"You Fit into Me"

“You Fit Into Me” by Margaret Atwood is an amusing poem which attracted my attention and encouraged me to read it deeply irrespective of its shortness. By using very few words, Atwood was smart in shifting the readers expectations from positive image to a painful one. While reading "you fit into me / like a hook into an eye" (lines 1-2) we see a picture of two happy people. In the next line she tells us that their relation was ended.. the hook is a fishhook and the eye that it fits is into an open eyeball...

Yes, I got disappointed to know that the poem “You Fit Into Me” reflects a painful and sad ending between two lovers. But, for my LOVE I will always say “You Fit Into Me”.

“Mending Wall"

For the neighbor with the “pine trees” the wall is of great significance, as it provides a sense of security and privacy. He believes that although two people can still be friendly neighbors, some form of barrier is needed to separate them and “wall in” the personal space and privacy of the individual. This is shown through his repeated saying, “good fences make good neighbors” (line 27-45). The neighbor believes that a fence is needed to separate everything because that is how it has always been, and that is what he was taught.
Behind the literal representation of building walls, there is a deeper metaphoric meaning, which reflects people's attitudes towards others. It reflects the social barriers people build, to provide a sense of personal security and comfort, in the belief that barriers are a source of protection, which will make people less vulnerable to their fears.

"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night"

"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" by Dylan Thomas is a poem about a son's reaction and feelings about his father dying. The father is still alive but has given up fighting to live and the son wants his father to keep fighting to live, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light"(line 3). The father used to be strong and the son looked up to him and now the father is dying and weak and it is hard for the son to see him like that, "And you, my father, there on the sad height,/ Curse, bless, me now wiht your fierce tears, I pray"(16,17). The son isn't ready to let his father go yet but the father is tired and is ready to let go and pass on. It is a struggle many people will face, losing a loved one that they are not ready to let go of.

"Do not go Gentle into that Good Night"

"Do not go Gentle into that Good Night" is written by Dylan Thomas who is expressing his thought's death and the importance of fighting to live life to the fullest. "Do not go Gentle into that Good Night" reflects humanity’s strong struggle for life. The poem is an appeal for a fight against death for everyone. The speaker believes that people should try their best to live a full life and to not give up so easily.
The poem reminds me of the short story "Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter which is about an 80 year old woman's life. The story takes place in her mind and in her bedroom while she's on her death bed. Granny Weatherall, as she is lying on her death bed, flashbacks of her past that go as far back as 60 years, it's very apparent that she is not ready to leave the earth yet. "God, give a sign! For a second time there was no sign. Granny Weatherall has been in some way deceived or disappointed in every love relationship of her life. Her past lover George, husband John, daughter Cornelia, and God all did an injustice by what Porter refers to as “jilting.”
George is her first lover and the person she was about to marry left her at the altar. On her wedding day George did not show up, as he never showed at all and it is never stated that she heard from him again. She is once again left at the altar, but this time, the altar of death. “For the second time there was no sign. Again no bridegroom and the priest in the house. She could not remember any other sorrow because this grief wiped them all away. In life and in death, Granny Weatherall has been jilted and therefore made strong, bitter, and fearful. As she passes away she feels bitter, and fearful and not ready for death because she believes that she deserves to live more.
The idea of fear of death is also shown in the poem "Do not go Gentle into that Good Night" when the speaker says “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight/Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay/Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Lines 13-15). These lines describe when someone is so close to death, he will continue fighting it until the last moment.

"Ozymandias" Poem # 8

I think that this poem has a very good representation of many peoples work, who over the years dwindle down to nothing, at least that the hard work means nothing to nobody else to recognize it after something has gotten old and brittle. The sculptor made an engraving in this once grand statue saying "My name is Ozymandias,king of kings/Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (Lines 10-11). This was an interesting phrase because he was talking proudly of his works, telling everyone who looked upon it to be jealous of his great feat in making this statue. Now the once great statue lays in ruins upon the ground in some desert "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand/Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown/And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command" (2-5). By saying "shattered visage" they are stating that the once great statue has lost its composure and also faced the change of reality. This poem was very ironic in the fact that this statue used to be great, but now lay in ruins just like many of our american dreams.

Dulce et Decorum Est – Poetry Blog #5

When I began reading the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, one of the first things that captured my attention was the way he described the images of war. “Bent, double, like old beggars under sacks,/ Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,/ Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs/ And towards our distant rest began to trudge” (lines 1-4). These first four lines are describing a soldier’s experience of marching during a war. Throughout the rest of the first stanza, the speaker continues to describe the terrible conditions of the soldier’s march. “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/ But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind” (lines 5-6). I also found it hard to believe how they unceremoniously tossed the body of the dead soldier into the back of a wagon. “If in some smothering dreams you too could pace/ Behind the wagon that we flung him in,/ And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,/ His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;/ If you could hear, at every jolt the blood/ Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,/ Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud” (lines 17-23). I cannot imagine experiencing something like these soldier’s did. I also have a hard time believing that it would not take a toll to some degree on a person’s mind. These images described by Wilfred Owen are some of the horrible truths of war. I feel that he captured these images through his words in this poem.

"Do not go gentle into that good night"

The poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas caused me to feel a mixture of emotions along with the speaker. This poem is about about a child, most likely grown up, waiting by their father's side as he is on his deathbed. The feeling of death is strong and present, the child knows his father is dying and will die soon. Another feeling of the poem is strength, the child wants his father to go down fighting."Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight/Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay" (Lines 13-14). He does not want his father to die peacefully and quiet, he wants his father to fight for every breathe until he can not do it anymore. This shows the child's strong love for his father. "Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Lines 18-19) is an example of the child's desire for his father to fight against death. I do not understand the pain of losing a parent, but I agree with the speakers' passion for not wanting his father to go easily to death. "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray" (Line 17) demonstrates how the speaker realized that he could not help his father any longer. In the end, the speaker seemed to feel a little more reassurance when he was able to pray to God for his father. Overall, the speaker was angry that his father was dying but felt a little better when he was able to realize he would go into the hands of God.

"The Man He Killed"

This poem is a perfect way to show the effect that a war has on people that are often very similar. Many times the men and boys, and women fighting the war are just every day, live next door Joe's and Jane's. They are also fighting an enemy that is somebody else's father, brother, sister, just like they are. It's nothing personal, it's war. Even their reasoning for the war might have been the same, " "He thought he'd 'list perhaps off-hand- just like I" ( lines 13-14). They fought for the same reasons, because it would support their family. They were so much alike that they could have even " should have set us down to wet right many a nipperkin!" ( lines 3-4 ). They would have shared a drink at a bar and now they were sharing the same burial ground, the same place that they could share a ground where they would lose their lives and ambitions. In fact the only reason he fought back was "I shot him dead because- because he was my foe." ( lines 9-10) Neither of them would want to harm the other, but the fear of the unknown, of the fact that the other person is just as scared that you would pull the trigger, would cause the enemy to pull the trigger just as quickly.

My Papa's Waltz

I really enjoyed this poem and it was probably my favorite i've ever read. I picture a little boy trying to build a relationship with his alcoholic father(The whiskey on your breath could make a small kid dizzy, Line 1). They care for eachother and are trying to find something in common or things they enjoying doing together I believe personally. The boy has a hard time waltzing (But I hung on like death, Line 3) but he is starving to get close with his father and get his attention.They danced and danced til the little boy finally went to bed (Then waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt, Line 15) I really liked this one the most because I remember being a little boy and trying to be like my father and trying to be around him all the time. This poem was written beautifully and I would recommend it to everybody I can

Dulce Et Decorum Est

This was a top 3 favorite poem for me because I am interested in war and it was a very raw poem in my opinion and portrayed the sick things that some people endure while in war. I liked the metaphors and they really set the tone of the poem (the cloud of gas was a sea) It wasn't what I expected because normally in war stories the people involved usually escape death or get hurt and pull through. But this one was different and showed the reality of fighting. The poem was well written and I was very pleased and it was worth the time spent reading and discussing it

Dulce et decorum est

This poem is so beautiful in so many ways. The notion that these men are fighting for honor and pride and putting themselves through a literal hell, is just so beyond respectable that I can't even really find words to express it. I appreciate what the soldiers are doing now, but in comparison to the soliders of the time in this poem, they have it just a -little- bit easier. The men in these poems got, "drunk with fatigue" (line 7) instead of any other substances. They see their enemy face to face, which some soldiers never get to experience due to our advances in technology. War wasn't just a game with people calling shots on both ends, it was people in the ground getting very serious. That's how beautiful this poem is. That's what I thought until reading the last two lines. "The old Lie; Dulce Et Decorum est pro patria mori" (lines 27-28). Those words mean that it is sweet and right to die for your country. Those two lines have more impact than the rest of the poem. The way they phrase those last two lines,..starting off with the old Lie. It shows that they know that they are being lied to, that they are being treated like hell but still going through something because they are being told it is right and honorable, they still do it. Those two lines will stick with me.

Porphyria's Crazy Rhyming Lover

This is one of my favorite poems that I have ever read,
It's crazy to imagine all of the things that Robert Browning said,
But what I really want to know is what's going on inside of Porphyria's man's head,
Wanting her dead,
Trying to strangle her with a piece of yellow thread
Wrapping it around her head Three times (16-17),
Showing his love through nothing but a selfish crime
"At that moment she was mine, mine..." (15)
Is that what he was thinking as he strangled her by her neckline?
Wow Einstein, you just messed up your love as you leave your one and only lay supine.

