I read the poem "Making a Fist" by Naomi Shihab Nye which takes place within her childhood as she drove through Mexico with her mother and later as she is an adult looking back on that journey. Nye was born in St. Louis but spent her childhood in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. Her wide cultural experiences shaped a lot of her writings and is known to have new perspectives on things like people, objects, and events (poetryfoundation). In "Making a Fist", Nye's choice of object is the idea of a clenched fist in which she turns into the concept of still being alive. In this car ride, young Naomi is sick and riding in the backseat and considers she may be on her last leg. She asks her mom how to know when you're dying and her mother confidently responds with "When you can no longer make a fist." This symbol is used as a coping mechanism later on in her life as she continues to make that fist to assure herself she is not down the dying path. This poem has a lot of hope for anyone with a sickness knowing they still have the strength to continue as long as their hand can still turn into a fist. One issue that arises in my head when I analyze this text is the idea that some people don't have the ability to make a fist on their own yet are still no where near dying. I take in the disabled community for this idea or even someone with a broken hand. Whether that problem is temporary or permanent, they are likely not near their ending days. This whole idea of death throughout the poem gives off a sad feeling yet when talking about the journey near the end, the speaker shows a smile. This small emotional rollercoaster turns out as a reassuring way to know there are battles that can still be fought in life and getting over those borders one by one may still have questions, but show you are still alive and well. Not every adventure can have all the questions answered and Nye exhibits this idea while also giving light to any negativity behind those questions. Although she is still in the backseat, being able to make her fist reflects her gratitude behind not dying.
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