Ulysses

Like other poems from this collection, the title of the poem gives the reader the speaker’s name, Ulysses. This name alludes to both Homer’s Odysseus and Joyce’s Ulysses [See: Literary Context]. By making this connection, Brooks situates her narrator in a long line of notable literary heroes. This name suggests that the boy’s story is worth telling and that his voice belongs amongst the greats. It also indicates a cleaver traveler on a long and perilous journey.

He begins describing his day by simply stating that “[a]t home we pray every morning” (Line 1). Their prayers recall the invocation of the muses at the beginning of an epic poem. Ulysses and his family need divine intervention to make it through their day. Ulysses lists the steps in this process. First, they kneel in a circle. Then, they hold hands. Finally, they “sing hallelujah” (Line 4). This opening feels warm and hopeful with a family united and “holding Love” (Line 3). The fact that this process is repeated every day suggests a stability and consistency in the family’s life.

This image contrasts with when the family must “go into the world” (Line 5).