As Free As The Wind

In Sandy Longhorn’s Etude, she creates a captivating picture of the nature of freedom, and the loss that is felt in it’s absence. In Etude, Longhorn uses learning to dance as an act of coming of age for the daughter in the poem, and writes “After my daughter learned to dance, I called her Stepping Water” (Longhorn). In Longhorn’s poem, dancing is representative of beauty and freedom, though we are also shown how that freedom causes fear for her mother. We can also see the reaction that some people have when faced with the loss that must accompany freedom, when Longhorn writes “I only did what any mother would do” (Longhorn). By it’s very nature freedom means to be free of someone else’s rule, and in this case Longhorn is writing of both the freedom that the daughter discovers, and the accompanying loss of power that her mother experiences at the same time. I think this poem does a good job of showing both sides of freedom, and helps us to understand that while freedom is a beautiful thing, it does come with a measure of responsibility to use that freedom wisely and with consideration for others. I found it interesting how this ties into what we have been studying, as we try and determine who has the power in writings. While the mother had control, and the ability to tie her daughter down with coins and gems, it was a very fragile power, and largely dependent on her daughter’s submission. Ultimately when the daughter chooses to be free, then she flies away and experiences the freedom that she sought.