Social Distancing

Perhaps the most obvious symbol in “Social Distancing” is the sun, which is the physical shape of the poem. Though only subtly referenced in Line 3 (“flaring stars create another star”), the use of the sun as a symbol in the poem is a critical part of the overall meaning. Herrera published the poem at a time when the wider sociopolitical context of the United States could be metaphorically described as dark. Suns, and light, are often used as symbols of optimism, hope, and change. By creating a poem in the shape of the sun, Herrera suggests that contained within the poem are the tools to gain that light (or dawn). The reading of the poem forces the reader into the sun itself—each line a ray, the center a bright light of “healing” (Line 13) that is beginning.

Several lines of the poem reference what could be seen as violent actions, though the overall tone of the poem isn’t aggressive or angry. Line 2 describes a person who could “crash into the toy section” while in Line 6 “a chile bowl will wreak havoc.” Additionally, Line 3 implies the explosion of a “flaring star.