If I could go back
back in time, back to my past
I would say sorry
Explication:
This is a haiku I wrote about regrets, as the title suggests. I believe the words ring true for everyone who has made a mistake in his/her past. The haiku follows the standard 5-7-5 syllable format.
Regrets fits in with my theme of the transience of youth. Time goes by so very fast and often we wish we could have done things differently in the past.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The Happiest Day, by Edgar Allan Poe
The happiest day - the happiest hour
My sear'd and blighted heart hath known,
The highest hope of pride and power,
I feel hath flown.
Of power! said I? yes! such I ween;
But they have vanish'd long, alas!
The visions of my youth have been -
But let them pass.
And, pride, what have I now with thee?
Another brow may even inherit
The venom thou hast pour'd on me
Be still, my spirit!
The happiest day - the happiest hour
Mine eyes shall see - have ever seen,
The brightest glance of pride and power,
I feel - have been:
But were that hope of pride and power
Now offer'd with the pain
Even then I felt - that brightest hour
I would not live again:
For on its wing was dark alloy,
And, as it flutter'd - fell
An essence - powerful to destroy
A soul that knew it well.
Explication:
"The Happiest Day" or, "The Happiest Day, the Happiest Hour" is a six quatrain poem . It was first published as part of in Poe's first collection Tamerlane and Other Poems. Poe may have written it while serving in the army. The poem ties in with my theme of the transience of youth as it discusses a self-pitying loss of youth.
"The Happiest Day" has a standard rhyme scheme ABAB. The poem echoes a universal characteristic: looking back, we all wish we could have done things differently. Poe also portrays his sense of imminent death. His past tense first person passive voice emanates a feeling of submissiveness toward the arrival of death. But then, The line "highest hope of pride and power" alludes to heaven and and the glory of God. It seems Poe toys with the reader's emotions by swinging back and forth from positive to negative tones. Poe also uses apostrophe, "And, pride, what have I now with thee" to dramatize Poe's pensive and capture the reader's attention.
This poem was indeed thought-provoking and I found that I could connect with Poe's sense of regret and longing to redo his past.
My sear'd and blighted heart hath known,
The highest hope of pride and power,
I feel hath flown.
Of power! said I? yes! such I ween;
But they have vanish'd long, alas!
The visions of my youth have been -
But let them pass.
And, pride, what have I now with thee?
Another brow may even inherit
The venom thou hast pour'd on me
Be still, my spirit!
The happiest day - the happiest hour
Mine eyes shall see - have ever seen,
The brightest glance of pride and power,
I feel - have been:
But were that hope of pride and power
Now offer'd with the pain
Even then I felt - that brightest hour
I would not live again:
For on its wing was dark alloy,
And, as it flutter'd - fell
An essence - powerful to destroy
A soul that knew it well.
Explication:
"The Happiest Day" or, "The Happiest Day, the Happiest Hour" is a six quatrain poem . It was first published as part of in Poe's first collection Tamerlane and Other Poems. Poe may have written it while serving in the army. The poem ties in with my theme of the transience of youth as it discusses a self-pitying loss of youth.
"The Happiest Day" has a standard rhyme scheme ABAB. The poem echoes a universal characteristic: looking back, we all wish we could have done things differently. Poe also portrays his sense of imminent death. His past tense first person passive voice emanates a feeling of submissiveness toward the arrival of death. But then, The line "highest hope of pride and power" alludes to heaven and and the glory of God. It seems Poe toys with the reader's emotions by swinging back and forth from positive to negative tones. Poe also uses apostrophe, "And, pride, what have I now with thee" to dramatize Poe's pensive and capture the reader's attention.
This poem was indeed thought-provoking and I found that I could connect with Poe's sense of regret and longing to redo his past.
Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Explication:
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is one of Robert Frost's most famous poems. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is featured in both the 1967 novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and its 1983 film adaptation.
