Summary

“Anchor Head” is a poem about a mythic figure of the same name created by Hayes. While Anchor Head’s identity is not explicitly stated, his status as a prisoner, likely aboard a slave ship, can be inferred through certain lines, such as “I leaped overboard/in my shackles” and “packaged to a dim bungalow/of burden” (36). Most of the poem is devoted to delaying this revelation of identity, as Hayes leads up to the final stanzas with a series of tercets anchored by the word “because” and listing the chain of events that lead to Anchor Heads eventual descent into the sea (36).

“A Form of Sexual Healing,” a poem addressed to Marvin Gaye, is about an experience the speaker has at a karaoke bar helplessly watching a drunk white man perform a rendition of Gaye’s song “Sexual Healing.” Most of the...