my dreams, my works, must wait till after hell

Gwendolyn Brooks's poem is a play on the sonnet form. Like a sonnet, the poem consists of 14 lines. The lines approximate iambic pentameter, so there are (depending on how the reader pronounces the words) five iambs or pairs of unstressed, stressed syllables. However, unlike a standard sonnet, the lines in Brooks's sonnet don't overtly rhyme, so the absence of a pronounced rhyme scheme subverts the traditional sonnet genre and makes it Brooks's own.

Not only does Brooks's poem rebel against the typical sonnet form, but it undercuts the heroic theme of war. Based on applicable information about this sonnet, it's reasonable to describe the speaker as a Black soldier preparing to fight in World War II. Yet the tone isn't heroic or masculine—it's mainly modest and uncertain.

The immediate concerns of the soldier aren't glory but food. “I hold my honey and I store my bread,” declares the soldier (Line 1). The tone is declarative. The speaker tells the reader about things he can control. He holds the honey and bread, so they're under his domain. The soldier keeps the bread and honey in “little jars and cabinets of my will” (Line 2). In the first two lines, the speaker is powerful. The soldier is in control and can impose his will on his environment. He can put the bread and honey where he wants.

Not yet in hell, the speaker's surroundings still make sense, so the speaker's tone is deliberate and thoughtful. “I label clearly,” announces the speaker (Line 3). Rational communication remains possible in this part of the poem, so Brooks, using the literary device of personification, has her speaker talk to “each latch and lid” (Line 3) like they're people and not objects. “Be firm till I return from hell,” the soldier tells them (Line 4). The dialogue between the speaker and the objects bolsters the speaker's authority. It's as if the soldier is the commander and the objects are his soldiers.

In Line 5, the tone shifts. The soldier continues to speak in declarative sentences, but they've lost their power. The speaker is vulnerable. “I am very hungry. I am incomplete,” announces the speaker (Line 5). He can't feed himself, and he doesn't feel whole. The feelings of incompleteness connect to the title. The soldier has to put his “dreams” and “works” on hold until he's back from war. Now that the speaker is on the subject of the hellish war, he lacks command—he's helpless.

Unfortunately for the soldier, help isn't on the way. “And none can tell when I may dine again,” concedes the speaker (Line 6). Since the poem pivots to hell, the tone slips into uncertainty. Not only is the speaker unsure, but those around him lack answers. No one knows when the soldier will have the chance to eat. In a war, nourishment isn't guaranteed and, in turn, neither is survival.

In hell, the speaker lacks clarity and precise language. The organization and clear labels disappear. Communication breaks down to one word, as the soldier says, “No man can give me any word but Wait” (Line 7). The soldier is stuck. He's waiting and while what he's waiting for isn't clear, since the speaker is in hell, whatever's coming his way is likely demonic and dangerous. The “puny light” (Line 8) confirms the soldier's feeble predicament, and the “eyes pointed in” (Line 8) is a literary device known as imagery. The vivid description of the soldier's eyes indicates that it's best if the soldier sees as little as possible as the sights of war are ghastly.

\Deprived of will and strength, the soldier is left “Hoping” (Line 9). At this part in the poem, the tone becomes almost like a prayer. When the soldier is through fighting in this hell, his “devil days” (Line 9) will be over, and he then must “resume” (Line 10) his life. The speaker's lack of control manifests when he says, “On such legs as are left me, in such heart / As I can manage” (Lines 11-12). The speaker doesn't know what state his body will be in after the war, so, like a lot of people in situations they can't control, he's praying and hoping he'll have enough functioning parts to “remember to go home” (Line 12)—a safe place where he has the control.

Although the speaker will have been through a lot, his tone isn't barbaric. War doesn't harden the soldier—or, better put, the speaker doesn't want the war to make him unfeeling. The soldier doesn't want to find himself “turned insensitive / To honey and bread old purity could love” (Lines 13-14). Thus, the poem ends with a tender tone. The soldier expresses his wish to appreciate the taste of honey and bread. He doesn't war to spoil him and hopes to retain his purity and capacity for love. This isn't a soldier looking forward to violence and destruction and returning home a hero. It's a soldier who wants to preserve his gentle personality. The speaker is meek and unassuming and primarily wants to live through the war without transforming into an unloving brute.