Shoulders

Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Shoulders” is a call to action. It acknowledges the unavoidable presence of sorrow and hardship within the human experience, while maintaining the optimistic belief that understanding and accepting sorrow can help one appreciate life and achieve positivity. Nye does not ask readers to move mountains; she simply provides them with an example of how far a small act of kindness can go. In much the same way that Nye uses simple language and approachable subject matter to engage readers with familiar tropes, she uses small acts of kindness to champion baby steps, baby steps that, when added up, can achieve greatness.

One of the first instances in the poem that highlights Nye’s call to action appears with the deceptively simple title: “Shoulders.” In the poem’s literal context, shoulders represent the father, who is hoisting his son on his shoulders to protect the child from the surrounding world. This act of paternal kindness ensures that the child is safe from cars and rain (Lines 1, 4-5) and any other potential threats. What is just as important is the fact that the child is sleep, which means that this act of kindness is as much for the child as it is for the father. The child might not know of the father’s protection in this instance due sleeping, but the father offers kindness regardless of whether it’s acknowledged by the person toward which it’s directed. The father’s actions underscore the poem’s message: Kindness can make the world a better place, when humankind chooses kindness and community over indifference and individualism.

In a broader context, shoulders represent perseverance and determination. Famous idioms about this representation include “shoulder(ing) the load,” “the burden of proof is on their shoulder,” “carrying the world on one’s shoulder,” and many others. What these idioms and sayings have in common is the fact that shoulders in these contexts mean carrying a weight or being responsible for something or someone. Another literary/mythological example of this is the myth of Atlas, a Titan who defied the Greek gods and, as punishment, was made to continuously hold up the world on his shoulders by Zeus. The poem even paints the father in Atlas’s likeness when the speaker says, “[t]his man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo” (Line 6). Even when shouldering a weight is viewed as punishment or a burden, the concept of protection is still tied to it. More than protection, shouldering something or someone can also often indicate volition on the part of the person shouldering (Atlas notwithstanding). This desire to shoulder a “burden” or “load” underscores the perseverance and determination of humankind to help others, even when helping might feel like an inconvenience. This type of kindness again highlights the small acts that help build communities both large and small, global and local.

The theme of kindness in “Shoulders” therefore reveals its overall lack within the fabric of society. The poem’s speaker appeals to the empathetic side of human nature, showing readers that conscious small actions can go a long way to making the world a better, more caring place to live.