"On the Subway"-- a poetry analysis

On the Subway

The young man and I face each other.
His feet are huge, in black sneakers
laced with white in a complex pattern like a
set of intentional scars. We are stuck on
opposite sides of the car, a couple of
molecules stuck in a rod of energy
rapidly moving through darkness. He has
or my white eye imagines he has
the casual cold look of a mugger,
alert under lowered eyelids. He is wearing
red, like the inside of the body
exposed. I am wearing old fur, the
whole skin of an animal taken
and used. I look at his unknown face,
he looks at my grandmother’s coat, and I don’t
know if I am in his power —
he could take my coat so easily, my
briefcase, my life —
or if he is in my power, the way I am
living off his life, eating the steak
he may not be eating, as if I am taking
the food from his mouth. And he is black
and I am white, and without meaning or
trying to I must profit from our history,
the way he absorbs the murderous beams of the
nation’s heart, as black cotton
absorbs the heat of the sun and holds it. There is
no way to know how easy this
white skin makes my life, this
he could break so easily, the way I
think his own back is being broken, the
rod of his soul that at birth was dark and
fluid, rich as the heart of a seedling
ready to thrust up into any available light

"On the Subway" by Sharon Olds expresses a complex relationship between Whites and African-Americans. Using a juxtaposed description of two different worlds that is aided by shifts in tone, Olds comments on the nature of segregation and racial separation in society and the tension it creates, only to realize that the people of the segregated society are inherently the same.

The imagery Olds places in the beginning of the poem emphasizes the difference between narrator who is a white woman and the black boy looking on, and whose actions are being observed as they ride the subway. His shoes are described as black "laced with white" (line 3),in a zigzag pattern that the speaker describes as "intentional scars" (line 4). The scars serve as a symbol of pain and suffering, alluding to the discrimination against blacks by white society. Furthermore, the use of "intentional" denotes that this suffering inflicted by whites on blacks was done with a purpose of harm. This image of the shoes contrasts whites with blacks, painting a picture of whites as powerful, while blacks are forced to be subservient and intentionally harmed as if they are worth nothing. Similarly, the two characters are mentioned to be "stuck on opposite sides" of the subway car, being permanently separated by a divide (lines 4–5). Here the physical separation is used to reference the racial separation seen in society. The clothing description included continues the contrast. While the black man is said to be "exposed," the speaker is lavishly covered in fur (line 11), reinforcing a societal separation of race and associated class that places whites in a superior position.

The middle of the poem continues to support this racial commentary, beginning with a shift in tone. Whereas the beginning focuses on a more physical description, this part of the work delves into the thoughts of those previously mentioned. The speaker says, "I don't / know if I am in his power … or if he is in my power" (lines 14–15, 18), illustrating a tension and confusion for power created by the racial divide. The statement is important as it illustrates that the separation between whites and blacks is not quite as clearcut as it is made out to be. This can arguably be seen as a realization on behalf of the speaker that the idea of the subservient black and the powerful white seen in the beginning of the poem may not be what is correct or intended. The  repetitive use of the word "Life" develops the idea of an interconnectedness between the two characters in spite of the racial separation that society has created.  The speaker is unable to distinguish whether her wealth trumps the power of the black man or whether his potential aggressive behavior trumps her power, again adding to the confusing separation of whites and blacks based on race. (lines 17, 19).

Towards the end of the poem, the tone again shifts, making it clear that the speaker is trying to understand the relationship between the white world and blacks, in this case represented by the black boy. While she realizes they are different because "he is black and I am white" (lines 21–22), which is emphasized by the image of the "black cotton" that references slavery, and again referring to the scars, or separations, imposed by white society, by the end of the poem, the differences between the two people become seemingly minute. This is achieved by repetition of an image—the image of being broken. Lines 29–31 discuss how the black man could hurt the white woman, as he could "break [her] across his knee the way his own back is being broken." The quote emphasizes the idea that both whites and blacks can hurt, as both races can be injured by the others action. Here despite the racial divide, a connection is drawn through the pain and unrealized dreams they all share.