Dreams

In the poem, Marjorie Hendricks appears once. She grinds “all up against the mic” (Line 10) and screams the lyrics to “Night and Day” by Ray Charles. Yet the single image of Hendricks creates a powerful symbol that turns the singer into a representative of fame, race, and gender.

Hendricks is famous—that’s how the speaker knows about her. The speaker hears Hendricks’s stirring voice, and it inspires her “to be / a raelet” (Line 6). The singer makes the speaker dream of fame. Hendricks’s life story—her affair with Charles, her struggles to launch a solo career, and her substance use—symbolize the downside of fame. In reality, fame isn’t just about performing. There’s an array of issues a celebrity has to confront when they’re not in the limelight. Thus, the speaker’s dream in her “younger years” (Line 1) is only a dream. As she grows up, she realizes the volatility of fame and chooses to be something quiet and gentle—“a sweet inspiration” (Line 19).

Hendricks is a Black woman, so she symbolizes race and gender. Hendricks subverts the claim that “black people aren’t / suppose to dream” (Lines 3-4). She shows that a Black woman can dream and achieve success.