SALT OF THE EARTH: POEMS BASED ON MUDBOUND.

FLORENCE - AN INTRODUCTION

Florence is the carrier of silence in this work. A woman, a mother, an industrious hard worker who has hardly received either the acknowledgement or the privilege for her contributions to a segregated Southern society. She has adapted herself to the cultural appropriation accorded to her ilk- that of African Americans - here in this geographical strip of heirarchy that has persisted for generations altogether. A middle aged woman, the land of mud and labour is her only legacy and a lucid resignation to her fate is something she shares with her husband Hap - her equal in a lifetime of existing in the absolute undertows of society. But they have hopes for their children with hopes of seeing their daughter become a professional in a majoritarian state and Ronsel representing the country. This internalized transition or generational overhaul is what stirs the plot of regeneration for the Jacksons. With the coming of the McAllans, who are equally impoverished under the given circumstances, they are again made to surrender to the de facto voice of ' whitewashed authority ' but the calling for an individual home and an identity spurs them on. In the silent broth of stubborn social decrees, Florence emerges as the Earth Mother of sorts, dignifying the journey with her bonding with Laura McAllan and her tenacity with the land of Mississippi. Watching Mary J Blige in her decorated screen appearance, this poem emerged from the depths of her words left unsaid as an inner world cultivated her arc in my mindscape.