Meaning of Elizabeth Alexander’s Inaugural Poem
Here is the moment in history as the poet sees it: “Someone is trying to make music somewhere,” and today, with the inauguration of President Obama and all it signifies, that someone stands (with the rest of us who hope and struggle) “on the brink” of success in that endeavor. That “someone” struggling to “make music… with a pair of woodnen spoons on an oil drum” (which is really all of us) can now launch into a rich and melodious praise song. That, in a poetic nutshell, is what this moment in time is.
