The meaning of this poem is rather apparent and it makes a quick re-read have better context. This is the condition of being a black woman, as the title would suggest.

The poem goes back to its original desire to want to build bridges but the key difference here is the added word of challenge. To build a bridge to span a gulf or abyss of challenge, to make connections to others seems to be the meaning here.

The man seems to be enjoying the jazz music but the narrator imagines them as their imagining of an African man. Perhaps they make this connection to being free in ones culture but I'm not sure.

Crimson, flame, hot, love; there are many words in this poem that give off the feelings associated with the color red. If we are to take the title literally with Inez meaning holy or pure then we can relate the passionate red connotation to being holy or pure. However this is somewhat contradictory to me because the poem exclaims passion which conflicts with the image of being holy or pure which usually suggests a lack of passion.

When I think of a pretty futile seam in the context of sewing I think the voice of this poem is crying out in frustration of their inability to act. They admit that their inaction is nice and "pretty" in a certain way but also futile and useless.

This line gives off a sentiment of rebellion but also futility which reminded me of the voice of Bennett in To Usward and the imagery of the ginger jar.

It seems like the voice of the poem changes in the middle here from one that uses vernacular to very proper English. The song part is something with a bluesy feel and kind of sad. the following parts without the singing voice are more pointed and offer specific imagery of cruelty.

Bennett makes her desire to see those of dark skin be in her thoughts of historical places. This may be new but seeing a dark skin person in these settings aren't inherently wrong so Bennett wanting it to be true is somewhat puzzling. This connection makes this poem feel like a critique of history and of a people.

Bennet touches on youth which is a word we scarcely see in Negro Movement poetry. combined with the imagery of of the ginger jars most likely symbolizing oppression, and the youth wanting to sing and let their voices be heard. There is less of a bluesy feel in this poem and more one of radicalism.

Ma Rainey was a figure not just for her singing but because she gave something to these people. It could be peace of mind, hope, or just someone who understands their predicament.

This piece is about people in Missouri but also those travelling it seems if we take this line literally. Perhaps they are travelling for work or because of other issues in the U.S. at the time. Either way there is a definitely a bluesy feeling about it.

Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff are both cities in Missouri. The poem when it says "Folks from anyplace Miles aroun'" is mostly referring to the local people of Missouri.

The imagery of an explosion contrasts greatly with the earlier imagery in the poem. I'm not sure if this relates to the "low-down" jazz and blues form idea but perhaps the rhyming and use of the senses to make imagery definitely remind me of music.

When I think of blues I think of remembering the good and bad time of the past. The allusion to historical events here and the form being in past tense could be a connection.

These two lines give off a bluesy feel to me. The imagery of "a drowsy syncopated tune," and "Rocking back and forth," in particular rhyme and if I imagine singing the words it makes the poem feel almost like a song.

The details here are hyper-specific and this seems to be true for most of this piece. Walt Kuhn's Morning in Gallery E is an impressionist painting that seemed very connected to the language in this poem. It's specific and realistic with broad strokes given over every detail; an example of traditional art.

These lines give the sense of criticism towards conventional attractiveness in art. I relate this to Nude Descending a Staircase because I believe that piece is also a criticism on base attractiveness in art. Modern art isn't necessarily concerned with what looks good or even real.

This pair of lines seems to say that the mind will harden and be able to live in a more "brutal age." The mind being able to take in poison seems to be the imagery they are going for.

This set of lines seems to confirm that the man that died died a meaningless and foolish death with no one to mourn him probably for something like pride. This is interesting as some cultures seem to revere those who died for their pride and honor them but this poem seem to do the opposite and looks at the death of the man in a more down-to-earth and realistic sense. The man was essentially tricked into a meaningless death by his own ego most likely.

The poem starts by making the point, "Love is not all," listing all sorts of reasoning and logic that humans need tangible things like food and shelter. However the last line essentially states that the writer would not trade love nor the memories of it for those necessities. It's kind of a sweet hypocrisy that feels very human.

