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Samuel Ols
Kevin Martin
ENG 101
31 August 2022
Whispers in the Wind
In the short poem XVII, Jimmy Santiago Baca uses only 21 lines to illustrate the scenery
and social dynamics of a small town. He employs imagery, figures of speech, and symbolism to
portray the delicate nature of a declining community and the effects of rumors within it. XVII
includes aspects of human nature, society, and culture, but the focus on relationships and the
rippling effects of discussion make society the most prevalent theme.
Baca’s imagery efficiently paints the scene of a small, run-down town. In the first half of
the poem, Baca writes:
It hisses its snake love
down calles de polvo,
and cracks egg-shell skins
of abandoned homes.
Stray dogs find shelter
along the river,
where great cottonwoods rattle
like old covered wagons,
stuck in stagnant waterholes. (lns 3-11)
Calles de polvo translates to dirt roads, so the town does not have the traffic or wealth to afford
paved roads. Also, the reader could interpret the egg-shell skins as either the white color or
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fragility of the local buildings’ exteriors, but the description of cracked and abandoned homes
implies the latter. Next, Baca notes the animals, specifically dogs and snakes, roaming
unchecked. In only a few lines, Baca details a town on the verge of becoming a ghost town by
establishing that the town’s infrastructure is poorly maintained and suggests that its economy is
struggling.
In addition, Baca uses both simile and metaphor to convey further meanings beyond his
text. The hiss and “snake love” (line 3) of the wind describes the serpentine movement of the
wind as it curves around the surfaces of the town while also adding a negative connotation to its
presence. He stays on the topic of snakes but uses figure of speech differently when he says,
“great cottonwoods rattle / like old covered wagons, / stuck in stagnant waterholes” (lns 9-11).
These examples not only provide visual detail, but also auditory. By appealing to more senses,
XVII further immerses the reader in its setting.
In the second half of the poem, Baca refers to the first two lines: “I love the wind / when
it blows through my barrio” (lns 1-2). He uses the wind as a symbol for the discussions of the
townspeople but most specifically gossip. Baca offers his most direct analogy when he says,
“The wind tells us what others refuse to tell us, informing men and women of a secret, that they
move away to hide from” (lns 18-21). He has already established that the town has a dwindling
economy and population, so the reader can presume that there is not much entertainment in the
area. In such places, gossip serves as the most common form of entertainment. It brings people
together, but ironically, tears people apart. Baca demonstrates this as he writes:
Days when the wind blows
full of sand and grit,
men and women make decisions
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that change their whole lives.
Windy days in the barrio
give birth to divorce papers
and squalling separation. (lns 12-18)
The sand and grit are metaphors for the negativity of the conversations because they words are
dirty and rough. They pollute the area and scatter all over town. Furthermore, the windy days are
days in which the spread of gossip is particularly frequent and harsh. This usually follows the
more scandalous events which explains arguments of “squalling separation” (ln 18) and drafting
of divorce papers.
Overall, XVII describes a bleak and fragile town by describing both the relationships of
its people and the condition of its landscape. Baca brings the reader to a town in which people
have little reason to stay, so they talk about each other out of boredom. Yet, the poem still starts
with an appreciation for the wind. There is a duality to gossip because it can be captivating to
those who are not the subject of it and so destructive to those that are.