Stinky Fish!

I love this poem because it's straight to the point, really. We can't be someone we're not. Simple as that. As the father is pictured in this way, it's his eye's that give him away. "But the eyes give him away..."(11). The narrator (boy or girl we don't know for sure) has found this out about his father. That in his 22nd year, he tried to be someone he wasn't. He was trying to figure out who he was. That's something we all do, some find out right away, for some it takes a little while. We need to find our personal identity in this world. So often I've seen this in my life. Someone trying to act, think, look, talk, or be like something that isn't natural. Yet, in a way, I understand how they can do that because like I said, they're still testing the waters to see what fits them just right. It seems the person telling this little story is sad that their father isn't able to hold a beer and string of fish. "yet how can I say thank you..."(14), this person wishes that their father was different, I suppose because he or she wants him to like in the picture. How the father is now has passed to the son or daughter and they are not happy with that. But really, it shouldn't matter to much because the son or daughter, even thought they are flesh and blood and will have some qualities passed down, will still be their own self. They, too, are going to have to find their personal identity. "All his life my father wanted to be bold"(10) Why is being bold such a big deal? I'm sure there are tons of other things the father is good at, I hope he was able to figure them out.

Do not go gentle into that good night

This poem is very interesting. I think that because I believe in an eternal life after death here on earth, I do not totally agree with this poem. I am not scared to die because I'm excited to meet my King in heaven. Yet I can see the other side too, because death is scary and no one really wants to die, they want to fight with everything they've got. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light."(4) There is a rage against death, an unexplainable anger that makes people want to fight till their last breath, till their last drop of sweat, until they finally have to say "it's over", and give in. I don't quite see what's wrong with wanting to die, I don't mean this in any weird way, as in I want to die or anything. But when my time comes, I'll just have to except it because really there is nothing I can do to change it. I have a better place waiting for me on the side, so quite frankly, I could go anytime. It saddens me because the people talked about in this poem don't have anything to look forward to when they die. They must not know God as their personal savior because otherwise they would not be afraid and not want to die. "Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight" (13) These people are blind to what could await them on the other side. Because they haven't a clue of what to expect, and because of this, they don't want to. It makes sense, when you don't know what's going to happen, you don't want to go there. Can this be changed?

My Papa's Waltz

I really liked this poem. I imagine a little boy who doesn't see his father much because he works a lot and hard, "The hand that held my wrist/Was battered on one knuckle"(9-10). I picture him anxiously waiting for him to come home so he can spend time with him. How beautiful for the two of them to waltz together in the evening, bonding together as they move around the floor. The boy adored his Papa, "But I hung on like death"(3). This waltzing was not easy for the boy, "Such waltzing was not easy"(4), yet he was willing to go through it all so he could spend the time with his father. This was a sacrifice for the boy, I'm sure he knew how much it meant to his Papa to dance, waltzing was probably something the Papa has done all his life and wanting to pass it one to his son. And because of this tradition, the boy was willing to even go through pain "My right ear scraped a buckle"(11). This all leaves a beautiful scene in my mind. "Then waltzed me off to bed/Still clinging to your shirt"(15-16)

Dulce et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen sure made a detailed description that war isn't all it's cracked up to be. "Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge"(2). It's just amazing how many people have fought in war, all the things they must endure and for what? Do we really appreciate what the people have done over the years, and over the many wars? I think it takes a lot of courage, beyond what we'd be able to think of without actually doing it, to get up every day and defend our country. Courage, strength, bravery, and endurance. Just think about it: "If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood/Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs" (21-22)

Dulce et Decorum Est

In this poem by Wilfred Owen, the title is known as, "Sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country." It is about the way that people live to fight for the country they love and being heroic. Honoring the heroes that have fallen is something that I have always done and hope everyone else does too. The poem explains how going into war defending your country is a very heroic thing to do for the people in your country and for the love of your country. Wilfred wants everyone to honor our fallen and serving soldiers in battle.

Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year

In this poem by Raymond Carver, the child notices that his father, "would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity." (line 8) The child who knows his father better than anyone knows that he has always tried to be bold. Although the father always wanted to be bold, "The Eyes give him away, and the hands that limply offer the string of dead perch." He was just a loving father who wanted to be good with his kids and make memories with his child.

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

This poem by Dylan Thomas is a very good poem. At first I couldn't figure out exactly what it was suppose to mean, but after reading it a couple of times I realized it talks about someone who passed away with ease into the night. I for one do not want to go gentile into the night because I want to fight for my life. Fighting for my life that is already too short is the only thing that I would want to do. Giving up is something I have never done and will never do. A little bit of confusion came when line 3 said, "Rage, Rage against the dying of the light." At first I didn't know what this meant and I still might not, but I believe it's saying to fight for your life and never give up. The lesson for this poem is to not give up on life and when death comes fight for the life you live.

My Papa's Waltz

I read “My Papa’s Waltz a few times and I realized that the speaker isn’t recounting a bad memory from childhood but one that he appreciated and maybe enjoyed. Even though he didn’t like the smell of whiskey or his right ear scraping his father’s belt buckle he makes a couple of references that changed my viewpoint from that of any kind of abuse on his father’s part. For instance, “But I hung on like death” (line 4) and “Then waltzed me off to bed/Still Clinging to your shirt” (lines 15-16). His mother is frowning the whole time his father is dancing with him but she doesn’t stop them because she sees they are playing around, which is referenced by “We romped until the pans/Slid from the kitchen shelf” (lines 5-6). Maybe the speaker’s father didn’t spend a lot of time with him so even when his father handled him roughly the speaker didn’t care because at least he was spending time with him.

Unto Death Do Us Part - Poetry Blog 4

The first thing that caught my attention when reading this poem was the title. “To His Coy Mistress.” When I first read this I asked myself the question; what does the poet mean by coy? I got the impression that the poet’s mistress must be shy. The poet describes how he would spend his time with his mistress throughout the next several lines. “We would sit down and think which way/ To walk, and pass our long love’s day./ Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side/ Should’st rubies find; I by the tide/ of Humber would complain. I would/ Love you ten years before the Flood,” (lines 3-8). I also got the impression that the poet is from India. This is because of his mention of the “Indian Ganges” in line five. I found it interesting how the poet worded lines eleven and twelve. “My vegetable love should grow/ Vaster than empires, and more slow.” (lines 11-12). I then realized why the poet described his love as a vegetable. This is because his was growing for his mistress much like vegetable grows. I liked how the poet described his love for his mistress throughout the rest of the poem. From discussing how long he would love her to what he would do with her were they together. I found the last few lines very intriguing. “And tear our pleasures with rough strife/ Throrough the iron gates of life./ Thus, though we cannot make our sun/ Stand still, yet we will make him run.” (lines 43-46). The poet seems to be saying that he would love his mistress until death. I found this a very powerful statement and got the impression that the two were either married or were going to be in the near future.

"Dulce et Decorum Est"

I think what Wilfred Owen was trying to get at in his poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” is that even though people say it is noble and heroic to die for your country, sometimes it doesn’t turn out that way. However, in Owen’s poem, people encourage you to fight for your country. “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling/ And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime…” (Lines 12-13) He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning./ And watch the white eyes withering in his face,” (16, 19) Those lines basically state that fighting for your country is simply sentencing yourself to an unnecessary death. “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood/ Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” (21-22)

"Do not go gentle into that good night"

The poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” written by Dylan Thomas was confusing to me. I re-read the poem a few times, but I couldn’t quite get the right idea. I tired reading between the lines, but I still am confused. The part, “Old age should burn and rave at close of day;” (line 2) makes me think that old age should not come until you are ready and want it to come; however, I don’t think that is right because that doesn’t make any sense. “And you, my father, there on the sad height, / Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray, / Do not go gentle into that good night.” (16-18) hits me as he sees his father as an aged man, and he can really see how he has aged when he looks at him. He remembers his father when he was young, strong, and healthy. He also sees his father when he had more life in him.

"Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year"

Raymond Carver’s poem “Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year” was a good poem. I thought the part “He would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity,/ wear his old hat cocked over his ear./ All his life my father wanted to be bold.” (lines 8-10) was good that his father was trying to be bold and the child could recognize the way his father tried to be bold and how he wore his hat. I also liked the part “In jeans and denim shirt, he leans/ against the front fender of a 1934 Ford.” (6-7)I am a little confused by the end, though. “yet how can I say thank you, I who can’t hold my liquor either,/ and don’t even know the places to fish?” (14-15) Is he thanking him seriously or sarcastically? I really cannot tell. The way I read it seems like it would be sarcastically, but I don’t know for sure.

"Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year"

Raymond Carver’s poem “Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year” was a good poem. I thought the part “He would like to pose bluff and hearty for his posterity,/ wear his old hat cocked over his ear./ All his life my father wanted to be bold.” (lines 8-10) was good that his father was trying to be bold and the child could recognize the way his father tried to be bold and how he wore his hat. I also liked the part “In jeans and denim shirt, he leans/ against the front fender of a 1934 Ford.” (6-7)I am a little confused by the end, though. “yet how can I say thank you, I who can’t hold my liquor either,/ and don’t even know the places to fish?” (14-15) Is he thanking him seriously or sarcastically? I really cannot tell. The way I read it seems like it would be sarcastically, but I don’t know for sure.