The poem is written in 4 pairs of rhyming couplets to make a total of 8 lines. The poem contains metaphors comparing nature to gold. There is also a reference/allusion to the Garden of Eden from the Bible. The Garden of Eden is symbolic of a brief time in human history of perfect harmony and utopia. It is the "gold" that Frost speaks of. But even Eden "sank to grief", echoing Frost's theme that nothing too good can last forever. The diction is very simple - no word is longer than two syllables. The poem is written in iambic trimeter (a line with three strong stresses usually spread across six syllables).
The poem is remarkably easy to follow, but the message is profound. The rhyming adds to the surface effect of simplicity. The diction is simple, but meticulously chosen. The poem is truly more than meets the eye.
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Explication:
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is one of Robert Frost's most famous poems. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is featured in both the 1967 novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and its 1983 film adaptation.
The poem is written in 4 pairs of rhyming couplets to make a total of 8 lines. The poem contains metaphors comparing nature to gold. There is also a reference/allusion to the Garden of Eden from the Bible. The Garden of Eden is symbolic of a brief time in human history of perfect harmony and utopia. It is the "gold" that Frost speaks of. But even Eden "sank to grief", echoing Frost's theme that nothing too good can last forever. The diction is very simple - no word is longer than two syllables. The poem is written in iambic trimeter (a line with three strong stresses usually spread across six syllables).
The poem is remarkably easy to follow, but the message is profound. The rhyming adds to the surface effect of simplicity. The diction is simple, but meticulously chosen. The poem is truly more than meets the eye.
Those Winter Days, by Robert Hayden
Sundays too my father got up early
And put his clothes on in the blueback cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?
Explication:
This sonnet was written by Robert Hayden as a tribute to his foster father. The theme of the poem is revolves around his traumatic childhood. Witnessing fights and suffering beatings, Hayden lived in a house fraught with chronic angers whose effects would stay with the poet throughout his adulthood. On top of that, his severe visual problems prevented him from participating in activities such as sports in which nearly everyone was involved. But among all this hardship, his foster father gave him love and affection.
On that point, this poem also addresses Hayden's lack of appreciation for the love of his foster father, because when he was a child, he did not understand that love came in many ways, not only in kisses and hugs. This is summed up in the last stanza when he asks himself, "What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices." Key to this theme is also the line "Sundays too my father got up early", meaning that not only did his father work on the weekdays for the family, but also on what should have been his day of rest.
Like all sonnets, "Those Winter Days" is 14 lines and written in iambic pentameter. When there is no interruption of the meter of iambic pentameter, there is a sense of order in the poem. This is ironic as Hayden's childhood was chaotic and turbulent. The poem fits in well with my theme of childhood, because the poet is addressing his childhood and the love of his foster father. The entire poem except the last two lines is a synecdoche representing his foster father's love. For example, "cracked hands that ached from labor" represents how hard his foster father worked to support the family.
This poem, drawing from the poet's harsh experiences, is sincere and beautifully written. It captures the emotions of the poet growing up and brings the reader into his world.
And put his clothes on in the blueback cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?
Explication:
This sonnet was written by Robert Hayden as a tribute to his foster father. The theme of the poem is revolves around his traumatic childhood. Witnessing fights and suffering beatings, Hayden lived in a house fraught with chronic angers whose effects would stay with the poet throughout his adulthood. On top of that, his severe visual problems prevented him from participating in activities such as sports in which nearly everyone was involved. But among all this hardship, his foster father gave him love and affection.
On that point, this poem also addresses Hayden's lack of appreciation for the love of his foster father, because when he was a child, he did not understand that love came in many ways, not only in kisses and hugs. This is summed up in the last stanza when he asks himself, "What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices." Key to this theme is also the line "Sundays too my father got up early", meaning that not only did his father work on the weekdays for the family, but also on what should have been his day of rest.
