Grip By Jericho Brown: Poem Analysis

In the schoolyard, sometimes there would be competitions, with its young “children, desperate for the blue ribbon (Brown, Ln. 2).” With this opening image, poet Jericho Brown guides the reader through a short conceit, bringing together children playing tug-a-war and matters of the bedroom. The simplistic struggle to win overlays atop a more complex, adult scene between two men- the speaker and an anonymous “you”, showing a scene not often depicted because of social restrictions. These overlapping scenes then present contrasting figures set within the conceit, and along with Brown’s first person speculative narration, bring the reader from the playing children to the larger topic at hand. In his poem “Grip”, Brown defends gay intimacy through …show more content…
Brown first mentions an unnamed “we (Brown, Ln. 1)” that is then compared to two male children of a tug-a-war contest. The subject is compared to a “boy who could best inflict pain, yet not/ Flinch when injured (Brown, Ln. 5-6)”, validated by the speaker’s self-proclaimed dependency on the subject. In this case, the two men appear to be in a struggle for control- each pulling on the rope. Through Brown’s descriptions of “the strongest (Ln. 4)” and the speaker’s need of the subject, it seems that the subject is dominating the relationship. This is contrasted to the speaker, who aligns himself with “that fat kid (Brown, Ln. 11)”, who flounders- an image of a lack of control with an undertone scorn. These contrasting physical descriptions set with the image of children, offers an imbalance in the relationship. However, because Brown’s conceit ends with both men winning in different ways, this imbalance is brushed to the side, bringing the focus of the relationship to the ability of the two men to be intimate. No matter the role, the appearance of masculinity, both the speaker and the subject win in different