this is an interesting way to write poetry and many poets do this. Having meaning behind almost every word can make the reader think hard about what they are reading and that is what I did when I read this poem. Someone who is in love had to persevere through these things to stay in love.
Preserving is different than being hurt however.

The author said," We are all more than our experiences / And less than our dreams," (10-11). I think this quote talk deeply about expectations and being hurt. When one has bad experiences some people think that it defines them. If that person is in a bad situation then that situation should not define them. For example, someone being in an abusive relationship should not define all of their other relationships. The people who would think that would, in my mind, be bullies. Dreaming about being in love is not a bad thing, it is normal. But never reaching that dream should not see how another person sees that person or how that person sees themselves. The quote is so beautifully crafted to be a call to people who have been hurt by love but keep going.

After being hurt the person should bounce bad slowly or quickly, coming back is the good part. The author said," Then you can write your name / Claiming me... Until the sun shines," (14-20). These quotes are from the last stanza in the poem. I feel that this shows the coming back part of the persevering and finding real love. The last part of the quote is the best part of the poem, it makes the poem complete and it is amazing.

In conclusion, "I am glass" is an amazing poem about persevering and learning to live to love. It is an amazing poem. I had never heard about this poem before I read it and I liked learning about the poem as I went along. Giovanni is an amazing poet and she uses the perfect words to find the situation she was writing about. I will definitely read more of her heart-felt

poetry.