Like all sonnets, "Those Winter Days" is 14 lines and written in iambic pentameter. When there is no interruption of the meter of iambic pentameter, there is a sense of order in the poem. This is ironic as Hayden's childhood was chaotic and turbulent. The poem fits in well with my theme of childhood, because the poet is addressing his childhood and the love of his foster father. The entire poem except the last two lines is a synecdoche representing his foster father's love. For example, "cracked hands that ached from labor" represents how hard his foster father worked to support the family.
This poem, drawing from the poet's harsh experiences, is sincere and beautifully written. It captures the emotions of the poet growing up and brings the reader into his world.
Son of Man, by Phil Collins from the 1999 animated film "Tarzan"
Oh, the power to be strong
And the wisdom to be wise
All these things will
come to you in time
On this journey that you're making
There'll be answers that you'll seek
And it's you who'll climb the mountain
It's you who'll reach the peak
Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be
Though there's no one there to guide you
No one to take your hand
But with faith and understanding
You will journey from boy to man
Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be
In learning you will teach
And in teaching you will learn
You'll find your place beside the
ones you love
Oh, and all the things you dreamed of
The visions that you saw
Well, the time is drawing near now
It's yours to claim it all
Son of Man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free
Some day you'll walk tall with pride
Son of Man, a man in time you'll be
Son of Man
Son of Man's a man for all to see
Explication:
"Son of Man" is a song written by British singer Phil Collins for the soundtrack of the 1999 animated film "Tarzan". Who could forget the sincere but courageous character of the ape-human in the last film of the Disney Renaissance that captured so many hearts worldwide, old and young? And the soundtrack should deserve no less credit for the final outcome and went on to win an Academy Award for Original Song ("You'll be in my Heart"). "Son of Man" is another great song in the Tarzan Soundtrack. The song fits in with my theme (childhood, youth, growing up) in two ways: (1) Disney was a predominant part of my childhood and (2) the song is about growing up and finding out who you are and where you belong.
The rhyme scheme in this song is ABCBEFGF: a simple 4-line rhyme. This makes it easy enough for the writer to rhyme lines and portray the theme of growing up at the same time. "Son of man" is repeated throughout the song as the title usually is. But the echo of "Son of man" has an enduring effect on the listener. The center of the son, Tarzan, grew up with gorillas and was adopted by the animals, but deep inside, he is still a man, a son of man. The refrain/chorus starts at "Son of man look to the sky" and ends at "Son of man, a man in time you'll be". The tone of the song is uplifting and inspirational.
This song is one of my favorite Disney songs. It portrays a simple, but significant and universal theme: the coming of age. Some of the lines are very enduring and is why the soundtrack is not like other childhlike Disney soundtracks. My favorite line is "In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn".
"Journey to the Past", written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty for the 1997 animated film "Anastasia"
Heart don't fail me now
Courage don't desert me
Don't turn back now that we're here
People always say
Life is full of choices
No one ever mentions fear
or how the world can seems so vast
on a journey to the past
Somewhere down this road
I know someone's waiting
Years of dreams just can't be wrong
Arms will open wide
I'll be safe and wanted
Finally home where I belong
starting now, I'm learning fast
On this journey to the past
Home, love, family
There was once a time
I must've had them too
Home, love, family
I will never be complete until I find you
One step at a time
One hope then another
Who knows where this road may go
Back to who I was
Onto find my future
Things my heart still needs to know
Yes, let this be a sign
Let this road be mine
Let it lead me to my past
And bring me home
At Last
Explication:
This is a song from the animated film "Anastasia" and was written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. The film's plot is based around the urban legend that Anastasia, youngest daughter of the last monarch of imperial Russia, in fact survived the execution of her family during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The song is sang by Anastasia who has forgotten her past and finds herself on a path to revisit her foggy past and uncover the secret of her childhood. This fits in with my theme of childhood in two ways: it is about a journey to one's past and childhood and the film is also one of my childhood favorites.
