Analysis Of Walking Down Park By Nikki Giovanni

In Nikki Giovanni's poem, “Walking Down Park” Giovanni talks about things that used to be on the land of New York that is no longer there as well as, things that could have been there but didn’t have the chance. Giovanni begins the poem by saying “walking down park / amsterdam / or columbus,” these three names are streets located in New York, which is how the reader learns about the setting of this poem. Giovanni then asks “do you ever stop / to think what it looked like / before it was an avenue.” This is the first instance where Giovanni reflects on what things used to be like before New York became a large city. While Giovanni doesn’t dig deep into this first thought of the past, she makes it apparent that things have changed. After asking

There are some animals that live in New York City, but not near as many that used to live there before all of the large buildings and streets were placed there. Furthermore, Giovanni is talking about the possibility of the land without human interference.

To further her point about the past and what New York City could possibly look like now, she had a few words that are capitalized throughout the poem such as: “Birch,” “Iroquois, Algonquin and Mohicans,” and “Harlem.” Each of these words refers to something that used to be on the land or a place that would have been different without the man-made city. When talking about the word “Harlem” Giovanni states “ever think what Harlem would be / like of our herbs and roots and elephant ears / grew.” Giovanni talks specifically about greenery that could’ve or would’ve been in New York had it not been for people creating a large city.

Overall, Giovanni speaks about the difference that has been made between what New York used to look like versus what it does now. Giovanni speaks directly and leaves hints throughout the poem about this