"My Papa's Waltz"

Theodore Roethke’s poem “My Papa’s Waltz” is one of my favorite poems that we have read so far. The part that I liked the most was the part “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf;” (Lines 5-6) I think that was the part I liked the most because the father likes to spend time with his child, which is the way it seemed in the poem. The end was also good. “Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt.” (15-16) Makes me think of spending a perfect evening waltzing, then being tucked into bed by my father. The part that stuck out most to me was the beginning “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy;/ But I hung on like death:/ Such waltzing was not easy.” (1-4) The father may have had just one drink of whiskey or had a lot, but he still spent time with his child so that shows that he really does care for his child.

"Porphyria's Lover"

In the poem"Porphyria's Lover", the narrator shows how one can use words to make an evil person sound like a warm and loving person. Browning writes, "Nor could to-night's gay feast restrain/A sudden thought of one so pale/For love of her, and all in vain"(lines 27-29). In this lover's calmness, he thinks how she can be taken from him and he can't bare to think of her with someone else. The narrator states, "Happy and proud; at last I knew/Porphyria worshipped me; surprise/Made my heart swell, and still it grew/While I debated what to do"(32-35). He became evil after he saw how much she loved him. It would be that she was never to have another lover. He made sure she would be kept only for him in the end. Even God did not punish him. Browning writes,"And all night long we have not stirred,/And yet God has not said a word!"(59-60). To him all was well.

Ode on Grecian Urn

I have to admit the first time I read Ode on a Grecian Urn I had no clue what it was about. As I read it over a few times and listened to the audio annalist, things began to become much clearer. With some help figuring out the poem, I really began to like it. I feel as if I am being brought into someone’s mind to be shown their thinking process. I think much like this poem. My thoughts go up and down and some times all around. You can see this in two different lines within one stanza, “More happy love! more happy, happy love!, (line25)” and “A burning forehead, and a parching tongue, (line 30).” I am amazed at what all this poem says while the speaker is staring at an urn in a museum. I don’t think I would ever spend that much time thinking about an object in a museum. I have in the past often wonder what people are looking at so long. This has helped me to understand better what a person could be thinking of while taking hours to go through a museum. It is amazing to me how so much symbolism comes from an urn. I wonder if the speaker would have had this realization with some other object or painting. If this message truly came from the urn or was simply their at the time the speaker was processing his thoughts.

You Fit into Me

When I first read “you fit into me” I never thought of any positive connotation in the first stanza. My original thought was that of a sharp hook into an eyeball and that thought was reiterated by the second stanza “a fish hook/an open eye”. I was content with that thought and figured that the author just wasn’t very lucky in love. It wasn’t until I read the Unit 10 notes that there was further interpretation that needed to be done…which is like most poems so I don’t know why I thought this poem would be simple.

After further analysis and a little googling I discovered the first stanza meant a hook and eye closure, duh. After looking at the poem with that image in my mind I decided that the poem is still simple and gruesome. I cringe every time I read it. I still believe the author is making the point that love hurts but knowing that it will hurt even worse if you are alone, or “taking a fish hook out of your eye” so we are complacent with our current situation.

My actual first first thought of the poem was judged by its title and I thought it might be a little risqué or lovey dovey….I was way off.

"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

This poem by Dylan Thomas has always been one of my favorites. I hope that when my time comes I do not "go gentle into that good night." I want to fight the good fight and live as long as possible. I do not want to regret not doing things that I wanted to like "wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight." (Line 10) I hope to be one who "rage, rage against the dying of the light." (3) This poem is filled with the surprise of death "good men, the last wave by, crying how bright," (7) and the knowledge that death is near "do not go gentle into that good night." (19) It is a poem which also has a rhythm that appeals to me. It is one that I have always liked.

"To His Coy Mistress"

I liked reading the poem “To His Coy Mistress”. After reading it a couple times I thought that it was humorous how the narrator was trying very hard to get this woman to love him or at least become his lover. He must have really found her attractive and irresistible, because it seemed he wanted to boost her confidence and pay her compliments so he might have a chance with her.”For, lady, you deserve this state,/Nor would I love at lower rate” (lines 19 & 20). I think that he wasn’t really in love with her as he may say, but he rather would just like to an affair (because by the way he is talking she is quite beautiful). “And tear our pleasures with rough strife/Thorough the iron gates of life” (lines 43 & 44). It seems kind of pathetic that he has to go through all this trouble in trying to seduce this woman, but I guess you have to give him credit for doing so.

"Mending Wall"

In the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost conflict between neighbors is the message. Some people want their privacy and build up walls while others find walls to be a sign that they don't like you. "Good fences make good neighbors"(lines 26, 45) is repeated because the speaker feels that fences help to keep your life private and so no one can invade your space. Sometimes people just want to keep their life personal and to be able to be themselves and not be judged. Fences are also to keep things safe, like people use them so their children and pets are safe from getting lost, stolen, or hurt. "Something there that doesn't love a wall"(1, 35) is like asking who wouldn't live a wall? They keep things safe and they help keep privacy and from people intuding. Some people are offended by walls, it's like saying that they don't like you or that they don't want you to get to know them. Walls also make it hard to get to know someone because walls are like big blockades and don't all people in. I know in my neighborhood people don't have fences but at the same time people are good about not getting to everyones buisiness and keeping to themselves when appropriate, but we also get along and hang out at times. I feel that fences are good and that sometimes are needed and people shouldn't take offense.

To His Coy Mistress

I really enjoyed this poem. I wonder if it is more acceptable now to have an affair then in 1681 when the piece was written. Clearly the narrator of the poem did not feel free to be able to have an affair. I also found it interesting to read the historical references. In line 10 the narrator states, “Till the conversion of the Jews.” I wonder if this is meant as an anti-semetic view or if is speaking of strength of their views. The tone used in this piece gives the reader a lot of information. It reflects the sarcastic tone but yet it also shows the narrators raw desires. I have not experienced wanting something or someone to such a desire and then not being able to have them. The narrator in the last couple of lines shares the pain of not being able to fulfill his desires, “Thus, though we cannot make our sun, (Line 45).” It is funny because I almost feel sorry for him.

"Mending Wall"

In the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost illustrates the conflict between neighbors. You get the idea of this because of the repeated line "Good fences make good neighbors" (lines 26, 45). The speaker questions this and doesn't understand what he might have done to offend his neighbor "And to whom I was like to give offense" (line 34). I believe the speakers feels they can get past their differences and be friends but the neighbor has no intentions in getting to know him. "He is all pine and I am apple orchard" (line 24). I feel that this does happen between some people today. Others might feel the need for privacy but some people might take that as an offense and that their neighbor isn't friendly or doesn't want to get to know them. I personally like to have open space but I don't have a pet or children of my own. I feel that it is more friendly that way. My neighbor has a fence up and I don't take any offense because they have a small child and a large dog who needs the space to run, but we are good friends. Now everyone feels the need to be friendly with their neighbors either and I know I hear a lot of gossip about that on my block about the people who don't. Its sad really that it is such a big deal, I myself wave and smile at least. This poem might also have deeper meaning about friendship other than just two neighbors and the conflicts between friends.

"To His Coy Mistress"

I found "To His Coy Mistress" somewhat difficult to read. After reading it a few times I gathered that the speaker was trying to seduce a woman, or make her fall in love with him. I thought it was somewhat ironic with the way he spoke. He was saying he loved her but he used many exaggerations; which made it seem that he wasn't genuine. At first I found it some what romantic by his exaggerations, " My vegetable love should grow/ Vaster than empires, and more slow" (lines 11-12). When I read further I got the idea that the speaker was speaking more lustfully and it was just a mere ploy, he didn't mean what he was saying. " Now let us sport us while we may;/ And now, like amorous birds of prey"(lines 37-38. With this line, I feel as if he is almost is saying it in a jokingly manner. By the title of the poem, I feel the woman (coy mistress) must be a shy and a innocent girl, and I wonder what she decides at the end of the poem. Does she go for him or does she realize it is just a ploy as well? To me the ending isn't very clear, and I didn't understand it very well, but I am interested in knowing.

"We Real Cool" Poem #7

This poem was an intersting little poem. It was short phrased, and did not pay any attention to grammar,but rather getting its point across through short little two to three worded lines. It talks about basically rebels that have taken their own path. I think that the speaker is not one of the actual rebels, but more of somebody trying to mock the ones who did this, or get the point across that it was not the way to go, or the "cool thing" to do. The speaker states "We real cool. We/Left School. We/Lurk Late. We/ Strike Straight. We/Sing sin. We/Thin gin. We/Jazz June. We/Die soon" (Lines 1-8). Though this was a very short worded poem, with only 8 lines, it has big meaning to it. The speaker is trying to get across that living this way is a dangerous life, leaving school, drinking, listening to profound music, and staying out late is surely going to lead to them dieing at a young age.

Fire and Ice

This poem was very short and wrote by Robert Frost. I believe that he is talking about how the world will end and the people in it. I believe by Fire he means people bringing death and tragedy upon themselves through being greedy and selfish. People always want what they can't have, and that leads to problems in this world. He is also stating "From what I've tasted of desire/I hold with those who favor fire" (lines 3-4). By those lines he is saying that what he has experienced in this world from desire, whether it means people being greedy, hateful, or just wanting stuff that they should not have, that that is how this world will one day end. Our own people will destroy it, chasing there dreams of wanting to conquer and control everything in their reach.