For most of the poem, the rhyme scheme is ABCDECFF. There is repetition of "on this journey to the past" echoing the title as many songs do. The bridge starts at "home, love, family" and ends at "I will never be complete until I find you. The tone of the song changes from uncertainty and nervousness in the beginning to optimism at the end.
Anastasia is one of my favorite animated films of all time and "Journey to the Past" is one of my favorite songs. The song is sincere and dynamic and the melody is serene and peaceful.
A Bedtime Story, by Orlando
There once was a monster called Loch
Who went blind one day at the dock
Next day a boy came
And laughed without shame
For well placed on Loch's head was a sock
Explication:
This is a limerick I wrote about a monster that we have all heard of in our childhood, The Loch Ness Monster. I called the poem "A Bedtime Story" because this poem really represents all the stories and monsters we heard about in our childhood. All of us were scared of course, but we always tried to find a way to push the frightening images of giant ogres and fire-spewing dragons from our minds. Humor was my way of reducing my fear of these monsters.
A limerick is a five-line poem in anapestic or amphibrachic meter with a strict rhyme scheme (aabba). Anapestic meter consists of two short syallbles followed by a long one. Amphibrach is a metrical foot that consists of a long syllable between two short syllables. The purpose of the limerick is to be witty or humorous and playful in nature. As such, they are often the first poems that children write. Coincidentally, the limerick was the first type of poem I wrote in elementary school. This limerick is anapestic in meter. Hopefully the joke is clear enough for readers to understand.
I Found Out Today...
I found out today
That I could not run away
I could not wake up late
Or tell life to wait
I found out today
That I could not go and play
I could not enjoy the sun
Or go have some fun
I found out today
That I had bills to pay
I could not put food on the table
Or buy my kids cable
I found out today
That my mother had passed away
When I slipped and scraped my knee
There was no one to help me
I found out today
That my hair had turned gray
That I had gained twenty pounds
And my smile was a frown
I found out today
That my son made it to Broadway
I haven’t seen him at all
Except in a box 2 by 3 feet tall
I found out today
That I could not remember the day
I could not lift my feet
Or walk down the street
I found out today
That my life had passed away
And I did not have the time
To say a proper goodbye
Explication:
This is a standard rhyming poem I wrote about a man waking up to find that he has grown old and lost the gifts of youth. It fits in with my theme of youth perfectly - the message being the transience of youth.
The tone of the poem is troubled, heavy, and melancholy, to emphasize what time and age has done to this man. The repetition of "I found out today" adds to the dreary and weighed down tone, while also giving the reader a simple structure to follow the old man's thoughts. The repetition of "I found out today" also touches on the shortness of youth, as it seems the old man just woke one day realizing he's old and unloved. The poem has stanzas of 4 lines, with 2 rhyming couplets for every stanza. Each stanza aims to portray a trouble the old man has that in his youth was not present.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Behind the Camera..., by Orlando
My Child
So beautiful, so innocent
His head is a marble
His hands small as a kitten’s paws
His movement curious
A whole world to explore
I cannot remember when I was my child’s age
But it was no doubt a happy time
Serene, fresh, right
How clear my mind must’ve been
Unsaddled by tomorrow’s bill or delusional promotions
Living in a clear bubble of blissful ignorance
Where the only problem was in the diaper
And the solution the nearest trash bin
My Child
Always smiling, always laughing
His lips pull into a smile
That melts my heart like a snowflake landed on a child’s tongue
I long to hold him
And keep him in my arms forever
I look forward to all my days with my child
Holding his hand on the first day to school
Teaching him golden rules
Skimming my finger across the lines
As he reads his first book
My Child
Forever young, but always growing
He runs over to me
And falls clumsily into my embrace
Through good times and bad
He is now my world
I don’t want to leave the present
But the future is imminent
They truly do grow up so fast
And many years from now, when I grow whiskers like the farmer’s cat
And lose my knees to time, will he hold me?
