Leah Nagle - Week 1 - Pick a Poet (Rachel Long) - “Jail Letter”

Looking through the list of possible poets to choose from for this assignment, I clicked on a random name, Rachel Long. I read this poem of hers called, “Jail Letter”, which I thought was very interesting. 

“Jail Letter” is about a young girl who feels like she is in jail because she has to sit patiently all day while her mother braids her hair. It’s funny because when I first read the title, I assumed the poem would be about a letter written to or from someone actually in prison, however, the poem has nothing to do with a real jail. I think that it is interesting how the little girl in the poem views her experience as something as negative as a prison, even though the experience is actually something beautiful: braided hair. This title plays a crucial role in the poem because it allows its readers to understand how the young girl feels about having her hair braided. 

One of the main aspects of this poem that caught my attention was when the mother compared her daughter’s hair to, “beautiful as Winnie Mandela” (line 10). I have to admit, I don’t know much about Winnie Mandela, I know more about Nelson Mandela, however, I do know that she is a role model for many young girls, which is what the mother is trying to explain to her daughter. This part of the poem resonated with me because I feel that I share a similar passion for female, South-African role models as the mother in the poem. 

Have you ever had to sit through something that felt like jail? If so, what was it?