Social Distancing

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2020

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

The lack of traditional form in “Social Distancing” is immediately apparent due to the physical arrangement of the lines on the page; additionally, despite some parallel phrasing between lines, the poem defies formal readings through its structure. There is no one discernible way to correctly read the poem; instead, it is up to the reader(s) to decide how to enter into the text. In this way, the form has a special influence on the meaning of the poem: By altering how the reader experiences the text, Herrera seems to be suggesting that readers can engage in another way of thinking about their own world and interactions. If part of Herrera’s intent is to convince readers that they should be social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, this requires helping resistant people to think about physical isolation in a different way.

Despite the unique presentation of the poem’s text, Herrera utilizes similar phrase structures in the radiating lines of the poem to build a slight rhythm. No matter what order the lines are read, they fit together with subtle movement. The poem doesn’t fall into any traditional meter or rhyme scheme; instead, Herrera structures some lines in similar ways so that the piece takes on a kind of choral aspect—many voices speaking together, or many ideas becoming one.

Concrete Poem

Not one of the most commonly used forms of poetry, concrete poems are pieces that are shaped like a physical object. Most often, the object is referred to within the poem or is the entire subject of the piece. “Social Distancing” is an interesting concrete poem because it is shaped like a sun, refers to a sun, and yet is not entirely about a sun or light. Herrera’s vision for arrangement, which was brought to life by Anthony Cody, thus suggests that perhaps the idea of the sun is an important underlying element of the poem. In Line 3, Herrera describes “flaring stars create another star.” This is the sole reference to a sun in the poem; metaphorically, this could be referring to mid-pandemic society as a “flaring star” or it could be implying that individual people, as “flaring stars,” can create more light through their own choices. Whatever the meaning, it is clear that through the physical arrangement of his concrete poem, Herrera intended to bring light into the world.

Personification

One of the boldest choices in “Social Distancing” is Herrera’s use of personification to bring to life significant human emotions. In a series of lines that are spatially close together, Herrera personifies, in turn, “freedom” (Line 7), “peace” (line 9), “fear” and “trust” (Line 10), and “tenderness” (Line 11). Each of these attributes is the beginning—or almost the beginning—of the line in which it is animated by the poet. By understanding “Social Distancing” as an artwork that is responding to a global health crisis, it is easier to see why Herrera might have included so many abstract ideas as personified items; through each line, readers are inspired into believing that better things are to come. If, for example, peace can “ris[e] and accelerat[e]” (Line 9), then it is possible for the healing to “begin” (Line 13). In a complicated, upsetting world, Herrera’s vision of positive emotions’ proliferation is a valuable and optimistic representation.