Porphyria's Lover

This poem kind of reminds me of Romeo and Juliet! To people deeply in love ending in death. Although it wasn't both who died, it was the selfish doing to the man because he was worried that the lady wouldn't stay with him forever. He was scared that she might not always love him, thus the easy solution: kill her! This poem also reminded me of the short story we read earlier this semester, "A Ross For Emily" where Emily kills the man she loved because she was afraid that he, like everyone else she cared about in her life, would leave her. I wonder what kind of message Robert Browning was trying to portray in "Porphyrais's Lover". How is it possible that someone so much in love with someone could kill them because they couldn't stand to see them leave and love someone else. I think it's pure selfishness. A real "man" would let his love go and be content with her loving someone other than himself because a real "man" would never harm his love. "Murmuring how she loved me - she/Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour." (21-22) He must have been an insecure man with no trust in his love to believe that she loved him and wouldn't leave him. It seems to me that the only reason she would have left him would be if he was mistreating her, which judging by his actions, wouldn't completely surprise me.

My Papa's Walt

In the poem of "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke has perfect imagery. I can see a boy being whipped around by his drunk father while his mother stood helplessly and watched. "My mother's countenance/ Could not unfrown itself" (line 7-8) I the first stanza I laughed at the way he described the dance. "But I hung on like death:/Such waltzing was not easy" (line 3-4) I picture then dancing in the kitchen but I think of a wedding when a drunk uncle is making a small child dance. The rhyming in the poem makes the speaker seems to make a joke of this situation. "At every step you missed/ My right ear scraped a buckle" (line 11-12) I just think of the child who does not understand the father who is enjoying the dance but the child is not at all. I don't know why I think this is so funny. Maybe because the child is not being hurt and the father is clearly having a good time. "Then waltzed me off to bed/ Still clinging to your shirt" (line 15-16). I see the child completely relieved that the dancing is over and can just go to bed so he doesn't have to spend anymore time with his father who thinks that the dance was a good time for them both.

Mending Wall

In the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost it is written about a wall that seperates the speaker and his neighbor. I think of it as a fence in the yard. Some people do not like the fence because they see it as a wall to keep them out, others see a fence as something to keep something in. Throughout the poem, the words "Good fences make good neighbors" (line 27 and 45) These words speak loudly when I think of my neighborhood. There are many fences and each house is sectioned by the fence. I have a fence but it is not to keep the neighbors out but to keep the dogs in. The speaker does not seem to want the wall there but he and his neighbor go out each year and replace the fallen stones. "My apple trees will neer get across/And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him" (line 25-26) The speaker does not like the wall and is trying to explain that even if the wall was gone, he would not try to get to close into his space. I think this is a good example of a physical wall between neighbors and maybe a wall we put up emotionally for allowing some people to get past the wall, and making sure others don't get to close. "Good fences make good neighbors" is a good sentence to describe the poem and to give insight into his neighbors mind.

Walls Don't Solve Problems

Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Walls” is as relevant today as it was when it was written in 1914. The speaker wants to tell his neighbor, “…Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,/That wants it down.” The meaning of this is any wall is a man-made thing and it always takes a lot of energy to maintain because it isn’t natural. Ultimately, it isn’t a good solution.

Today one of the most famous walls is in Israel to separate the Palestinians from the Israelis. This seems like a good idea to “make good neighbors,” but in fact many people are cut off from their jobs or fields—just like Frost is pointing out in the poem. The other famous wall, the Berlin Wall separating Germany after World War II, has finally come down. That too was done for “making good neighbors” but in fact it was never a natural way to deal with the people or issues of the time. The speaker in “Mending Walls” may have been a farmer who was especially aware of these rules of nature, however, he did not feel confident in ending the “wall” and instead he walked the wall each spring to fix it rather than confront the issues with his neighbor. Unfortunately, the Middle East is doing the same thing—continuing with a solution to problems that is really no solution at all. It is just a wall where “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,/That wants it down.”

Keats Life Tells All

In trying to understand the Keats poem, “Ode to a Grecian Urn” the life of Keats helped shed more light on the possible meaning of the poem than any number of readings. From the Lit 21 CD suggested site, http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/66, Keats biography is available. From his biography, the “ode” form was something Keats used in multiple poems of this same time (1819) when he met and fell in love with Fanny Brawne. This suggests that Keats was very happy and wanted to "sing" out about his new understanding of life and relationships.

Also in the context that Keats had suffered losses of this family (father, mother, and brothers) and then found a true love, in "Grecian Urn" he wanted to explain about the beauty or happiness that exists in the world, even if you may suffer and lose loved ones through death. The poem ends with what Keats has learned, namely he found out there is beauty and love in the world even with all the suffering you may experience in life and that one item is the most important thing to learn or believe in.

"Ode on a Grecian Urn" - Poetry Blog 3

When reading the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, I found the first few lines very confusing. “Though still unravish’d bride of quietness,/ Though foster child of silence and slow time” (lines 1-2). Keats is referring to the urn as an unravish’d bride and a foster child. It seems that by this he means that the urn has been forgotten or left behind and has been adopted by someone else. In the first stanza, Keats asks several questions about the imagery that is produced on the urn. “In Tempe or dales of Arcady?/ What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?/ What made pursuit? What struggle to escape?/ What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?” (lines 7-10). I found it easier to understand these questions after I found out what some of the imagery on the urn was. In stanzas two, three, and four, Keats explains this imagery. “Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave/ Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare; Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,/ Though winning near the goal – yet, do not grieve;” (lines 15-18). In these lines Keat is describing a couple under a tree. The impression this gives the reader is that everything is perfect. However, in the next stanza Keat changes the tone of the poem and begins to describe how the images on the urn aren’t correct because mortals, or humans, have to go through lots of hardships. There were a couple of other images that the poet described in stanza four. The first was a priest taking a cow to a sacrifice and the next was a deserted town. The poet also asks a question about this town. “Is emptied of this fold, this pious morn?” (line 37). It seems that the poet is asking himself this but cannot find an answer. Finally in the fifth stanza, the poet gives the reader his conclusion of the urn. “Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe/ Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,” (lines 47-48). It seemed that the poet reason for writing “Ode on a Grecian Urn” was a tribute to the urn as well as the past. After reading through this poem a few times, and with a little help from Mrs. Beyer, I was left with a little sense of awe.

"To His Coy Mistress"

In Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress,” I was kind of confused. I re-read the poem a couple times, but it seemed when I thought I understood the poem, I would re-read to check and get confused all over again. Maybe I have been trying too hard to understand the poem. The lines, “To walk, and pass our long love’s day./ Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side.” (Lines 4-5) was kind of confusing to me. I didn’t really understand it that well. I am also confused at the end of the poem. “Thus, though we cannot make our sun/ Stand still, yet we will make him run.” (45-46) “Thy beauty shall no more be found,/ Nor in thy marble vault shall sound” (25-26) seems to me that someone dies because when I read the “marble vault” I thought of a casket, which is sometimes can be made of marble and acts like a vault. But then when I re-read the poem and got to that part I think I misinterpreted the meaning.

Photograph of My Father in HIs twenty-second year

In the poem Photograph of my father in his twenty-second year. I found this poem to be very interesting. When I was reading the poem it came to me that the son  was angry at his father because he was an acholohic and thats why he became one too was because of his father. I think that he is blaming his father for himself becoming one as well. The son is also mad that his father never took him fishing. The poem say "I studied my fathers embarrassed  young face."(2) The father must have been embarrassed of himself for letting the drinking get this bad. 

Ozymandia's

I found this poem a little difficult to understand when I read it the first time, but when I read it over and over I picked up things that I did not get the first time. I took the lines one by one to try to understand it better. What I got out of the poem was that when Ozymandia was out in the dessert he meet a man that had being dying. The old mans body was tour apart and he was left their to rot and Ozymandias was telling him that he was the king of kings. I think that he was telling him that because he wanted the old man dying to bow down to him or something. Thats what I got out of it when I read the poem. 

"Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning

"Porphyria's Lover" really grabbed me with its use of irony and symbolism. It was such a shock when I got to line 41, "And strangled her. No pain felt she." It was such a shock because of the way he describes her "Murmuring how she loved me - she," (Line 21). She is obviously in love with him and he with her. Him so much so that he kills her to keeping her from ever leaving him and loving someone else. She does like to provoke him though. "And, last, she sat down by my side," (14) shows how she likes to keep him waiting for her attention. She should have been careful though, "It tore the elm-tops down for spite, And did its worst to vex the lake," (3-4) gives a foreshadowing of what his mood is because he has been waiting for her; probably unsure of where she has been. I really liked this poem, and at the same time didn't like how it ended. It was definitely surprising though.

Those Winter Sundays

I translated this into a kid not appreciating the things that his/her father would do. As a parent he would get up earlier than everyone and start a fire so that the house would be warm by the time everyone had risen out of bed. The father just did it, never being thanked because it was almost an expected task that should be done by him. The kid is unappreciative of him. This can be defined by most of today's youth. They expect things should be done and when things are expected, they often are taken for granted. If I was the father, I would wake the kid up and make him do it a couple of times so that he would appreciate the little things that I would do for him more, but that's just me.

So Mexican's are Taking Jobs from Americans

I really thought that this poem was terrible, It starts off talking about how Mexicans are taking jobs away from Americans, and then it goes into small farmers selling out to "clean -suited farmers living in New York" (line 26&27) who are shooting "blacks and browns whose ribs I see jutting out and small children" (lines 21-23). I think that the author should have stuck with a topic that actually pertains to multiple jobs and not just farming. The author is almost making it seem like all that Mexicans do is farm, and that's where the American people think they are taking our jobs from us. There should have been a better example than just farming, cause the view of the author is hard to see from the text that was used.

