In "Commitments", Hemphill talks about his family gatherings and how he feels while there. You can tell his family is extremely important to him but he feels like he does not belong. He talks about parents holding their small children in the photographs while his arms are empty. He mentions "....aunts expecting to throw rice at me someday." While we can tell from this that his family is expecting him to get married someday he does not believe that it will ever happen.
I read this poem several times, however, no where in the poem does it mention anything of his sexuality. If I hadn't read the short biography I would have no idea that it was about a gay man. The impression that I got from this poem was of a lonely man who is insecure about himself.
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