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

Poetry Blog 7

Questions Poem

Questions We Have About Humanity

Why must we be hostile?
Why must we know all?
When do we lose our humanity?
Why can't we see the beauty more in our humanity?
How will humanity progress?
Why can't we see humanity as a whole?
Why can't we open our eyes?
What is humanity?
What are the components made up of humanity?
How is humanity so different, yet so similar?

Poetry Blog 6

I really loved "Desert Places" by Robert Frost. It took reading it a few times and jotting down some notes for me to fully understand it's meaning, but once I grasped the concept, I completely related to it. I think by titling the poem "Desert Places," Frost is referring more to places that are deserted, rather than a desert--what he describes is not at all a place with cacti and lizards--and the poem is all about loneliness. I have always felt that winter is a really lonely season, maybe because I tend to stay inside a lot, usually working on homework alone; maybe because animals migrate or hibernate and all the plants die. But I definitely understood what Frost meant when he described everything as becoming lonely. I loved the two middle stanzas after I read them a few times: "The woods around it have it--it is theirs./ All animals are smothered in their lairs./ I am too absent spirited to count;/ The loneliness included me unawares." This stanza, it took me a bit to realize, is talking about loneliness. The field has it, the woods have it because all the animals are beneath the snow in hibernation, and even the narrator has it: I took "too absent-minded to count" as meaning too mentally absent to count as being there, and by the last line he means the loneliness sort of absorbed him without his knowing. The next stanza I figured "ere" to mean "before" and it made sense that he would say, "And lonely as it is that loneliness/ Will be more lonely ere it will be less--," because things always get worse (including winter) before they get better. I also liked how he concluded by talking about how sometimes places on earth can seem just as lonely and isolated as outer space. And i thought it rhymes were very creative and pleasing to read, specifically when he rhymes "race is" with "places." This poem was unexpectedly good.

Poetry Blog 5

I think the poem "Song of the Powers" by David Mason is a lot deeper than it originally appears to be. Upon reading it the first time it is obvious that the poem is talking about Rock-Paper-Scissors. But, I think the game symbolizes how many people live their lives. I think Mason means that everyone chooses what their "power" will be. And they are all indeed powerful and can conquer another power. However, as one can be the conqueror, it can also be the conquered. All powers are equal, but different. This relates to two things for me: economics and politics. I suppose the line between the two is often blurred, but I see it relating specificall in economics to forms of running an economy that have pros and cons. For instance, capitalism could be a "power" because it gives the freedom for individuals to be infinitely successful. It can crush others because it sometimes brings more success. However, socialism is also a power, that can crush capitalism with it's overall success, rather than the success of the individual. It also relates to political parties: there are strengths and weaknesses of both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as those pros and cons that come along with choosing to be an independent. All of this really came full circle when I read the end of the poem where Mason talks about how when one power dominates the others, it will be alone. I feel like this is speaking of the importance of diversity in our world. Had we not people and societies different from ours, the world economy would not function and political compromise would not take place.

Poetry Blog 4

"The trees in the garden" by Stephen Crane is essentially an extended metaphor that highlights the down side of the core of American economics: capitalism. In this poem, the flowers the children collect symbolize money. Crane states that "the trees... rained flowers" to imply abundance, and yet the children seem to collect flowers "each to himself," and sharing is never mentioned. At only the end of the fourth line of the poem, it already reminds the reader of the capitalist world. Next Crane begins describing the nature of the children: those who collect many flowers, as opposed to those who do not: "Now there were some/ Who gathered great heaps--/ --Having opportunity and skill-- /Until, only chance blossoms/ Remained for the feeble." Obviously, Crane is now commenting on the opportunity that children of wealthier families often have that those of less fortunate backgrounds do not. The "spindling tutor" he mentions is the liberal or socialist; often seen as weak in the face of thriving capitalism in the western world, especially in the United States. The father who replies to the tutor's question of justice is the embodiment of the general public's perspective of capitalism. He says, "Are not they who possess the flowers/ Stronger, bolder, and shrewder/ Than they who have none?" The purpose of Crane's poem is to emphasize what the father has overlooked: the presence of opportunity in one's life that determines skill, skill which then determines success--or in the language of Crane's metaphor, who can gather the most flowers. Capitalism is not necessarily as fair as we like to think because not everyone has the same opportunities.