Dig Dig Dig!

This poem to me is kind of like falling out of the tradition of the family, which in this case, is where the men in the family dig for potatoes. The boy isn't as good with a spade, but correlates the spade with his pen and writing abilities. I can related to this because the men in my family are all electrical engineers and have went on to get their masters/ph.d in different fields of it. I however am the youngest and am going in a different direction, I am a nurse, and plan to get my masters in anesthesia. Either way, I can make a connection by saying that no matter what the tradition is, or what the task is, we all have our own areas of expertise and went/or are striving to be masters at our own trade.

Jump Cabling

The post below was from the poem "Jump Cabling"

I felt as if this poem describes nothing but a sexual encounter. This was very interesting on how it was made to relate to jumping a car... The correlation between the two topics, sex and jumping a car is amazing. The author is describing how when the jumper cables are connected between the two cars, there is an energizing connection, then it can get a little more intimately detailed by describing the opening up the hood and taking an intimate look at the "workings" (line 3) underneath. It's like the author is describing that after the two people have a connection and take their relationship to the next step, they explore each others bodies after the "hood" (line 2) or the clothes are gone... Then it seems like the author is goes into how during the connection everything is exciting and "energizing"... After all of the events occur, the two people would decide to stay together because of the strong intimate connection. I also thought about this in another way, thinking that what if the jump cabling would have been frayed, or faulty? The connection wouldn't be as strong and energized, not allowing the start of anything, whether it be a car or a relationship. If that was the case, wouldn't the title just be called "A one night stand"?

Wheel Love

When I read the poem "Jump Cabling" by Linda Pastan, I imagined the beginning of a love affair, only it is the love affair between cars and not humans. "When our cars touched" (line 1). The words in the poem reminded me of the old Disney production of the movie "The Love Bug". The car in the movie was "Herbie" and he talked as if he were alive and human. "To see the intimate works underneath" (3) is almost like when a person is trying to understand one's heart inside a human body, well, the Princess is letting another car check out what's inside making her tick. In another words, the cars have a mind of their own just like we do, and they make a connection.

Ozymandias - Poetry Blog 5

I was really interested in the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. A few years ago I took a college class from Northwestern College in Saint Paul, MN called "Old Testament Archaeology" which was really interesting. Some of the things I learned I recalled as I read this poem, which really made it more interesting and understandable, and also made it come alive more. Ozymandias is the Greek name for Ramses II, who was a pharaoh in Egypt in the thirteenth century BC. The belief of living forever was common to ancient Egyptians, who believed that after they died, they would go to live in a new world, thus, living forever. The pharaohs were believed to be divine gods. The interesing thing is that Ranses II has been indentified with the Biblical Moses - the arrogant pharaoh who battled against the Israelite God and lost. In the story of the Israelites Exodus from Egypt, Moses went before Ramses II numerous times and asked for the Pharaoh to let the Israllites go into the wilderness to worship their God (later it was to let them go period). Each time the Pharaoh said no, he and his people were struck by a plague from the God of Moses. Through the story, you can see the arrogance of the Pharaoh as he parries with this unseen God. Finally, he was 'broken' by the death of his firstborn son, and let the Israelites go - only to quickly change his mind and send his army after them, which brings us to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and the Egyptian army lost in the sea. In the poem, I really could see how arrogant Ramses II was - just look at the head of the statue, "And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command." (line 5) The irony is that this magnificent statue has such arrogant and boastful words engraved on it, "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" (11) The "ye Mighty" words are mocking words. But the statue lies in shattered disrepair, "...Two vast and trunkless legs of stone/stand in the desert. Near them on the sand/half sunk, a shattered visage lies..." (2,3,4) This statue (and the one the statue represented - Ramses II) vainly thought he was all-powerful and could live forever. He mistakenly found out that nothing can stand untouched by time, as the broken pieces of his statue on the desert floor show us.

We Real Cool

In the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks displays irony in the title. The informal dictation displayed in the poem is almost funny. Each like is shortened but makes a point. When I read this poem, it feels like something you would hear your parents telling you of what not to do. I can hear my parents telling me to go to college and study hard in school. This poem is a reflection of what could happen if you don't. It is a brief but to the point. School, stay away from drugs, be responsible and live long. "We/ Strike straight" (line 3-4) saying that they don't walk the straight line. Everyone knows people like that. People who had fun through the years and now regret it. "We/Die soon." (line 7-8) Unfortunately I know a handful of people since I went to high school that made some poor choices and did in fact, die too soon.

Barbie Doll

The poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy got my attention. This poem is sad because the Barbie Doll is made for little girls to play with. At such an early age they get the wrong impression of what they look like and what they should look like. Little girls play and without knowing it, are setting images in their minds of what they will look like one day. Little do they know that when they go through puberty, and when they are the most aware of their looks, their bodies are changing and most do not look like the Barbie they had imagined themselves to be. "Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:/ You have a great big nose and fat legs." (line 6-7) I have a 12 year old daughter and this is the kind of thing she is going through. At this age, everyone wants to look like their friends. How sad to not be able to overcome the issues of being different. In the poem, the speaker describes the girl who couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide. "So she cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up." (line 17-18) Today there are so many TV shows that offer to young girls a body image that to most, is unattainable. I hope I can instill enough self confidence in my child to get through these tough years of middle school.

Stop all the Clocks, Cut of the Telephone

Clearly this piece was about grief of a loved one or more specifically a partner. I had several waves of reaction to three line, “He was my North, my South, my East and West , My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;, (lines 9-11).” First I thought how beautiful this description of love is but soon after I asked myself if any one person should meet that description for another. I then felt sad for the narrator, to place so much in one person. Not long after I had my third reaction. This poem tells of a new grief, one that is not rational. When we begin the grieving process everything seems larger then it is. In the beginning of such a large loss we can’t imagine life without our loved ones but as each day goes by we find our strength. So after my rollercoaster of emotions, I think this poem describes the beginning phase of grief perfectly.

“The Man He Killed” – Poetry Journal 2

When I began reading the poem “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy, I got the impression that the poem was a man’s memory of a bar fight. “Had he and I but met/ By some old ancient inn” (lines 1-2). It seemed that the two had just met and one killed the other. However, as I read on it seemed that the two men were enemy’s that had just met. “I shot him dead/ because he was my foe” (lines 9-10). This brought me to the conclusion that this was the story of a soldier. As the poem went on, the soldier described how he felt about his experience. “He thought he’d list. Perhaps,/ off-hand-like – just as I” (lines 13-14). This seems to suggest that the soldier was questioning the decision he made to kill the other man. I also found this part of the poem difficult to understand. It seemed that Hardy was trying to show the soldier’s difficulty accepting his actions through his impaired speech. One example would be when the soldier was not able to complete a smooth sentence in lines 13 and 14 as shown above. Hardy continues, “Yes; quaint and curious war is!/ You shoot a fellow down/ You’d treat if met where any bar is,/ Or help to half-a crown” (lines 17-20). It seemed that in the last four lines, the soldier was trying to tell himself that it was just an act of war; almost like he was trying to comfort himself.

Barbie Doll

I think this piece is really before its time. This made me think first of my own history with the Barbie Doll. As a child I had thirty plus Barbies with all their accessories and as I grew older I packed them all up in a box in hopes that one day my daughter would one day play with them. I now laugh when I think of those Barbies. They still are in that box even though I now have a daughter of my own. I have no desire to have my daughter play with Barbies. As this piece describes they represent a superficial and unrealistic view of a women today. For they praise only an outer beauty at standards most of us will never meet. My mother was always a strong feminist. I remember being told many times as a child that if a Barbie with its current measurements lived in real life its boobs would be too large for its frame leaving the women unable to stand. Funny how I was taught this but yet was provided with so many Barbies. I guess as most social change occurs it will occur in stages. Maybe my daughter won’t one day be told, “You have a great big nose and fat legs, (line 6)” when she reaches puberty, leaving her with a stronger self-esteem then I was.

Fire and Ice

I really enjoyed this poem. I loved the use of rhythm and rhyme. It is a very dark, pessimistic piece. I am not sure if I have ever thought of how the world would end but I have to agree that fire is the most likely. This was my first reaction to the piece but then I started to look for a deeper meaning. One word hate from the line, “I think I know enough of hate, (line 6)” stuck out to me. I began to think of this whole poem as if it was speaking of the destruction of hate. To me the message that comes across was that no matter the form in which hate is shown, destruction always follows. I wonder if this is true. Does hate always lead to destruction? I agree with Robert Frost that hate will always lead us to our demise through fire or ice.

"Barbie Doll"

I believe the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy is about the female image and how much pressure girls are under to be perfect. "The in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:/ You have a great big nose and fat legs"(lines 5-6). Even just one comment can burn that image into a persons mind and make them feel imperfect and that they have to change themselves, "So she cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up"(17-18). I thought this meant she had plastic surgery done to make her perfect in the eyes of others and that she had died. But when reading further on it said the undertaker had to put a putty nose on her face, so she must have actually cut herself. "Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said./Consummation at last./ To every woman a happy ending"(23-25). The whole time people thought she was pretty, but that one comment made by a classmate made her self-conscious and she tried to fix her imperfections but in the end she kills herself. So many girls feel self-conscious about themselves and it is impossible to live up to the barbie doll standard and the pressures sometimes put people over the edge.