Will he find a way to let me know
That although I’ve grown old, I will forever remain
In his heart.
Until then, I’ll spend every moment for him
My Child
Explication:
This is a free verse poem I wrote from the perspective of "behind the camera". When we look at pictures, we are so often caught up in the images and colors that we never ponder on what the person taking the picture was thinking. With that in mind, I wrote a poem in the perspective of a mother taking a picture of her baby son. It fits in with my theme of childhood and youth in numerous ways: by paying tribute to our mother's love in childhood, by painting imagery of an innocent baby, and delving into the idea of past generations and new ones.
Free verse is a form of poetry that has no set meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern. However, some poets have explained that free verse must still retain some level of form. The "form" in this poem can be found in the repetition of "My Child" every other stanza. The effect I am trying to get here is to have alternating stanzas of the mother describing her son and then her own thoughts about life and new generations. Poetic devices in this poem are scarce but are present, especially in describing the son. For instance, "his hands small as kitten paws" and "That melts my heart like a snowflake landed on a child’s tongue" are both examples of similes.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Credo, by Robert Fulghum
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned — the biggest word of all — LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all — the whole world — had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are — when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Explication:
This poem is a list poem by Robert Fulghum from his book "All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Kindgergarten". A list poem is one in which the writer starts his or her brainstorming for the poem by making a list and writes the poem from the list. The list poem is a very old form of poetry. It itemizes things or events. List poems can be of any length, rhymed, or unrhymed. In this case, "The Credo" is a standard list poem without rhyme.
His poem fits in nicely with my theme: childhood and youth. Robert Fulghum's "The Credo" is really the equivalent of an ode to youth. He finds many witty ways to personify youth and childhood and glorify it. For example, "Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School." When he lists "the things he learned", every item seems to echo a more innocent, peaceful time in our lives, when the rules were as simple as "play fair" and "put things back where you found them." As a result, the tone is generally humorous and playful. But nearing the end of the poem, Fulghum touches on a more serious message, to enjoy our youth and embrace others in our lives. That message is summed up in the last line, "And it is still true, no matter how old you are — when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together." "Hold hands and stick together" is repeated twice throughout the poem to emphasize the message.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this poem. Although it is at times silly and childlike, many lines are sagacious and enduring. My favorite line is "Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we."
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned — the biggest word of all — LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all — the whole world — had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are — when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Explication:
This poem is a list poem by Robert Fulghum from his book "All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Kindgergarten". A list poem is one in which the writer starts his or her brainstorming for the poem by making a list and writes the poem from the list. The list poem is a very old form of poetry. It itemizes things or events. List poems can be of any length, rhymed, or unrhymed. In this case, "The Credo" is a standard list poem without rhyme.
His poem fits in nicely with my theme: childhood and youth. Robert Fulghum's "The Credo" is really the equivalent of an ode to youth. He finds many witty ways to personify youth and childhood and glorify it. For example, "Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School." When he lists "the things he learned", every item seems to echo a more innocent, peaceful time in our lives, when the rules were as simple as "play fair" and "put things back where you found them." As a result, the tone is generally humorous and playful. But nearing the end of the poem, Fulghum touches on a more serious message, to enjoy our youth and embrace others in our lives. That message is summed up in the last line, "And it is still true, no matter how old you are — when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together." "Hold hands and stick together" is repeated twice throughout the poem to emphasize the message.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this poem. Although it is at times silly and childlike, many lines are sagacious and enduring. My favorite line is "Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we."
Monday, May 3, 2010
An Elegy to Food, by Orlando
I pity you, tiny morsel;
Indeed, you live a life of strife.
You trivial piece of cheese
You innocent crumb of bread
You harmless chicken’s egg.
I pity you, tiny morsel, for you lead
A lonely life, with none a friend
Because once the leviathan sees you
It’s goodbye, adios, the end!