Poetry Blog 3

After reading "It was a dream," I noticed that the untitled poem by Stephen Crane had a very similar theme. Crane sets his poem "In the desert" which I thought meant in his mind: blank, like a desert, and maybe not (pun intended) in a very good place. The creature he comes upon seemed to be his subconscious, eating what is both his heart and Crane's heart. The creature eating his heart symbolizes self destructiveness, which is what Crane may feel like he is doing to himself; he is possibly becoming cold and introverted, or in other words eating his own heart. When the narrator asks, "Is it good, friend?" it is his conscious questioning if "eating his own heart" is really a good thing to be doing. But, his subconscious continues to eat his heart and says "It is bitter--bitter," as if to mean that he is not happy with his heart, and this is why he eats it. The next lines, "But I like it/ Because it is bitter,/ And because it is my heart," provide further evidence for this. Crane is saying because his heart is bitter it is better to eat it, and he likes it because it is his own heart and not someone else's. This poem, like "It was a dream," has a feeling of regret that reminds the reader of the importance of listening to your subconscious. However, the untitled poem was much more difficult to analyze, and I am still not convinced I analyzed it correctly or deeply enough. This could have been purposeful, as it points out that the subconscious should still be listened to, whether it is easy to discern what it is saying or not.

Poetry Blog 2

Sorry this one is late again! I keep forgetting to do blogs for some reason.

The poem "It was a dream" by Lucille Clifton really spoke to me. In it, Clifton describes a dream with which she decodes some of her inner most thoughts and feelings. The poem initially intrigued me because I feel like I have lots of dreams similar to this. Clifton speaks with her "greater self," which I took to mean her subconscious--the more introspective and pensive part of a person. Clifton says she is being "accused of her life" by her "greater self," which sounds mysterious and poetic, but I think it's just a mysterious and poetic way of saying the way she has lived her life, and I didn't read very deeply into it. I read more deeply into the next line in which Clifton says "with her extra finger." This I took to mean the sixth sense the subconscious has that the conscious mind does not: what allows the human subconscious to be more in tune with one's mental and emotional needs. This "extra finger" I suppose is why Clifton's "greater self" had an answer for her when she asked, "what could I have done?" Showing Clifton's inner wild side with her "wild hair" and "wild eyes," her "greater self" replies in a scream, "This. This. This." This last line was very impactful to me. At first, I didn't know what Clifton meant. But by reading it in the context of the few preceding lines, I realized that Clifton meant to say her "greater self" was screaming, and by "This" she meant "you could have screamed and been heard." Clifton could have spoken her mind and spoken up for what she believed in and been heard, and it would have changed her life. Because I have dreams that I think explain some of my underlying subconscious feelings, to me this poem was a very powerful way of influencing people to speak up for what they believe in. It makes me want to voice an opinion if I have one, and want to listen to what my subconscious tells me, because it has an "extra finger" that I do not.

Poetry Blog 1

"The Cat," by Miroslav Holub is a very relatable poem, which I think is the poem's point. The first stanza describes the almost blank darkness of nighttime beyond a city window, the stars swallowed by the glow of urban light; or as Holub puts it, "And the eternal dark/ dripped to the stars through the sieve of the/ city." This imagery creates the poem's setting; one that is widely know by modern day humans. With the next stanza, Holub's story begins. The narrator warns whichever "she" he is referring to not to go into the dark. he reasons with her, "why want/ nothing?" This dialogue creates foreshadowing for what happens in the next few stanzas: a "black cat," who is probably the previously titled "she," "dissolves" into the blackness outside, and disappears forever. This poem seems to be straightforward, but I don't think it's really about a cat. The cat seems to symbolize someone in Holub's life, or even himself, who seems to have disappeared into nothingness. It could even symbolize a part of himself that he has lost; maybe dreams that he has lost to the nothingness that is the real world. The relatable part of this poem returns with the last stanza, where Holub says, "But you can hear her/ sometimes,... and you listen intently/ to your own self." This is where the reader relates to Holub: Everyone has lost a part of themself--be it a person or a relationship or a dream--that sometimes echoes when you are in touch with yourself.