"We Real Cool"

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks is about rebels and how rebelling can lead to death. "We real cool. We/ Left school"(lines 1-2). today many kids think skipping school, drinking, and getting into trouble makes them cool. "Lurk late"(3). kids sneek out at night just to hang out with friends, drink and get into trouble and again they think these things make them cool. But what most kids don't think of or realize is that these behaviors could lead them to their deaths "We/ Die soon"(7-8). This poem was written in 1959 and is still relevant today. Kids think that rebellious behaviors are cool and that others will like them more but in reality these behaviors kill many kids every day.

"The Man He Killed"

In the poem "The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy, I got the feeling the speaker didn't really want to kill the man but had to so he himself would not be killed. "I shot him dead because--/ because he was my foe"(lines 9-10). Also, he states "Had he and I but met/ by some old ancient inn,/ we should have sat us down to wet/ right many a nipperkin!"(1-4). I think the speaker is trying to say that if they were to have met under different circumstances they probably would have talked and been friends even and have a drink or two together, but this was war and they had to do what they had to do. This poem was quite interesting to read and learn that some had to kill just to survive and to fulfill their duties, not because they wanted to but because they had to.

"Fire and Ice"

I liked this poem "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost, for the fact that it was simple and the tone was easier to understand. I believe this poem showed the feelings of indifference and hatred towards the world. The speaker didn't care which way the world ended. I believe that the speaker chose fire as his first choice because of the lines "From what I've tasted of desire I told with those who favor fire" (lines3-4). You can attach the word "desire" with "fire" such as burning (fire), intense, or consuming desire. The speaker's desire is being consumed with hate. I also feel that the speaker gives off almost a numb feeling and indifferent attitude. "Is also great And would suffice" (lines 8-9) this show that the speaker really doesn't care which way the world ends as long as it ends. The speaker says "I think I know enough hate" (line 6), perhaps the speaker is depressed or has numerous bad experiences throughout his life. I believe the speaker might be at a constant struggle as well, perhaps and inner and outer, like fire and ice which are opposites.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone

The poem "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone" by W. H. Auden, got me to think. When someone close to you dies, it is natural to mourn their loss. Some people are able to move past it quickly while others feel as if the world has ended. At first I felt that the speaker was describing a famous person's death. "Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead/ Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead" (Lines 5-6). This action would be fitting if a public figure such as the president had died. While I continued to read, "My non, my midnight, my talk, my song/ I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong" (Lines 11-12), I realized that it was the speaker's love that had died. I felt that the speaker was being a bit over dramatic, but that is understandable when you lose the love of your life. While the speaker may think that the clocks have stopped ticking and life can not move forward, they must remember that life can not just stop. "For nothing now can ever come to any good" (Line 16), is simply not true and it is not what her love would want for her.

"Porphyria's Lover"

When reading "Porphyrai's Lover" by Robert Browning, I thought it was going to be about a man and a woman engaging in an intimate moment and that was it. But as I got further into the poem I could tell it was actually about a man who kills his lover. "Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour,/ To set its struggling passion free/ from pride, and vainer ties dissever,/ And give herself to me for ever"(lines 21-24). I feel that these lines were the turning point in the poem, he knew she loved him and wanted to be with him and he did not want to lose her so he killed her so she will be with him forever. He said "That moment she was mine, mine, fair,/ perfectly pure and good: I found/ A thing to do , and all her hair/ In one long yellow string I wound/ Three times her little throat around,/ And strangled her. No pain felt she;"(36-41). He strangled her with her own hair and seemed not have no emotions about killing her, no remorse. He almost seemed to try and validate why it had to be done, so she couldn't leave him and had to be with him for ever. It's a very dark poem but definately an attention grabber, it kept my attention.

Barbie Doll

In the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, I feel like everyone can relate to the pressures presented in this story. Barbie is a lie; no women could look like her, but that does not stop them from trying. The girl in the poem played with dolls and admired them like all little girls. When the time came for her to stop playing with dolls, she realized that she did not look like them. Even though, "She was healthy, tested intelligent" (Line 7), "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Line 11). Even though she had many great qualities, society could not see past the physical "flaws" they labeled on her. I found it sad that she was so unhappy with her self that she felt that she needed to change her flaws, "So she cut off her nose and her legs" (Line 17). This action lead to her death, "In the casket displayed on satin she lay" (Line 19). In the end all she wanted was to be accepted, "Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said" (Line 23). So in once sense, there was a happy ending.

"Barbie Doll"

I believe that in this poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, describes how some women will change their appearance just to please others. I feel that in the beginning, she had a happy childhood and she was like any typical young girl that played with Barbies which have unrealistic proportions if you compared it to a human being. Society views that beauty resembles the look of a "Barbie Doll" and this is what is instilled in children at such a young age; children are given misguided conceptions of beauty. When she hit puberty, she was teased for her appearance, thus the girl didn't feel beautiful. She was also described as being healthy and intelligent by the speaker. The girl had inner beauty and should have been happy but yet she wasn't because others didn't see her for who she really was. On television you see women all the time getting plastic surgery to try to change their appearance to find happiness, but are they really doing it for themselves and afterward are they ever really truly happy? The girl tried to please everyone else so much that eventually she gave up. The line "So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up" (lines 17-18) does this mean that she did have plastic surgery to change her appearance? The next few lines it says "In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose" (lines 19-21) So did she end up killing herself because she could never find happiness, and it was her only way to find peace? I couldn't believe the end when everyone said that she looked pretty when she was dead. The girl waited her entire life to be told that she was beautiful and was never able to hear it, they waited until after it was too late and she was dead. She had a fake nose and because she was dead her inner beauty was gone. Its unfortunate that some people view beauty in this manner. She was beautiful all along and didn't know it. It kind of made me feel sick at the end and really empathetic for her.

"The Man He Killed"

In this poem, the narrator leads me to believe if these two men would have met in person, they would have been friends. Hardy writes, "Had he and I but met/By some old ancient inn" (lines 1-2). These two men went to fight for their country. They left their civilian lives where jobs were of short supply. They both decided to enlist. "He thought he'd list, perhaps,/Off-hand-like-just as I-" (lines 13-14). As in war, one really doesn't know why they aim to kill a person. They just know it's their job. Not stopping to think this person has a family, like them. The narrator states, "Yes; quaint and curious war is!/You shoot a fellow down"(lines 17-18). If he would have had a chance to meet this man he killed, he might of changed his mind.

"Porphyria's Lover"

Reading this poem, "Porphyria's Lover", lead me to the unexpected. While I started reading, I figured it was going to be about an intimate moment between two lovers. I never expected murder. I enjoyed reading this poem because of its Irony. How the speaker realized that she loved him and he didn't want to lose that feeling, so he decided to keep her forever by killing her. The speaker also reassures himself that murdering her was okay by justifying that he was sure she felt no pain. " No pain felt she; I am quite sure she felt no pain" (Lines 41-42) When he said this, you knew he was deluded and that he didn't wish to hurt her and that he was killing her out of love. The speaker also mentions her yellow hair a few times, he sees her hair when she's full of life and later he uses it to kill her. The speaker also mentions his cheek when she is alive and after he kills her he mentions her cheek. I thought it was interesting how he described her when she was alive and when she was dead and in both instances he described it as if they are in love with each other and will be together forever and that this is what she would have wanted. Overall, I liked the way this poem was written, it kept me intrigued throughout.

"Barbie Doll"

In the poem, "Barbie Doll", the subject seemed to be happy growing up as a young child. She played with dolls and not caring about how she looked. She was content with just being a child. She was happy until puberty hit. We can all relate to the major change this was in our lives and the ackward feelings that come with it. Classmates can be critical on how you look and picking out your shortcomings. Piercy writes, "Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:/You have a great big nose and fat legs" (lines 5-6). This time can be hard in anyone's life and words of that nature can hurt for a very long time, as it did in this poem. She offered up her inperfections for aprroval of her peers. The narrator states, "Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said./Consummation at last(lines 23-24). It's too bad that some people just see what's on the outside and not what's within.

"The Man He Killed" Poem #5

My first thoughts on this poem before reading the explanation of it was that it was two men fighting over work, the one was no longer able to work so he sold his traps "Was out of work-had sold his traps" (Line 15) ; maybe he was no longer getting very much money and the price of furs were down. So in this struggle to hold on to jobs the one man killed the other because he threatened his job and also his ability to work. After reading the explanation under the poem I found that it had nothing to do with that except it was about a man at war, or explaining to someone about a man he shot, which was all his duty at the price of war. It must have been very emotionally traumatizing to him to have to go to war, and than come back home after surviving and explaining to someone how he had killed a man or many "I shot at him as he at me/and killed him in his place" (7-8). In wars there is no negotiating, it is just fighting to survive as neither side can have sympathies or feelings towards another man otherwise you will be killed. You must be tough and show no emotions if you are to survive an ordeal such as this. In the ending he capped it off with "You shoot a fellow down/You'd treat if met where any bar is" (18-19). In those last few lines he is saying that war is strange, because if you were to meet this man in a normal situation you would talk freely and treat him with a beer or possibly some food.

