Poetry Blog 14

"How to Write a Poem about the Sky" by Leslie Marmon Silko is not only about the sky, or writing poems about the sky, but about perspective in general. The first stanza describes a white cloudy sky in winter. This stanza demonstrates imagery in the lines "little birds/ walk across it." In the next stanza, Silko shows how another person could see the sky as melding into the landscape, bringing the cold with it, and suggesting that there is snow on the ground beneath a white sky, possibly even a snow storm. The third stanza shows more of a literal interpretation with the lines "the moment/ the wind shifts" shifted to the left to emulate clouds parting. This stanza is an extension of the previous one, but not only describes the sky and the earth as the same body, but then expands to describe the clouds parting. This perspective is a little more optimistic. The last phrase, "You see the sky" uses the word "You" as a general term that embodies everyone's different interpretation of something we all see everyday--the sky. I like that the dediction of the poem is included, because this poem makes sense to help show middle schoolers how to find their own individual voice in poetry. I also like that the location in Bethel, Alaska is included because it helps with creating an image of what that particular sky looked like physically, because it was interpreted in different ways throughout the poem.

Poetry Blog 13

So I'm a little confused because in the grade book it says I already did a 13th poetry blog, but I didn't see that I had one. So I'm titling this 13, but it would be great if this could count as 14! :)

The poem I presented, "The Explosion," by Philip Larkin was hard to decode at first. I had to look up the words "pithead," "slagheap," and "pitboots." After I did this, the image Larkin was trying to create was much more clear. A "pithead" is the entrance to a mine, a "slagheap" is a pile of mining waste, and "pitboots" are mining boots, which made sense after having looked up the first two words. The first and second stanzas are pretty self explanatory: they describe an explosion in a mine. However, the poem's mood changes in the third stanza. At this point, the poem seems oddly happy with it's talk of chasing rabbits and finding a nest of lark's eggs--both carefree activities that you wouldn't suspect people who have just experienced an explosion in a mine to do. However, these ideas relate back into the end of the poem. The fourth stanza is even more peculiar, as it provides personalization to the people exiting the mine, and there is an allusion to the gates of heaven. This is the first sign to the reader that the men exiting the mine could be dead, and on their way to heaven. The last five stanzas are the same story, only from more of a third person perspective. The fifth stanza starts back at the beginning of the story, talking of the "tremor" and how the "sun,/ Scarfed as in a heat-daze, dimmed." The next stanza is italicized, probably to note that someone other than the narrator is speaking, as in a funeral sermon, but it is unspecified. The image of a church service for those who perished in the explosion can be inferred further in the third to last stanza, but this stanza also contains metaphor comparing the sermon to the plain words inscribed in the chapel, describing what a standard formality the service is. But the next few lines explain that the service is plain and standard, but that it is special to the wives of the explosion victims because they can almost see their loved ones, backlit by the sun like angels. The last line of the poem that stands alone was confusing to me at first, but I think it relates back to the line about the "lark's eggs." Since Easter was just last weekend, it got me thinking that maybe the eggs symbolized new life for the victims. It explains that they are not gone completely, they have just moved on to the next life, and so the wives can still see them, "Gold as on a coin... walking/ Somehow from the sun towards them."

Poetry Blog 12

"The Englissh are So Nice" by D. H. Lawrence immediately caught my attention because it seemed like an odd topic for a poem, and a little bit sarcastic. As I read on in the poem, I realized that it comes across as a satire about the attitude of the English and how they wish to be percieved. I looked up D. H. Lawrence and found that he was in fact an Englishman, meaning that this poem is from the perspective of the English, and makes sense as a satire. I interpreted Lawrence as saying that the English think they are "so awfully nice," and have an inflated opinion of themselves. The fact that he goes on to compare Americans, the French, and Germans to the English also implies that Lawrence feels like the English think they are better than other Eurpoean and Western countries. It has some irony because it implies that the English think they are the nicest people in the world, and that they are better than others, who Lawrence says they should "never [be] take[n] seriously," but it's satiric tone implies that maybe the English are being ignorant in their view of their country, and that the "Americans and French and Germans" do not see them in the same light at all. Lawrence lived during World War I, so this poem could be commenting on England's relationship with America, France, and Germany during the war. But, it could also have broader meaning, representing how a citizen feels about his or her own country, when others may completely disagree. This interpretation would also make sense in reference to the war, as England, America, France, and Germany had relationships during this time. I think this is an interesting commentary about a citizen to his or her country. It can easily be applied to the present, even though possibly written a centuyry ago. Often times Americans are more patriotic than maybe we should be. We assume that we are always the hero that comes to save a people from a corrupt government, but we don't always know the unbiased information about a situation.

