Problems with Hurricanes

“Problems with Hurricanes” opens with the image of the “campesino,” which is the only Spanish word in the entire poem. This opening sets the scene, and even the use of the word “campesino” has some important connotations for the poem. “Campesino” usually refers to a peasant or tenant farmer. The campesino in this poem appears to be older and speaks with a kind of folk wisdom. He explicitly acknowledges the dangers of nature, suggesting his close familiarity with it: “If the wind picked you up / and slammed you” (Lines 15-16). He honors nature when he takes his hat off, “[a]s a sign of respect / toward the fury of the wind” (Lines 26-27), and he speaks of the importance of honor, legacy, and the stories passed down by families. The campesino seems wise and experienced, and the knowledge he presents about fruit being more dangerous than hurricanes comes across more as a parable than as literal advice. This is not the kind of wisdom one would find in a textbook or a school, this is folk wisdom—the kind of wisdom that has been learned and taught over the course of generations.

Cruz also evokes a certain kind of landscape with his use of specific fruits like mangoes, avocados, and plantains. These fruits give the poem a tropical feel and, combined with hurricanes, the reader can deduce that the poem probably takes place in the Caribbean, which may be in homage to Cruz’s Puerto Rican roots. However, while Cruz was living on the island when he wrote this poem, the way he presents the scene makes it seem as though the speaker is an outsider. For example, the poem presents a conversation, but this conversation is entirely one-sided, as only the campesino speaks and the speaker does not respond to him. It is clear that the campesino is presenting the speaker with knowledge that he does not know. This has the effect of making the speaker almost invisible, which helps to place the emphasis on the campesino and the lesson he imparts.

All of this sets the tone for the poem’s thematic concerns, which are mainly centered upon the dangers of simple things and the realization that things are not always the way they seem. While the poem’s title, “Problems with Hurricanes,” suggests that the campesino will elaborate upon the dangers of hurricanes themselves, his advice takes an unexpected turn when he starts warning about the dangers of flying fruit—a byproduct of hurricanes. The poem’s content, therefore, undermines the expectations set up by the poem’s title, while the figure of the campesino himself—a poor farmer—embodies simplicity and the ability of seemingly simple things (or people) to contain hidden dimensions.

The poem’s irony comes from the fact that these simple things (fruits) cause so much damage. While most people are familiar with the more obvious and dramatic dangers of hurricanes—wind, rain, waves—the campesino insists that the real danger is something nobody would expect. The campesino speaks as someone knowledgeable about nature by experience. While scientists and scholars can study nature to understand how it works, the campesino warns that there are some aspects of nature that can be easily overlooked, as is the case with the flying fruit. He also argues that it is the small and seemingly insignificant things that can have a big impact on someone’s life: His warnings about how absurd it would be to die by being hit by a fruit speak to the unexpected powers and dangers hidden in the most unlikely of sources.

In addition to all of this, the end of the poem makes another thematic argument: beware of beautiful and sweet things. The campesino argues that people spend so much time worrying about large, seemingly dramatic dangers—such as hurricanes—that they often overlook things that do not immediately appear as threatening, or even mistake what appears to be good and “sweet” as something that should not be feared at all. He urges the speaker to cease worrying about obvious dangers, such as “noise,” “water,” and “wind” (Lines 29, 30, 31), and to be on the watch for “beautiful / sweet things” (Lines 34-35) that can cause unexpected harm instead.

With all of this said, there is one other interpretation worth considering: Cruz is trying to write a funny poem. While the poem certainly carries a lot of symbolic weight, especially at the end, it is also filled with humor, as Cruz uses a seemingly absurd conversation to impart a message about what is and is not worth worrying about in life. The campesino seems to take his own advice seriously, and his act of removing his hat out of respect for the force of nature suggests that he is both watchful of, and respectful toward, the natural world. All the same, his advice emphasizes that it is usually the smallest and simplest things that can do the most harm of all, and that one ought to be alert to such dangers.