"Moving Camp Too Far" Poem #4

I found that this poem was very true, every word of it. The one lines that I did not understand was "counting coup/or taking scalps" (lines 6-7). I understood the taking scalps but not the counting coup. I looked up coup and the defintion was something like a small group of people overthrowing the government. Maybe this meant the indians working to keep their territiories, and also the fighting for it. Some battles lost but many others were won. The days from when the indians roamed free and hunted buffalo were a long time ago. Now many of the Native Americans left today only have the small reminders on tourist info and what they hear from their family to tell them of how it really was to "...hunt buffalo/or do the ghost dance" (9-10). I think it is great how the Native Americans have not let go of their ancestry as they still do things such as powwows and kept many of their old customs considering how civilized everything in the United States has become since those days. This poem was very straightforward and easy for me to understand. She worded it very well and definetely helped me to see what she was feeling.

The Man He Killed

When I read this I got an image in my head of an elderly man in a bar with a beer in his hand telling old stories with another elderly man. This poem was well written and i'm sure many many many war veterans feel just the same as this man did. This man killed another man when they were standing face to face. (I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place) The man did not want to go to war I feel and is torn on the fact that he had to murder someone to save his own life. (I shot him dead because-- because he was my foe.) The man had no other reason to shoot him he says and was just there to do his duty. Im sure many many others felt this way after they got drafted and were sent there to kill others. This poem was a great poem to read for me because I have friends in the military and are proud to be there and I enjoy reading about it.

We Real Cool

I really enjoyed the poem "we real cool" mainly because these are my favorite types of poems. I like the short ones that quickly get the point across instead of a long story. In this poem I believe it is about kids in high school dropping out and being rebelious and thinking they are cool for it. (We real cool. We left school. Line 1) I also believe it is stating that they walk around late at night and and drink. And that they won't have much of a life and would have their life ended early because of it. (We die soon. Last line) I feel this poem had a very maternal feeling to it and I think the author Gwendolyn brooks had a soft spot for people like this.

"The Man He Killed"

I enjoyed reading the poem “The Man He Killed”. This man is telling someone his war stories while enjoying a drink. He tells about how he shot him right when he appeared “and killed him in his place.” (line 8) He was being approached by the enemy, and of course would shoot right away instead of being in the position of being shot first. I think that he feels bad that he killed him because he probably enlisted for the same reason as the narrator. “Off-hand like just as I/Was out of work had sold his traps/No other reason why (lines 14, 15, & 16). He has respect for the man he killed, but yet had to do what he did in order to survive himself. I think war is a very difficult thing to experience and since I have never had to, I will not understand what it truly is like. But I think if I was in that position I would be more worried about keeping my own life and would do what I have to without thinking twice about it.

"Barbie Doll"

The poem “Barbie Doll” shows how much pressure women and young girls have on them to be perfect like a Barbie doll. It shows you what the stereotype for young is like, it starts out with the toys that they should (and or do) play with. “and miniature GE stoves and irons” (line 2) “This girlchild was born as usual” (line 1), she played with all the right toys and did things just as she was supposed to do until, “The in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:/ You have a great big nose and fat legs.” (lines 5 & 6). All of the sudden she wasn’t the “usual girlchild” and was made fun of and hurt just because she was different. This poem is really sad, but pretty accurate on the pressure girls undergo. There is this “Barbie doll” image that so many girls strive for, but is an unrealistic to achieve. Though, with more women having cosmetic surgery it’s becoming more common. She struggled with the pressure to look like someone she was not and thought she had to be ashamed of it. “She went to and fro apologizing” (line 10) Even with trying to change herself with dieting, and exercising, she felt it wasn’t enough. “Her good nature wore out” (line 15) Sometimes the pressure can be too much where you have to do something drastic to get away from it. “She cut off her nose and legs” (line 17) Then “in the casket displayed on the satin she lay” (line 19) she finally reached the goal of everyone’s approval. “Consummation at last” (line 24).

Ozymandias

when i read ozymandias i was under the inpression that he was a king traveling and meet someone in the dessert. the man that he meet in the dessert was tore apart his limbs were everywhere and he was dieing. Ozymandias was telling him that he was an almighty king and lived beyond the mountains. To me sounded like he was begging to the older man that he is a king and the other one was not and that he left him there to decay in the dessert by himself. I did find this poem to be a hard one to read and understand what was going on in it as well.

The Man He Killed

When I first read this poem I was not sure what was going on it seened like the two guys just meet and the one just shot him, but when I read it again it sounded more like they were at war and that they had ran into each other at a hotel and both went to go get liquor. they both shot at each other but only one had died. It sounds like to me that the one man or soldier was talking about how bad the war was and that he didn't want to be shooting anyone anymore. maybe he was feeling bad for killing people even though he was being shot at himself.

Fire and Ice

I read Robert Frost's poem Fire and Ice. I have read some of his poems before. I do enjoy reading his poems. When reading the poem to me it sounds like the world will end either by fire or by ice but either way he doesn;t care because he likes both of them. I enjoy reading poems that do rythm because to me it has a certain rythem to it that i like to read. Also when you read it the speaker sounds like he or she is agree about one thing or the other.

We Real Cool

I hate to admit it but until this class I did not know about Gwendolyn Brooks. I really liked her poem “We Real Cool” (746-747) written when she was about 50 years old. Although the lit book suggests that economy (755) of words is a feature of all poetry, Brooks has taken “We Real Cool” to an extreme. Consisting of 24 words (not counting the title and subtitle), Brooks communicates an entire story about the lives and future of young African-Americans (or Hmong, Hispanic or any poor ethnic group). Also impressive about Brooks’ poem is its age—more than 40 years old—and it is still a realistic picture of gangs found in urban areas all over America.

The “we” in the poem suggests that the individuals in the group do not have a separate identity. They judge themselves as a group (“real cool”) and act as a group (lurk, strike, sing, jazz). This type of peer pressure keeps the members in the group from doing more or improving themselves. Such an acceptance of “We Die soon” means that the group members are focused on enjoyment of their lives while they can. Also they do not plan for the future. The ending suggests this image was disturbing to Gwendolyn Brooks, who had a teenager in Chicago in 1967. What is even more disturbing is the image of teenagers without a future is still a reality in America in 2008.

"Porphyria's Lover"

This poem reminds me so much of "Rose for Emily". Both murders, whether assumed or not, or done out of the desperation of someone who needs the person that they are murdering to be with them for all of their lives. They are so overwhelmed by love that they are able to destroy the thing they love in order to keep it, even when the thing they love is already willing to stay. What is so ironic about this poem is that she was already there to be with him, in fact he could tell that, "at last l knew Porphyria worshiped me," (32-33). He was in love with this girl and he was willing to risk a lifetime of "moments" because," That moment she was mine, mine" (36). It is such a dark beauty in the sense that his motive was not at all evil or destructive. He was so captivated by her presence that he couldn't control himself. He had to live in that exact moment, of realizing that he was what she wanted, and she was everything he lived for, that he needed to find a way to capture it. Even with that, I think she knew that he was doing. After he kills her, he kisses her lips and props her head in a certain position, all the while, "The smiling rosy little head, So glad it has its utmost will," (52-53). This poem sticks in my mind, but it isn't sick or demented. It's a shame that they don't get to spend the rest of their lives together, but that moment will live with him, and she died after had professing everything.

Barbie Doll

In the poem “Barbie Doll”, the title is an object representing an unattainable female ideal. From the beginning girls and boys are taught how to act accordingly to their gender. Girls wear pink and play dress up. Boys wear blue and play with trucks. A problem arises when a girl’s body changes, or as the poem states, “Then in the magic of puberty,” (line 5). Puberty is when comparison overshadows everything else and a difference in body type between girls becomes a hindrance instead of something unique to be comfortable with. Men and women are bombarded with images of perfect women. Although the women in these pictures represent a very small percentage of women, they are the only images we have and so they become the standard by which everyone should compare to. The woman in this poem could be any woman because every woman has had to deal with playing into gender roles and expectations of an ideal woman. The woman in the poem was smart and strong but she didn’t believe this was good enough, “She went to and fro apologizing/Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs” (lines 10-11).

She can no longer tolerate the charade she is fronting. “Her good nature wore out/like a fan belt/So she cut off her nose and her legs/and offered them up” (lines 15 -18). The irony in this poem is in the end she finally achieved what society wanted from her. Her nose, although fake, was perfect, “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said./Consummation at last./To every woman a happy ending” (lines 23 – 25).

"Porphyria's Lover"

As i began to read this poem I thought it was going to be a nice descent story about man and a woman. As I continued to read it seemed like he was not interested in Porphyria and wanted nothing more to do with her. The statement that made me question his love for her was, "And, last, she sat down by my side/ and called me. When no voice replied."(Lines 14-15). I thought why didn’t he answer or was there something wrong with him so he wasn’t able to answer? Backing up to the beginning I wondered why did he split up the word "To-night"(line 1), is there a specific reason which ties in with the poem some how? The next statements " The sullen wind was soon awake/it tore the elm-tops down for spite/and did its worst to vex the lake"(lines 2-4). These lines gave me an image a storm, with the wind blowing hard knocking on the trees. I looked up the word "Vex" (line 4), which means to bring trouble, which also goes with the storm and it brought trouble to the lake. I cam imagine then the waves crashing and water flying. When I continued reading from the pleasantness of not knowing the ending, to finding out that he kills her! I did not see that coming at all! One big question of this poem is how much we should consider that “Porphyria” is a disease. Is this poem actually talking about killing a disease? Or is it merely a love story horror?

