An American Sunrise

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2017

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Music

Music and sound are a major part of “An American Sunrise,” from the actual rhythm and cadence of the poem’s literal language to the references of jukeboxes, drums, and musical genres presented from start to finish. The idea of “drumming” together (Line 6) creates a sense of communal unity, and also summons an idea of a ceremony or celebration that is driven by a singular tempo. This morphs later in the poem into music playing inside the jukebox of the bar, as the speaker inserts coins to select her favorite songs so that she can dance joyously while demanding “justice” (Line 13). The music activates not only the speaker’s body, but her mind and spirit as well, and helps to awaken her connection to a higher power and a sense of belonging that goes beyond her individualistic pursuits into something greater: justice for her people. Preceding this moment, the speaker argues with someone in the bar whom she wants to convince that “We / had something to do with the origins of blues and jazz” (Lines 10-11). This argument calls back to the idea of a lineage created from within the body and expressed through sound to create resistance and joy in a way that sustains itself in moments such as those described in this poem.

Religion/Traditions

“An American Sunrise” plays on the idea of “we” versus “them”—a duality embodied in the religious and spiritual tension that exists between the Native community and its European colonizers. Whereas the Native community remains in touch with the path of its ancestors by invoking a sense of belonging and place through physical celebration and socializing, the sobering disapproving of sin and moral corruption creeps in when the speaker recalls that “Sin / was invented by the Christians, as was the Devil” (Lines 6-7). Therefore, the concept of transgressing against a divine Christian law isn’t a natural aspect of Native culture; rather, it is something imposed from an outside tradition. By calling this out, the speaker is demarcating the separation that is present between “we” and “them”—and the traditions that define them.

Family/Legacy

In addition to religion/traditions, “An American Sunrise” plays on the idea of “we” by calling upon various types of family. These families include blood relatives, ethnic communities, minority communities, and poetry communities. The speaker begins by admitting that they “were surfacing the edge of [their] ancestors’ fights” (Line 2), highlighting both blood relatives and the larger Indigenous American community. By calling another person in the bar “a Pueblo” (Line 12), the speaker suggests that they themselves belong to a different nation, thus highlighting community between Native Americans. The speaker also gives a nod to other disenfranchised communities by talking about blues and jazz and arguing that Indigenous Americans also have a legacy—one that is largely overlooked—in these forms of music. Blues and jazz carry legacies of protest and struggle against a patriarchal society. Jazz also had a negative connotation once, thus linking it to the concept of “heathens” (Line 8) the speaker references. Harjo’s poem runs with the motif of legacy even further by using Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool” as inspiration. As a poetic form that pays respect to another poem/poet, the Golden Shovel literally digs up the sentiment in Brooks’s poem and uses it here, thus connecting stories, communities, and legacies.