Reach Out and Touch Poetry Analysis

Reach Out and Touch - Maxine Tynes

-the title "Reach Out and Touch" suggests an important action that may take place in the poem
-the narrator describes her hair as "the curly electric" suggesting frizzy and curly hair, common in black women
-she also describes her skin as "brown skin magic of my neck", possibly meaning that it seems magical to the children that her skin is brown, so maybe they have never seen a black person before
-the fact that the child is dipping his/her fingers in the "brown skin magic of my neck to see if it comes off" shows that the child is expecting the brown skin to be a result of dirt and that it should come off and the skin should be white underneath
-the mother of the curious child slaps his/her hands away and "hush-up of your questions" suggests that the mother is discouraging the child's curiosity in the black woman and does not want the child to learn about her or get involved with her
-the child is "wondering out loud why it doesn't come off." which is a clear indicator that the child is curious about why the woman's skin is brown
-when the narrator says "I turn and smile for you, but you're already lost/in the silence and the fear that motherlove wraps you in." she is saying that she tried to show the child that she is friendly and not to be feared, but it is too late because the mother has already sheltered the child from the woman and made him/her feel scared of the woman
-the last four lines of the poem are the narrator describing how she could have made the child feel comfortable with her, which in turn would have taught the child that black people are not to be feared
-because the child is so young, if the woman had "snugged up my big warm self up close" the child would feel more comfortable, because you can't just talk a young child into feeling comfortable with you when they can't understand what you're saying

Background Research
After reading the poem I felt it was necessary to research the author to find out if there is a connection between herself and the theme of the poem. The poem seems to be written about anti-racism, because she is trying to make a curious young white child more comfortable with black people. It turns out the author of the poem is a black woman who takes pride in her race. She liked to write poetry about social issues such as the racism experienced by earlier generations of black women, famine in Africa and the prostitutes working at night in Halifax. This makes it evident that the main theme that the author is trying to get across in this poem is racism.