Cheese, I’m sure the others have told you
Cheddar, Monterey Jack, your beloved spouse, Macaroni
That the human nose can detect eight hundred smells
Of which includes the odour, cheesy.
And you, Tiny Crumb, hasn’t Mama Loaf told the tale?
Of the human mouth, said to contain
Rows and rows of teeth sharper than the corners of a Graham cracker
And molten saliva
Hotter than a Caffe Mocha at room temperature
And, alas, my beautiful chicken’s egg
I mourn for you the most
Even you, in all your curvilinear glory and immaculate whiteness
Cannot be revived
For the only thing the human mind computes upon seeing you is
Boiled, scrambled, or fried?
Oh, how I pity you, tiny morsel
But I beckon you, do not lose faith
There is always hope you see –
A promise land, a life with at least average dignity
Once you have traversed the human esophagus
Become compressed by peristalsis
Thrown around in the stomach
Showered down with acid
Completed the six meter intestinal route
And endured tickling under the forearms by pancreatic enzymes
Until you reach the end line and become rectum-ified
There, you will be greeted by the Angel, Anus
A most charming fellow
And then, I promise you, tiny morsel
Everything will be okay
For your Heaven is only
A gentle flush away
Explication:
This poem is about food! Everyone loves food, but as a teenager myself and a witness to the tremendous appetites of some of my peers, its safe to conclude that food is a frequently reoccurring thought in the teenage mind. This fits perfectly with my theme, the theme of growing up and going through different stages in life.
This poem is, in essence, a mock elegy (in my own words, a play on an elegy with characteristics of a mock epic). Several poetic devices are used throughout the poem. There is no set rhyme scheme, but I used rhyming throughout the poem to add to the playful humor and tone. I also used similes, imagery, and inflated, bombastic language to add to the effect of a mock epic. An example of this would be, "Of the human mouth, said to contain rows and rows of teeth sharper than the corners of a Graham cracker and molten saliva hotter than a Caffe Mocha at room temperature".
I also alluded to the idea of Heaven from the Bible near the end of the poem, where the food has met the Angel Anus and flushed to its "heaven".
School, by Orlando
School. Is it necessary?
Is it reasonable, is it practical?
What does a ten year old get from learning about non-real numbers
That exist in a world of their own?
Will algebra help me fry an egg?
Will knowing that E=mc2 get me to the supermarket any faster?
Will learning about Social Darwinism really help me find my soul mate?
Perhaps…
But the question remains.
School. Is it necessary?
Is it reasonable, is it practical?
Does a sixteen year old teenager really care whether he is preached evolution or creationism,
When all he can think about is reproduction-ism?
270 days of the year, give or take
1600 hours, take or give
And for that matter, is it “taking a crap” so much as “giving a crap”?
These are the questions the school board can’t provide textbooks for!
So stop cutting the budget and start cutting to the cheese!
But really, at the end of the day
Who needs science, when we have cars, trains, airplanes?
Who needs math, when we have calculators?
Who needs literature, when we can express our happiness with a smiley face
And indicate our laughter with three letters?
Who needs history, when the new generation lives for today, and today only?
School…
Is why this poem is due tomorrow.
Explication:
This is a free verse poem that follows the thoughts of a teenager contemplating the value of school. He is ambivalent because he doesn't understand why school is so important but he is constantly told how significant a good education is. My theme is childhood and obviously school is a big part of that.
I tried to make the tone informal enough to fit the voice of a teenager and at the same time hint at a more serious issue being touched upon in the poem. The last 5 lines presented as open ended questions serve to suggest that although the boy questions the value of school, in the end he acknowledges the significance of a good education. There's a reason so many of our enlightened forefathers pushed for free education for all. The last 5 lines play at sarcasm.
There are really no poetic devices here, other than the repetition of "School. Is it necessary? Is it reasonable, is it practical?" In essence, the poem aims to poke fun at the reader and approach school in a different, refreshing perspective.
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