Week 3 Question#2 "Commitments"

Essex Hemphill poem entitled "Commitments" is written by the author's situation in his family as a homosexual son. In addition, it is clearly described the author's position according to the line in the poem that says, "In the photos/the smallest children are held by their parents. My arms are empty, or around... expecting to throw rice at me someday"(line 15). In this case, the author describes his family expecting him to get married someday contrary to his thoughts. The whole poem shows that the speaker in the poem seems greatly intrested in looking into how black gay men like himself isolates themselves from African-American community. In addition, the author describes his family photos powerfully to see how he hides his personal issues from his family. According to the line in the poem "Commitments", "My arms are empty in those photos, too, so empty they would break... I am the invisible son. In the family photos nothing appears out of character..my duty" (line 25-35).