Poetry Blog 11

I think I had read "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost before, and I really like it. Frost interprets "gold" as not only the actual color, but also as happiness and goodness. Frost's poem is literally about nature, and how no beauty--or "gold" can ever last: spring turns into summer, flowering trees bloom for a short time but eventually only have leaves, and dawn, the only literal gold in the poem, becomes day. However, Frost also drops subtle hints that this concept can be applied to anything in life. the phrase, "all good things must come to an end" comes to mind for me here. The lines "Then leaf subsides to leaf/ so Eden sank to grief" really stuck out to me, not only because I think the rhyme sounds really cool, but also because the biblical allusion to Eden makes the reader realize that Frost describes the ever temporary beauty of nature, but that it is also characteristic of many other things, such as the destruction of the Garden of Eden. But Frost has the poetic talent to convey this message in only five words, which makes it sound elegant and profound. Everyone can think of a time in the past which they are nostalgic for; a time or place more "golden" than the present. This is Frost's underlying message with "Nothing Gold Can Stay." It uses metaphor and allusion to call the audience to savor the present as it happens. Frost cautions against taking anything for granted, because everything good and "golden" is temporary.

Poetry Blog 10

"A Poison Tree" by William Blake describes how anger can be different, depending on who it is directed towards. The first stanza gives a synopsis of what the rest will describe: When angry with a friend, one usually talks it out with the friend, and the feelings go away. However, with a "foe," this is not at all the case. Here, Blake begins an extended metaphor of the wrath felt for an enemy; it grows and becomes like a tree. In the next stanza, Blake uses the same metaphor to explain that the tree is "watered" and "sunned" by brooding over the bad feelings and plotting against the foe. When I got to the third stanza, the mention of the apple brought me to the realization that the metaphor of the tree was very similar to the Tree of Knowledge from Genesis, and the apple like the tree's forbidden fruit. However the apple also made me think of Snow White, because the tree is referred to as "Poison" and the apple eventually kills the foe. But, the poison apple idea in Snow White could have also come from the Genesis allusion. I think the overall message of the poem is interesting, and quite true: When you allow rage to grow, it often causes people to do a lot more harm than originally intended. But, when anger is worked through and talked out, it does not grow into a poison tree, but rather just "end[s]."

Poetry Blog 9

The poem "The Guitarist Tunes Up" By Frances Cornford immediately caught my attention when we got the new poetry packet today. It's concise--but within its single stanza, the poem says a lot. Cornford's poem is an extended metaphor. It compares the way in which the man treats his guitar to how he might also treat a woman he loved. I think Cornford is trying to state that a great musician does not control his or her instrument, like a "lordly conqueror," but rather approaches it with curiosity and love, as if "inquiring with delight." Cornford also describes the musician's act of playing as a team effort of both the instrument and the guitarist: to play beautiful music a musician must first have a decent instrument. No matter how good the musician, a bad instrument will never sound good. I also like how the poem is called, "The Guitarist Tunes Up," because I see it sort of as a play on words. Not only is the guitarist tuning his guitar to get ready to play as it is taken literally, but he is also getting "in tune" or in sync with the instrument. This poem makes perfect sense if you've seen, as most people have, an instrumentalist who is really good at what they do and who is clearly in love with playing their instrument.

Poetry Blog 8

I don't think this is very creative, but I'm blogging it anyway.

Goodbye to Childhood (I guess that's the title?)

Goodbye...

Excitedly to predictability
And always knowing what next year will bring
Refreshingly to the same bedrooms cluttered with memorabilia
From every previous of eighteen years

Nostalgically to boxes still in closets from my 6th grade upheaval
And clothes on the bottom of the bottom drawer
Unworn for years

Relievingly to the gas tank that devours my wallet
The "click, click, click" of the '95 engine
That's been chugging along almost as long as I have

Independently to decisions made for me:
"I bought you more shampoo"
"Spaghetti is for dinner"
"Go to your mom's at exactly 5:30 tonight."

Maturely to class, class, lunch, class, class
A rhythm of stress and work, interrupted by two days of (partial) rest
And friends one day, betrayal observed the following
Thankfully to that kid who exchanges my hard work for his rest

Hesitantly to Mom's house and Dad's house

To bags packed every week

But most of all goodbye readily to so many small transitions--

And an anticipating hello to one monumental move