Apollo

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1992

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Strangeness and Comprehension

One of the main themes in “Apollo” is strangeness, or something usual or unsettling that is either surprising or difficult to comprehend. The men walking on the moon on the television are the main example of this. The poem takes place in 1969, with the first crewed mission to the moon (Apollo 11). Watching this feat, the speaker describes the odd, unearthly experiences of the space mission (the “talking through / static” [Lines 24-25]; the “bounces in space- / boots” [Lines 25-26], etc.). The theme of strangeness expands as the speaker states, a bit disappointedly, that the moon is hugely different than it appears from earth (it’s “not green, not cheese” [Line 16]). Seeing the moon up close on TV, it suddenly appears very different than expected, leading to an unsettling feeling of unease and disbelief.

Alexander explores strangeness further in the final lines of the poem. As the speaker describes the men walking on the moon, bouncing through craters with their corded tethers, they state how strange it all seems. However, the strangeness expands when the speaker compares the men walking on the moon with their own feeling of “strangeness” by existing in the world as a Black child. This is clear in the final line when the speaker states, “stranger / even than we are” (Lines 28-29). Living and growing up in America as a person of color in the 1960s, during the Civil Rights Movement, is fraught with feelings of strangeness. Therefore, watching the men bob in space suddenly seems even odder than the speaker’s own experience as a Black person at the unfamiliar road shack in Massachusetts.

Landing and Mimicry

Landing relates to both the speaker and to the men on the moon in “Apollo.” The poem begins with a landing or an arrival when the speaker states, “We pull off / to a road shack / in Massachusetts” (Lines 1-3). The speaker and their family, likely on a road trip, “land” at an unknown place in a state and area they’re not familiar with (“a black / family not from there” [Lines 21-22]). Similarly, the men on TV land on the moon for the first time, an unfamiliar place with foreign feelings. The poem plays with the theme of landing to draw a comparison between the Black family and the men on the moon: Both occupy an uncomfortable space of “othering” in the poem.

Like the theme of strangeness described above, the theme of landing uses the odd occurrence of the moon walk to comment on the racial disparities and problems in 1960s America. The Black family, traveling through unknown territory, land at a food shack in a place unfamiliar to them. Alexander names the poem “Apollo” for two reasons: The family is on their own Apollo mission, traveling through America in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement; the astronauts are on their Apollo mission traveling through space to land on the moon. Both experience feelings of doubt, unease, anticipation, and relief. The astronauts make it safely to the moon and back. The Black family (because of the astronauts) is treated like any other customer and not judged by the color of their skin. The two are intertwined and expertly connected. For example, when Alexander compares the two directly in the second stanza:

We did

the same thing

for three two one

blast off (Lines 5-8).

The Case for Unity

Unity is the crux of Alexander’s poem. The Civil Rights Movement was a response to social unrest and racist norms. The country was divided, largely due to systemic racism. However, in “Apollo,” Alexander paints a moment where that division isn’t apparent, though it easily could have been. Following the themes of strangeness and landing, the theme of unity establishes a sense of unification among all peoples in the poem, regardless of where they come from or their skin color.

The astronaut’s walk on the moon, and the success of America’s position in the space race (a component of the Cold War), creates a moment of unification in the poem. This is apparent in the poem’s latter half, when the speaker suddenly realizes that “the road shack people / don’t notice we are a black / family” (Lines 20-22). The speaker has become accustomed to being discriminated against based on the color of their skin. However, the surprise of the astronauts walking on the moon brings another surprise: The surprise of the shopkeepers not noticing their skin color and treating them equally. The lunar spacewalk, therefore, marks a turning point in the poem (and in American history). Suddenly, the men walking in space are “stranger, stranger / even than we are” (Lines 28-29), the speaker claims. The poem concludes acknowledging the racial disparities between those at the road shack and the family. But the poem also comments on a larger unity present. Regardless of race, everyone at the road shack is an American citizen watching Americans achieve a previously unbelievable feat.