Keanu Gomez Assignment 1

Ludvigson’s “Inventing My Parents” is a poem based on Hopper’s artwork, Nighthawks. She crafts a seemingly warm, savory setting describing the interactions between two parents. It is filled with vivid imagery that is centered on the meaning of the poem. One image includes an allusion to a war, “They sit in the bright café, discussing Hemingway and how this war will change them…My, mother her bare arms silver under fluorescent lights, says she imagines it a hawk flying over, its shadow sweeping every town.” Based on the context of the poem, Ludvigson is most likely alluding to World War II or the draft. The hawk and the shadow are representative of the changes to be brought about by the war. Because of the poem’s serene, warm imagery and the allusion, most especially near the end, I thought that it was an attempt to savor the fleeting joys of life and learn to embrace changes in the future. The allusion to World War II served as the catalyst for change and after accepting that, the couple was able to once again face reality and leave the café.