'Toy Boat' Analysis

Link to original poem/recording: "Toy Boat"

For Tamir Rice

yellow plastic

black sea

eye-shaped shard

on a darkened map

no shores now

to arrive — or

depart

no wind but

this waiting which

moves you

as if the seconds

could be entered

& never left

toy boat — oarless

each wave

a green lamp

outlasted

toy boat

toy leaf dropped

from a toy tree

waiting

waiting

as if the sp-

arrows

thinning above you

are not

already pierced

by their own names

"Toy Boat" was a poem using a lot of imagery. The poem gives off a childlike feel, even though the tone overall is dark and gritty. It talks about toys, which is something a child plays with. Almost immediately I can draw the conclusion that this is talking about Tamir Rice, because he was so young at his time of death. I can also imagine the toy trees and the black seas that are specified in the poem. The poem came off as soft and simple but held a powerful message.

“As if the sparrows thinning above you are not already pierced by their own names.” I believe this line is less about Tamir Rice, but the policemen and policewomen. In today's society especially after the shooting of Tamir Rice, police are seen as symbols of fear and a wrongful source of power rather than symbols of protection and community. Throughout the poem, Ocean repeatedly uses the word "toy." I think he does this because it's to emphasize the fact that Tamir wasn't an actual threat, and the way police acted was immature.

“No shores now to arrive — or depart.” This emphasizes the fact that Tamir isn't going to come home. I also think when Ocean talks about the toy boat it's supposed to represent Tamir.

“Eye-shaped shard on a darkened map.” I think this refers to the very blurry video of the moments up to Tamir's shooting. However, while this may be true, the evidence that Tamir was innocent heavily outweighs the evidence that he wasn't innocent.

“Toy boat — oarless.” A boat without an oar is useless, and a boy with a toy gun is harmless. I believe Tamir's shooting was in poor taste because, in the video, he was, yes, playing with what seemed to be a toy gun; however, by the time the police arrived, he was shown sitting with the gun in his pocket, and calmly approached the car, where he was shot before the police even got out of the car.

I do not blame the police for being in the mindset of “there is a man with a gun” because the information of “it might be a toy gun” by the person who called it in did not get to them, for whatever reason. However, I do not condone the fact that they shot him without even 100 percent knowing if he was the same person that was reported (as far as I know).

“As if the seconds could be entered & never left.” I believe this line refers to the fact that the shooting happened in mere seconds — blink and you miss it. It happens so fast that it's difficult to process, which is just more evidence against the police actions.