I believe this poem is questioning nature itself and its "design" as to why it is the way it is. To what extent it is hard to say. Perhaps it is questioning the miraculous nature of how things in nature turned out the way they are or maybe it is questioning the darker things in nature that go unnoticed, like the spider eating a moth. I don't necessarily think the poem paints nature in a bad light but one that is impartial and tries to view the objective nature of it.

There are many ways to interpret this famous line but I believe this could be about a lot of things and mean something different to a lot of people. Taking the road less traveled could mean going against convention, chasing one's dreams, and going against the odds.

It seems the poem itself seems to show depict a normal social environment but comments on the unseen nature of it. I think that the idea of "walls" and "fences" are to make the reader believe that keeping others, like their neighbors at arms length is the best thing to do. To never be too involved or to never stick your nose in another's business.

I believe the writer is trying to show the futility in trying to keep up appearances. The following line about fearing visions might means something along the lines of fearing the future and their own thoughts but it is somewhat obscure.

The writer is probably calling all that cannot learn to love life are probably missing the point of certain things. I think he is asserting that there is more nuance to life than what the ignorant can ascertain. I can't find a way to connect this to previous readings but I feel like there is a connection somewhere.

These last few lines sound like philosophy but also give a sense of roundabout confusion. Perhaps the intention was to show that knowledge often obscures thought rather than making things clear. You could connect this point to Adam's thoughts on knowledge and how it uses can often confuse.

It seems that the writer finds these tropes kind of boring, as if they're jaded. I could be misinterpreting this but it seems that this particular poem is about poetry from the eyes of a jaded writer.

The narrator no longer wanting to leave probably symbolizes giving in to authority. She can "creep" around as she pleases which seems like freedom but is she really free in this case?

This is most likely an allusion to the resistance to social change we can often see such arguments. First something small may change but the changes would only grow more radical overtime, is the sentiment at least. I shows a lack of trust and connects well with the concept of relations in society.

The brother also coming to the same conclusion as the husband is trying to tell the reader of the unfair treatment the woman in the story is getting. There is a definitely a recurring theme of tension between genders and also the way they are defined in modern society.

The concept of double-consciousness is unique to Du Bois and is something that gives me sense of his observations of the world. He provides no straight examples of double-consciousness, however, when he says "...looking at one's self through the eyes of others," I connect it to the eye of the beholder concept. That we get are most objective view of ourselves through the observations of others.

Canaan is an interesting place to connect to Du Bois line of thinking her as he also called the U.S. a kingdom earlier in this paragraph. However he see it, it seems that he believes that knowledge would lead to the emancipation of the oppressed and give them better lives.

As we know the emancipation of colored people did not put an end to prejudice and racism. It seems like Du Bois is implying that same thing here in this paragraph and perhaps also implying that those who were not free at the time were a bit short-sighted.

I am still not sure what they mean by force and the measurement of it. It's obviously not the accepted definition in say the sciences but probably something different entirely.

Suddenly Adams see machines beyond what he has learned through his education and thus it opens up a brand new world for him. Perhaps the purpose here is to show that history is only good enough to show what everyone already knows and therefore has less value than what is new and waiting to be studied in the present.

If I were to make a connection here, perhaps the dynamo and cross are both icons that have great meaning to those that believe in them. Adams looked to the dynamo like a religion hence the symbol "infinity" was used to describe it, something that would imply he saw limitless possibility in it.

A lion in general terms is a predatory beast which is feared by most and are known to be prideful. The image of a lion growing in size until it finally makes a move at the end of the poem is somewhat unsettling. Perhaps Levine wanted to build up this character that is the lion with diverse imagery and then let it loose at the end.

When I read this line it felt like the "Earth" in this excerpt was likened to something like death. the "calling in" part is what made me think this when put alongside the imagery of "eating trees," and "gutted cars."

I immediately connected what Philip Levine said in the video provided that this poem has to do with being an industrial worker in Detroit. Of course this is never explicitly said in the poem itself but the context helped with understanding the content of the poem.