On The Pulse Of The Morning Analysis

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Within the poems “On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou, and “One Today” by Richard Blanco, several challenges of the times the poems were written in were displayed, though not directly. In “On the Pulse of the Morning,” the Rock that Angelou describes wants us to “face [our] distant destiny, but seek no haven in [the Rock’s] shadow.” This line represents Americans looking out at the destiny of America. The Rock warns the reader away from the shadows, which typically symbolize evil, atrocity, and corruptness. Continuing on in the poem, Angelou expresses through the River that people “have left collars of waste upon [the River’s] shore, currents of debris upon [the River’s] breast.” The issue displayed in this section of text describes the