No More Cake Here

The first line of Natalie Diaz’s poem “No More Cake Here” indicates the beginning of what seems to be a solemn narrative: “When my brother died / I worried there wasn’t enough time” (Lines 1-2). However, the speaker’s focus quickly shifts from the death of their brother to event planning. The occasion is not a memorial, but “a party after all” (Line 9)—and an elaborate one at that, with a guest list of one hundred. As for a birthday party, entertainment is a priority. The speaker is disappointed when the fire department can’t provide “free rides on the truck” (Line 7), but is content with a festive drive-by “with the lights on” (Line 9). The emergency vehicle, in this case, is there just for fun, not to mitigate some disaster.

The speaker uses absurd imagery to convey their brother’s troubled past and its impact on the family. The speaker encourages their parents to literally exhale trauma—" jails, twenty dollar bills, midnight phone calls, fistfights, and er visits” (Lines 12-13)—by blowing up balloons—to “let go” (Line 13). Exhausted, the mother sleeps for a decade and misses the festivities. She is not released from the weight of her worry, which will not be mitigated by a party.