The old man’s hands are alligator

skins

and swimming easily like these

along the harp stringed keyboard

where he will make

of

Solitude

a silver thing

as if great age like his

could play that tune along

these cracks that flow

between their swing

without a scratch of thistle

sound

& whistle down the rhythm all night long

In this response, I attempt a close reading of the poem section above.

The form:

The lines in this part of the poem are uneven and staggered, with lengths ranging between a single word and eight words, which is the maximum length. In some lines, it is the visual isolation of a word which reflects and stresses its meaning, such as “Solitude”, which (besides from the poem’s opening word “The”) is the only capitalized word on the page. The Brathwaite’s capitalization of the word “Solitude” aims, I think, at highlighting the solitude that African Americans have encountered during decades of struggle.

The audience:

I think the poet is addressing current and upcoming generations. A connection is drawn between past, present, and future through documenting African American history and recording the names of creative and talented individuals. In this section of the poem, we know Brathwaite is talking about an African American pianist, Duke Ellington, who has a long history as a jazz musician. I believe that one of his most significant reasons for writing this book and specifically this poem is to celebrate African American creativity as well as endurability. Thus, this part of the poem, from its association with the rest, significantly contributes to the orientation of the whole book.

The content:

This poem is one of the most interesting works in Brathwaite’s book. The title of the poem refers to Duke Ellington, an African American composer, pianist, and jazz band leader. Brathwaite opens his poem by drawing upon metaphoric language: he compares the old jazz musician’s wrinkled hands to “alligator skins”. Here, like “alligator skins”, the old man’s hands represent strength as well as value. This comparison goes beyond the resemblance between images of alligator and human skin to associate the smooth movements – which reflect a distinct talent – of the old man’s hands between the keys of the piano to the natural ability of the alligator to swim smoothly and lonely underwater.

The poet applies the alligator swimming to the easy movement of the musician’s hands over his instrument. Thus, the swimming movement of his hands in the musical world gives the state of “Solitude” a higher meaning.