Explication of "A Song in the Front Yard"

"A Song in the Front Yard" is written by Gwendolyn Brooks. The first reason why I chose this is because poems that rhyme are more appealing to me and I believe that they sound better when being recited. I also  loved how it has many underlying messages and there are multiple layers of the poem that can be pealed back. The more times that I read the pone, the more I discovered about the speaker.

The speaker is a young girl who has been brought up in a strict and proper society with many rules that she has always had to follow. She wishes that she could be one of the "bad girls" for just one day. The author compares the front yard and the backyard and uses it as a metaphor for the proper kids and the improper kids. The speaker has always been stuck in her front yard and would do seemingly anything to get a chance to sit in the backyard because it is uncharted territory to her.

This is very relatable, although we might have everything we could ever need or want we will always wonder about what we don't have and will fixate on that. The speaker lives a privileged life yet desires freedom to do as she wishes without so many rules. The speaker wishes that her life was not perfect and that she had more adventure in it.

It was not until the end of the poem that I picked up on the possible racially undertone that exists in the poem. The speaker says that she wants to "strut down the streets with paint on my face". This makes sense with the rest of the poem and the speaker desiring freedom. Although the girl is treated well and lives a good life she will not settle and wants to see the other side of life. All the speaker wants is to be careless and free and explore the back yard rather than her usual routine of being in the front yard everyday.