American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin ["I lock you in..."]

“America“ by Claude McKay (1921)

Jamaican-born American poet Claude McKay was one of the early icons of the Harlem Renaissance, a watershed art and literature movement in the history of American letters. “America,” written almost a century prior to Hayes’s poem, shares similar themes and concerns. In “America” McKay defines the Black American’s relationship with their country. For the Black American, their love for America coexists with the problematic treatment America metes out to them. Like “I Lock You …,” “America” is filled with the ambiguity that accompanies loving something that doesn’t love one back unconditionally. It is interesting to note that though a century divides the two poems, the problematic way in which America treats the speaker of each has not changed much.

“American Sonnet (10)“ by Wanda Coleman (1993)

Hayes counts poet Wanda Coleman as one of the primary sources of inspiration behind American Sonnets to My Past and Future Assassin. Coleman used the sonnet form to question what it means to be American and also to express Black American history and experience. “American Sonnet (10)” and Hayes’s poem share some themes but vary vastly in their treatment. While Coleman’s sonnet is looser in structure, Hayes follows a tighter, more musical form.

“American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assassin [Probably twilight makes blackness dangerous]“ by Terrance Hayes (2018)

This sonnet from the same cycle is more direct in stating its themes than “I Lock You …;” comparing the two poems shows Hayes’s range as a poet. In “Probably Twilight …” Hayes’s language is more upfront, listing the places where white people have assaulted or killed Black Americans. Both sonnets also use common techniques, such as densely plotted allusions and words and phrases repeated as incantations to drive home a powerful message.