Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note

Lately, I've become accustomed to the way
The ground opens up and envelopes me
Each time I go out to walk the dog.
Or the broad edged silly music the wind
Makes when I run for a bus...

Things have come to that.

And now, each night I count the stars.
And each night I get the same number.
And when they will not come to be counted,
I count the holes they leave.

Nobody sings anymore.

And then last night I tiptoed up
To my daughter's room and heard her
Talking to someone, and when I opened
The door, there was no one there...
Only she on her knees, peeking into

Her own clasped hands.


Explorations of the Text 

1. What is the mood of the speaker in the opening lines? What images suggest his feelings? 

The speaker does not happy with his everyday life. This can be seen in "Lately, I've become accustomed to the way" , shows that he had familiar with his life and accept it as normal.

2. What is the significance of the daughter's gesture of peeking into "her own clasped hands"?

This made the speaker feel alive and not to give up in life. His daughter's gesture made him realized that there's a reason to stay alive, the daughter did not say any words, but her gesture tells it all. 

3. What does the title mean? How does it explain the closing line?

The title indicate that the speaker trying to commit suicide. We can assume that the speaker feel very depressed and hopeless being oppressed by Whites because this poem was written during the oppression between the Blacks and Whites. But from the title, the word "Preface" means that it is just introduction to commit  suicide but at the end of this poem, the speaker did not commit suicide. 

4. Why does Baraka have three short lines, separated as stanzas? How do they convey the message of the poem?

He used three short lines, separated as stanza so that the reader can feel what the poem is all about. In a way, this style of writing make reader as a "speaker' in that poem.

5. Why does Baraka begin stanzas with "Lately," "And now," and "And then"?  What do these transition words accomplish? 

Baraka used transition words in his poem to show the reader that the story is in chronological order and how the speaker did not commit suicide at the end. 

6. How does the speaker feel about the daughter? What does she represent to him?

The speaker decides not to commit suicide as he sees his daughter praying. We can see that the speaker does not have strong relationship with God and in this poem, the daughter represent light or hope to the speaker to stay alive.