The Blues Sadness

The blues originally was a music form of poetry. It came from African Americans singing while they performed their daily chores. Soon enough slaves all over the south were coming up with their own versions of the blues to help themselves get through the day. Overtime, this form of song poetry spread across the country and became a great hit between all races.

The poem, the “Oakland Blues” by Ishmael Reed is about learning how to deal with the loss of a loved one. This poem is an example of how people have to overcome obstacles and terrible events that occur in their lives everyday. It states, “ I say, it’s six o’clock in Oakland/ and the sun is red with wine/ We buried you this morning, baby/ in the shadow of a vine.” (Reed 193). By reading this in the poem I assumed that the writer’s way of coping with a loved one passing is by drinking wine. People deal with everything differently, maybe for this person it was drinking. Another example from this poem is when it says, “You went down fighting, daddy. Yes/ You fought Death toe to toe” (Reed 193). Knowing that this person’s father died with a fight might help this person get through the loss because they know that their dad tried everything he could to live, but in the end it wasn’t enough; it was his time to go.