Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild

Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild

By J.P. Grasser

Oh button, don’t go thinking we loved pianos
more than elephants, air conditioning more than air.

We loved honey, just loved it, and went into stores
to smell the sweet perfume of unworn leather shoes.

Did you know, on the coast of Africa, the Sea Rose
and Carpenter Bee used to depend on each other?

The petals only opened for the Middle C their wings
beat, so in the end, we protested with tuning forks.

You must think we hated the stars, the empty ladles,
because they conjured thirst. We didn’t. We thanked

them and called them lucky, we even bought the rights
to name them for our sweethearts. Believe it or not,

most people kept plants like pets and hired kids
like you to water them, whenever they went away.

And ice! Can you imagine? We put it in our coffee
and dumped it out at traffic lights, when it plugged up

our drinking straws. I had a dog once, a real dog,
who ate venison and golden yams from a plastic dish.

He was stubborn, but I taught him to dance and play
dead with a bucket full of chicken livers. And we danced

too, you know, at weddings and wakes, in basements
and churches, even when the war was on. Our cars

we mostly named for animals, and sometimes we drove
just to drive, to clear our heads of everything but wind.

Summary of Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild

• Popularity of “Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild”: Written by a modern American poem, J. P. Grasser, this imaginative poem first appeared in 2020 in a collection, American Poets. It was the 58^th volume of this series. Originally, the Academy of American Poets published this volume. The poem presents the poet’s opinion about how he would advise his great great grandchildren to live and how they themselves have lived their lives. The popularity of the poem lies in these pieces of advice to the great-great-grandchildren.
• “Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild” As a Representative of Futuristic Outlook: The poet opens the poem calling his a great great grandchild “Oh, button.” Then he goes on to state that he should not think that his ancestors lived in luxuries he is witnessing around. In fact, he asks his great-great-grandchildren to think that they loved natural food, natural things, and the natural environment around them from Africa to the Sea Rose. They even used to love natural music, natural scenes, and natural works. The great great grandfather goes on to say to his imaginary great great child that he should not think about their being bizarre, or strange, or so on. In fact, he is right when he states that they used to keep plants, and pets and use ice for coffee.
  They also used to dance with their dogs and other people over weddings and other such occasions and even in churches because they had had time for such things. In fact, the great great grandfather is of the opinion that despite these natural living conditions, they have wasted resources and driven cars and named animals merely for enjoyment and not for necessity.
• Major Themes in “Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild”: Care for the environment, love for nature, and love for advising the younger generation are major themes of this poem. The poem opens with a derisive name for an imaginary great great grandchild, “O button” which shows that the great great grandfather has shown some concern for the child. What he speaks about next is his concern for the nature that he has enjoyed himself, such as honey, music, natural food, and the natural environment. Therefore, the use of air and wind and driving cars show his concern for the environment, and he is sure that future generations would play havoc with it. However, the rhetorical question of using ice and asking the child to imagine how they used to take the ice and other dishes and how they lived in the past. These pieces of advice make up the main idea of this poem.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild

J.P. Grasser’s skill in using literary devices shows his poetic talent. Some of the major literary devices he uses here are analyzed below.

1. Allusion: It means to use references of cultural, historical, or literary significance. The poet has used the allusions such as Africa, the Sea Rose, Carpenter Bee, and even Middle C.
2. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o / in “Oh button, don’t go thinking we loved pianos” and the sound of /e/ in “and Carpenter Bee used to depend on each other?.”
3. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /w/ in “war was.”
4. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /w/ and /s/ in “too, you know, at weddings and wakes, in basements” and the sound of /m/ in “we mostly named for animals, and sometimes we drove.”
5. Enjambment: It is a device in which the meanings of verse roll over to the next without having any pause or punctuation mark. This poem shows the use of enjambment, such as;

too, you know, at weddings and wakes, in basements
and churches, even when the war was on. Our cars

we mostly named for animals, and sometimes we drove
just to drive, to clear our heads of everything but wind.

6. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. P. Grasser used imagery in this poem such as “You must think we hated the stars, the empty ladles”, “because they conjured thirst. We didn’t. We thanked” and “to name them for our sweethearts. Believe it or not.”
7. Rhetorical Question: It is a rhetorical device in which questions are asked not to elicit answers but to stress upon the idea. The poet has used various rhetorical questions, such as;

 And ice! Can you imagine? We put it in our coffee
and dumped it out at traffic lights, when it plugged up

Did you know, on the coast of Africa, the Sea Rose
and Carpenter Bee used to depend on each other?

8. Simile: It is a figure of speech for direct comparison to understand the meanings of a thing being compared. For example, the poet has used a simile in a question, such as

most people kept plants like pets and hired kids
like you to water them, whenever they went away.

9. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as a piano, elephants, air conditioning, a carpenter, and Middle C, to show the activities of this generation.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Couplet: It means to two verses having rhyming words or no rhyme scheme. This poem has 12 couplets.
2. Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal and poetic diction.
3. Free Verse: It means to use free verse that has no rhyme scheme, rhythm, or meter. This poem is a free verse poem.
4. Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows an advising, funny and patronizing tone.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when talking about one’s good activities of the past.

He was stubborn, but I taught him to dance and play
dead with a bucket full of chicken livers. And we danced

too, you know, at weddings and wakes, in basements
and churches, even when the war was on. Our cars

we mostly named for animals, and sometimes we drove
just to drive, to clear our heads of everything but wind.