The poem “Surrender” by Pat Hanahoe-Dosch is a powerful and reflective piece of literature about the effect of racism and injustice in society and how it affects a community. Hanahoe-Dosch uses flowery language in her poem to describe the gruesome death of a young black man who was killed unjustly by the police. Hanahoe-Dosch describes his fatal wound as “roses blooming from his chest” and the blood as “petals dripping on the asphalt.” His petals, or blood, flow through the community. Some stopping on doorsteps, some being stepped on, some making their way into the hands of children, and so on. Hisi death completely moves the community; protests begin and the townspeople are bogged down by police and oppressive figures all summer long. The imagery of flowers directly contrasts the truly gruesome killing of a young black man; it conveys the theme of beauty and pain. …show more content…
The image of roses growing in the cracks of the concrete is a powerful metaphor for the resilience of life in the face of adversity.
The poem suggests that the memory of the boy lives on through the roses that continue to bloom and multiply. The fact that some of the roses become “blood and water, skin and anger, and pollen on the hind legs of bees” (Hanahoe-Dosch, 23-25) suggests that the boy's death has had a transformative impact on those who have been touched by