An African-American writer, Nikki Giovanni, wrote the poem under consideration. She was born on June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is important to note that she has won numerous awards for her work as a poet, writer, educator and activist. People refer to her as the new voice of African Americans (Nikki Giovanni). This particular poem represents a remarkable piece of writing due to several reasons: it clearly has no rhyme, it is quite long and it has an unusual structure. Visually, one perceives the lines of the poem as steps of some stairs. In terms of the literary form, the poem consists of 11 stanzas, each adding up to the overall tone of the poem and helping covey the theme. As I personally see it, Nikki Giovanni shares her reflections upon loneliness in the crowd, which is conditioned by the society as well as personal outlook on life.
Loneliness appears to be the central thought around which the whole poem revolves. It starts as loneliness of an individual, who longs for love. Yet, as the poem unwinds, we come to understand that the emphasis is placed on loneliness in the crowd. It is a phenomenon, which means that in spite of being surrounded by people, a person feels lonely and unappreciated. A person’s thoughts and ideas are not taken into consideration. Starting with the first stanza, the poet gets the reader immersed into one woman’s depressive mood, the woman being the poet herself. The poet is the speaker, who addresses the reader as though there were an ordinary conversation between them. Therefore, the speaker demonstrates behavior rather typical for women: “Don’t look now/ I’m fading away” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). Like any other woman, the speaker does not want to be looked at when her appearance leaves much to be desired. Here, the use of imagery facilitates the idea of either ageing or just looking terrible: “Is it that my nails keep breaking/Things keep popping out/ on my face/ or/ of my life” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). The reader is provided with details, which are very important for a woman to look good – nails and face. They also might be interpreted as symbols of her life falling apart. The final line of the second stanza is a transition from the speaker’s feelings to things happening to her. The phrase “popping out of my life” apparently means that people leave her, which brings us closer to the notion of loneliness. Besides, it is worthwhile mentioning that there is a good example of zeugma in the line: “Things keep popping out/ on my face/ or/ of my life” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). The verb “pop” is used to join facial problems and people. Further, the speaker admits relationship problems, which leads to a prediction that “this decade will be known for loneliness” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). In fact, this is the first time the word “loneliness” is used, but the reader anticipates it from the beginning of the poem. The fifth stanza is all about the nature of loneliness and the writer exploits metaphors to convey it. She compares loneliness to a grape, a wood and cotton candy on a rainy day, the latter winning over. I guess, cotton candy is the symbol of hope here, the hope that someday the loneliness will be over. Yet, the rain steals the possibility from the speaker, destroying fragile cotton candy: “The sweet soft essence/ of possibility/ never quite maturing” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day).
The influence of the society is introduced in the sixth stanza, where the speaker refers to her community and its motto: “the show must go on” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). Yet, there is an addition to the motto, and it seems to make the speaker sad: “One Monkey Don’t Stop The Show” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). I think, it could be interpreted in different ways. No doubt, a monkey is a person, who cannot have any influence on the flow of events as an individual. Here, I have two theories: either an individual does not have any powers, or it does not change anything when an individual ceases to exist. The second theory fits the tone of the poem quite well. The seventh stanza continues the society theme, and its connotation is far from being positive: “We all line up// To thread our way through/ the boredom and futility/ looking for the blue ribbon and gold medal” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). The speaker views people as being ready for a boring life, the outcome not depending on them. To validate their existence, they try to get some reward – a ribbon or a medal, which really mean nothing. In addition, the society provides some pressure on individuals: “STAY// don’t change baby don’t change” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). Besides, it is interesting that the author mentions four jobs, which somehow deal with a person’s individuality and the changes it can undergo: psychiatrists, psychologists, politicians and social workers. The one job that stands out is the job of a politician. They are people who have the power to influence the society and form its values and stereotypes. I dare say that the climate in the society depends a lot on politics. Nikki Giovanni, being an African American, tried to introduce changes to even out her people with the white people in a social respect.
The speaker’s outlook on loneliness changes throughout the poem. At the beginning, she seems to grieve the loss of people and the fact that she has no one who loves her. In the tenth stanza she admits that she “longs for her loneliness”, but anyway, she “needs something or someone” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). The speaker also reveals that she does not express her genuine feelings. Instead, she chooses to suppress and to conceal them: “I strangle my words as easily as I do my tears/ I stifle my screams as frequently as I flash my smile” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). She uses the analogies for the reader to feel what she feels, to have a clearer picture of her state of mind. I believe, these words make the speaker closer to the reader, because the situation is familiar to them. Further, the speaker returns to cotton candy on a rainy day. Only this time she compares herself to it: “I am cotton candy on a rainy day/ the unrealized dream of an idea unborn” (Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day). This stanza is particularly powerful because here the author is saying aloud a very depressing thing, being that she is limited in her wishes and powers, probably by the society and the government. She cannot achieve what she wants, because the government is stronger than she is and therefore she cannot fight it. Like cotton candy in the rain, she is being “dissolved” by the government. In the final stanza the speaker somewhat envies painters’ ability to create eternal images of “three-dimensional” things on paper. As I see it, she expresses her desire to be able to capture her ideas, things, people and events as they are, to make them last forever. However, instead, she compares opportunities she has to cotton candy on a rainy day. This metaphor is to show the opposite – it cannot be put on “a one-dimensional surface” since it is much more complicated.
In conclusion, I should say that to fully understand what the writer wanted to say through a particular poem, one has to ask the writer, but anyway every person finds their own interpretation of a writer’s words. Obviously, this poem has been written to communicate the idea of loneliness in the crowd, the inability of some people to use opportunities due to some limits imposed by the society and the government. Personally, I find this piece of writing very powerful, because the author is telling the truth. The truth is powerful! Why do I believe her? I guess, because to describe her state of mind, she uses simple language and makes comparisons understandable by everyone. The whole poem looks like a confession of deepest thoughts and feelings. Despite the fact that some stanzas convey their own little topic or story, together they represent a coherent and emotional text. Overall, the poem achieves the main goal of any piece of writing – it makes one think about something one either have not thought before, or looked at it from a different angle.
Works Cited:
Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day. apoemaday.tumblr.com. Web. Accessed May 7, 2016 at http://apoemaday.tumblr.com/post/35345166036/cotton-candy-on-a-rainy-day>
Nikki Giovanni. Poets.org. Web. Accessed May 7, 2016 at <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/nikki-giovanni>