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"The Man He Killed"

In the poem “The Man He Killed” written by Thomas Hardy, the point of war is hidden in there, “I shot at him as he at me/”I shot him dead because-/Because he was my foe. (Lines 7-10)” Basically if you don’t kill the other person, who is trying to kill you, more than likely that person would end up killing you. Hardy has a point; however, I don’t like the point of war. I have family such as dad, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, and I have seen how much they change. I could never image what terrible things they have went through in a war. When we read about wars in history books and even now in the newspapers and on the News, we can only get a tiny glimpse of what is going in a war, and most of the time the things that we hear about may not even be the worst things that are happening.

Stop All the Clocks, Cut Off the Telephone - Blog 4

This is my favorite poem so far! For some reason I really like it when the words at the end of a line of poetry rhyme. It creates a sing-songy-kind-of-lilt that I really like.

After the first reading to me it sounded like this poem is talking about someone very special to the speaker who has died. "Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come." (line 4) T0 me, this speaker is basically saying, the world should stop because this person has died. "The stars are not wanted now: put out every one/ Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun." (13, 14)

When I read the poem through a second time, it also spoke to me in a way of lost or trampled dreams (my marriage is something that came to mind; as it feels rather lost and trampled on). "I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong" (12) Looking at it this way, the beginning of the poem creates an imagery of the death of something that was very important to the speaker, and the rest of the poem creates the scene of the world of nature also mourning this loss; "Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood." (15) The speaker seems to feel so sad, mournful and hopeless: "For nothing now can ever come to any good." (16) In some ways its hard to read that because sometimes I feel the exact same way...

"Moving camp too far"

With the area that we live in , I feel that a lot of us can relate to this poem. No we can't go back in history and see what it was really like for Native American's. There are a lot of stereo types about Native American's today and how we view the culture today. For example the second paragraph that starts out with "I can" all of those lines point to the stereotypes of modern times. At the end when the speaker says "I can & unfortunately I do" (lines 21-23) this refers to how sad it is that these stereotypes are the closest ways of being in touch with the culture. I feel it can also be a respect issue, that we've lost a sense of dignity for the culture as well. Eating buffalo burgers hardly compares to having the audacity to actually hunt buffalo. I feel that this poem was kind of a reawakening about how we as a society get lost in modern stereotypes and take for granted the history before us.

"Jump Cabling"

This poem was different from poems I'm used to reading. I liked the format with the space in between. I don't recall seeing that before. I feel as if this poem gave a different meaning by using the space. In one sense yes it was about cars but with a pause it broke away to another meaning such as a relationship or intimate moment between two people. For example "When our cars touched" (1) It could also mean when our hearts touched or when you touch someone for the first time. I liked this poem in that is was simple yet very cleaver at the same time. I think the last line represents an intimate journey and it brings both meanings together, perhaps.

"Moving Camp Too Far"

In the poem, "Moving Camp Too Far", the speaker appears to be melancholy. She is not able to live the life that her ancestors once did. Her ancestors were once proud to be free and live off the land. There was plenty of buffalo and eagles. Northsun writes, "i can see an eagle/almost extinct/on slurpee plastic cups" (lines 12-14). The times have changed for her generation. She is not able to go back and do the things that generations did before her. She can do them in another form. This is supported by the quote, "i can eat buffalo meat/at the tourist burger stand"(17-18). The speaker is trying to do all she can to keep her heritage alive. "i can/& unfrotunately/i do"(21-23). She feels it is unfortunate that she has to do it in this way.

Digging

As I read this poem, I realized that this poet is the grandson and is talking about his father and grandfather. After reading the poem, I realized that he was looking back on his past and remembering his grandfather and father. The poets grandfather and father were farmers and the poet referred to his grandfather as being a hard worker and better then he would ever be. Heaney talks about how the farming has been around for generations. In lines 17 and 18 Heaney states, "My grandfather cut more turf in a day Than any other man in Toner's bog." It shows that his grandfather was a fast worker and a hard worker too.

After reading the poem I was brought back to the stories of my grandparents and how hard they worked compared to now, granted we have advanced technology compared to a 100 years ago. It goes to show that I don't think we could live the way our grandparents did, especially in the field. They would pick by hands and now we use tractors and all the extra accessories that we have that they didn't have. Heaney shows his readers that working hard in life allows to achieve anything.

Heaney pointed out that our grandparents worked hard and that we should appreciate what they did. My grandparents always tell me stories about how hard and long they would work in the field just to get a row done, now days it takes little time. Their hard work has showed and it allows us to be where we are at in the world today.

Jump Cabling

This poem can be very passionate in a way of showing mechanics love for vehicles. Although i'm not a mechanical person and don't know much about vehicles, I could see the love from mechanics on vehicles. There is a white spot that is blank that in a sense almost seems as if the poet wants us to fill in our own sentence for that spot. But then again it could represent something within the poem as well. As I continued to read the poem, the last few lines, lines 6-8 showed that it was about something or someone else too. When it says, "When my car like the princess...." it shows that someone else is involved. So therefore it is about the love for a vehicle and the love for a, "princess."

"Digging" - Poetry Blog 1

When I began reading the poem “Digging”, by Seamus Heaney, I was a bit thrown by the first couple lines. “Between my finger and my thumb/ The squat pen rests; snug as a gun” (lines 1-2). I thought that this was an interesting way to start a poem discussing digging. However, as I read on I realized that Heaney was actually looking back on his childhood.

The poet’s grandfather and father were both potato farmers. Seamus Heaney is showing his gratitude towards them both through this poem. One example of this appreciation is show towards the middle of the poem. “My grandfather cut more turf in a day/ Than other man on Toner’s bog” (line 17). I also found it interesting how Heaney said, “But I’ve no spade to follow men like them” (line 28). The impression that I got from this line was that Heaney had neither an interest nor the desire to work as a potato farmer.

The poet goes on to state that, “Between my finger and my thumb/ The squat pen rests./ I’ll dig with it” (line 29-30). These last three lines are, for the most part, repeating the first two lines. This shows that he has already made the decision to become a poet. Another sign that he has already become a poet is in line seven where Heaney states, “Bends low, comes up twenty years away”. This tells the reader that he is looking twenty years into the past.

I thought that Heaney did a great job of gratifying his grandfather as well as his father. In lines fifteen and sixteen Heaney states, “By God, the old man could handle a spade./ Just like his old man.” Through the descriptive words of this poem, I got the sense that Seamus Heaney is very proud of both his grandfather and father, he could just not bring himself to follow in their footsteps.

So Mexicans (are?) Taking Jobs from Americans

A poem about immigrate workers seems very fit for the time. So it shocked to me to see that "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans" by Jimmy Santiago Baca was actually written in 1977. Th author writes this poem from an aggressive, angry point of view. He seems sick of how Americans treat Mexican workers and being accused of stealing jobs. "Do they mug you, a knife at your throat,/saying, I want your job?" (Lines 10-11). This line made me think about how we, as Americans, treat immigrate workers. "I see this, and I hear that only a few people/got all the money in this world, the rest/count their pennies to buy bread and butter" (Line 29-31). Is making money or scraping by the reason America started? My belief is that this county was started on the bases of making a better life for your family and to be able to live the life you want. Whether that is the freedom to practice your own religion, job or to speak your mind, everyone should still be able to move to America to experience those freedoms today as well. I feel that the author was reminding us of what we have forgotten. Nevertheless, America has become a country controlled by money and the search for it. Looking at the stock market will show how crazy we can feel when we see the greedy we have created slipping away. Back to the poem, so are Mexicans taking jobs away from Americans? Maybe, but isn't that the American way?

Digging

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney reminds me about my own life. The author writes about his grandfather and father's potato farm. He compares his job, being a writer, with working on a farm. While those occupations are very different, they both require digging. "Over his shoulder, digging down and down/For the good turf. Digging" (Lines 23-24). This passage shows that the author appreciates the work of his father and grandfather. They dig in the potato field all day for a living. "The squat pen rests/I'll dig with it." (Lines 29-30). These final lines show the author's connection of being a writer and growing up on a potato farm. He uses his pen as his father and grandfather used their spades in the field. Even though the author did not take over the family farm, I felt that the author greatly appreciated the work and admiration of his family's work. "By God, the old man could handle a spade" (Line 15). I can relate to the same appreciation and reasons for admiring my family's work as the author. I grew up watching my grandfather and father work on our family farm. Like the author, I do not plan on going into the same business. I hope to be able to "dig" in my own career rather then in my fathers'. I know that growing up on a farm has affected my life and my future, "But I've no spade to follow men like them" (Line 27). I may have different goals then farming, but in the end farming will effect my life just as in the poem.

Moving Camp too Far

In the poem "Moving Camp too Far" by Nila Northsun, the narrator cannot speak or tell of the past moving experiences or how there were battles fought by their ancestors. "I can't speak of" (line 1). Probably because he never lived that kind of life. Cannot tell the story of the battles because he was not there. "I can't tell" (4). Maybe they are not allowed to bring it up in a conversation, in fear of starting another battle. There are a few things he can do now that is is the future. "I can see an eagle/almost extinct/on slurpee plastic cups" (12-15). I feel as if the narrator is Indian but lives a more civilian life. Although he can do all those things that native Americans do, I get the impression that he does it because he feels he has to but doesn't like to. "I can/and unfortunately/I do" (21-23). The word unfortunately tells me that the speaker doesn't look at himself as being fortunate to be Indian and is not so proud like most others would be. Also when using the lowercase "i", this could mean that he feels small and not so popular.