Blood Dazzler - What Was the First Sound - Response

Transitions

Patricia Smith uses a very obvious but effective transition between sections, the ending line of one section is the beginning line in the next section. She uses each transition as a way to delve deeper into the meaning of the previous section. In the first section she asks a question at the last line and answers the question on the next line. By repeated the first and last lines Smith not only makes it a point that these lines are important, but also gives us a different angle to look at these lines. For example, section three talks about Katrina's swollen gaze considering bodies, and in the next section Smith describes the bodies and links them to a new idea, and so on and so forth. Smith's transitions in this poem form a sort of chain, linking similar ideas together.

These transitions really help the flow and forward momentum of the poem. In some of Smith's poems, in my opinion, it is very easy to get lost and have no idea what is going on in the poem anymore(not that this is a bad thing, these transitions just make it an easier to read, yet still powerful piece of poetry). In this poem, the transitions keep the reader on track and focused on each topic as it is introduced.