Alec Mclarty

The poem Shake the Dust by Anis Mojgani is an emotional, thought provoking poem that 

puts an intense focus on the individual. In a way it is a perfect example of pure poetry. The 

problem is that poetry cannot fit into one single definition for everyone. There is no blanket 

statement one can say where it can be agreed upon by all that it is the definition of poetry. That is 

why one can see it being such a good poetic example because it is written for all. The people 

mentioned throughout the text cover such a wide range of individuals that it represents all 

different forms of living. One can break these individuals down even further because even 

though they are specific examples they can still be seen as a group. When Mojgani says, “this is 

for the school yard wimps” (Mojgani, 3) for example, one can see that as a group that can be 

further dissected to form even more opinions of their own. This poem does an impeccable job of 

grasping the ideas of poetry through a complex tone that changes throughout, a similar pattern 

for emphasis, and descriptive language to put importance on the visualization of each character. 

Mojgani does something with the tone that very few people are able to do strictly through 

writing. He phrases his thoughts in such a way that even if one is simply reading the poem in 

their head to themselves the feel the energy in his words. Many authors must read their own 

works in the way that they intended it to be read to get their point across. If an author wants a 

piece to be solemn they will typically read it as such. Mojgani is a very rare example of someone 

who can use just the words on the page to get the response he wants. He is empowering people. 

He wants people to feel like every word he is saying is just to them. He is calling the overlooked 

people of the world to stand tall and keep living. His best example of this is when he says “the 

spring time that somehow seems to show up after every single winter” (Mojgani, 54-55). This 

example shows new life. Every spring the things that were previously dead wake up and come to 

life. This is what Mojgani wants from the people reading his poem. He wants them to feel new 

life and new purpose. To shake the dust off the chains of monotony and fear and to let 

themselves live and feel alive. His positivity is evident throughout the whole piece and one can 

see his passion in every word he wrote which helps bring out the response he desires. 

When an author wishes to really hit home on a main idea or thought often times they will 

turn to repetitive nature to do this. Mojgani does an incredible job of this throughout the poem. 

He makes people feel what he wants by repeating his point in different ways. He repeatedly tells 

his listeners to “shake the dust.” He then follows with more descriptions of relatable people and 

again he will say “shake the dust.” He does this in the entire poem. Another way he uses 

repetition to bring his words to life is by repeating what the poem is for. He says, “For the” and 

“And for the” to set up the type of person he is going to be talking about. This may seem like a 

small point but it helps to emphasize his points he is making. 

His use of language could be one of the most thoughtful points of his whole work. He 

uses repetition well for sure but it’s the way in which he uses it that is the best art. He uses 

metaphors to bring across stronger meaning with all of his points. He says “this is for the two 

year olds who cannot be understood because they speak half English and half god” (Mojgani, 16-

18). He makes the image that young children who cannot speak full English but will try as hard 

as they can to get their point across. He also eludes to god with how the words they cannot 

communicate can mean as much as the words they can. Even the title of the piece is a metaphor 

about life and getting up from mundane life and truly living. He also uses allusion when he 

references the Cleavers and makes them seem like a perfect family. He says his poem isn’t for 

them. It is for the broken family that will never be like that no matter how much they want to be. 

Also he describes a bus driver as, “driving a million broken hymns” (Mojgani, 10) He is not 

talking about the driver driving literal songs but instead is referring to the different stories being 

represented in the piece. Every person on a bus has a different story and in a single day a bus 

driver may drive thousands of people. He holds so many different stories in his hands when he is 

driving them.

Mojgani does an incredible job of bringing together dramatic tone, repetitive words and 

phrases, and diverse language formats to bring home the main point of his poem. He essentially 

sums up his entire poem is his one line where he says, “do not let a minute go by that 

doesn’t remind you that your heart, it beats 100,000 times a day” (Mojgani, 36-37) This number 

is obviously inaccurate and different from the real amount but it does paint a picture of the point 

he is trying to make which is to live. All in all, that is the point of all art whatever form it may be 

in. It is there to show life, even if it is a dark piece about death, or depression, or hell there is still 

life to be found in it. Since poetry is itself an art form it has this same goal to in some way or 

another elicit life to the reader. Even in Annabel Lee, a sad poem of two lovers whose love was 

strong the angles envied it and killed the woman, by Edgar Allen Poe there is still hope in it. The 

hope love can overcome all obstacles. Poetry is here to make people feel alive and that is why 

Mojgani is such a marvelous writer because he calls people to life and can awaken people with 

Works Cited

Mojgani, Anis. Shake the Dust. 2013. Print

just his written words.      

  