A Short Poem (Essay Sample)

Uptown, Minneapolis, Minnesota by Hieu Minh Nguyen is a piece that examines how life can slip past one, with time marching relentlessly. Nguyen describes how he considers fleeing and altering his surroundings on occasion. On the other hand, he never changes, staying in much the same spot decade after decade. Seasons appear to creep up on him, altering before he realizes what is happening. Significantly, there is always a nagging urge to go and seek new challenges.
The piece opens with a description of the seasons. To Nguyen's amazement, it is already 'May,' and thus 'winter' is 'gone' (Nguyen, 2018). Seasons have shifted swiftly, and the writer is perplexed about how a current season has since dawned. Feeling emotionally distant and 'off guard today,' he is disturbed by this thinking. Nguyen considers hopping on a train and leaving but immediately dismisses the idea, fearing 'probably hating' wherever he ends up. This very same principle that keeps the composer in the same situation every year is the rapid inclination to detour his illusions. He almost always has different things tying him to his location, such as 'meeting a friend for coffee' (Nguyen, 2018). By the end of the poem, Nguyen realizes another whole life awaiting him in another new location, as symbolized by the crossing sentence, "there is someone, somehow, waiting for me."
Notably, the poem has a conversational tone, with Nguyen depicting the details of ordinary routine in his neighbourhood. The fourth line's accents indicate that the 'woman at the bank' is communicating, informing Nguyen that it was 'the worst one of my [her] life' (Nguyen, 2018). Nguyen makes no response, maybe because he does not have to reflect on his wintertime, as seen by the abrupt change of subject. After surviving his awful winter, it is indeed possible that his denial that winter is ended is truly a minor shock. Nguyen's lack of enthusiasm for the lady at the financial institution might also be interpreted as depicting the mundane aspects of everyday existence, with one discussion only being recalled in part as he goes about his day.