The Map of Growing Up
Welcome
to Child Country
Here, Imagination
rivers flow,
and
trees stand tall,
with
leaves of dreams.
One
atrocity cannot
enter: Sadness
Welcome
to Teenage Territory,
Where
Confusion rules the land.
Your emotions
will quarrel,
dauntless Decision
warriors
invade
your mind.
You’ll
only have one savior
to
pass by
this
treacherous path: Hope
After
this,
All
is unknown,
What
will the future hold?
We
don’t know
But
if you’re auspicious
There’s
only one path
your
future follows:
Happiness
Rationale:
One of the reasons why I chose this poem is that it
was the first poem I wrote that I felt truly conveyed my emotions. It talks
about being a child, and the teenage years; which I am currently living. In
this poem, I talk about how now that I’m a teenager, I always have mixed
emotions, we have to make tough decisions, and at times, we feel confused. In
my previous poems, I hadn’t talked about what it felt like to be a teenager or put
emotions into the poems. Additionally, I loved how I divided the different
stages of growing up into countries or territories because I thought it was
clever and interesting.
Due to the stages of
growing up (child and teenager) being compared to countries and territories, I
named the poem “The Map of Growing Up”. I also chose this title because it’s a
captivating line that will catch the reader’s attention. The whole poem is an
extended metaphor, since being a child is a country and teenage years are a territory.
It has personification when it says “confusion rules the land”, and metaphors
such as “…trees stand tall with leaves of dreams”, too. I tried to use line breaks so that they added
some suspense to the poem, but not so much because I didn’t want it to become
very dramatic. I used white space by dividing the poem into three different
stanzas that talk about childhood, teenage years, and the future. The tone of
this poem can be described as happy at the beginning, serious in the middle,
and suspenseful towards the end.
In this poem, I was
trying to express that when you’re a child, life is all about hope, happiness,
and dreams. However, once you’re a teenager, you’re always confused, troubled,
and you have to face difficult choices. Although I say these things about being
a teenager, I also said that we hope that tomorrow will be better, and that
drives us forward. Finally, I wanted to say that if you’re optimistic or
positive about your future, then you’ll be happy, so even though you never know
about the future, you should look forward to it.
The Army of my Flaws
They
come
Barging in.
Culprits of
happiness
Ominous,
Ferocious
Flaws
No benevolence
In
their hearts.
To
consume my soul,
That’s
their goal.
My
legs
Are
stern soldiers
They’re
like tangled tree roots
Tough
and tenacious
All
they do
Is
make me
Fall
My
strong,
Stubborn
curls
Are
a sea of savage knots
They
flow
The
wrong way.
Why
won’t they
Go
away?
But
when my legs
Make
me fall
I
learn
To
rise again
Even
when
The
drop is high
I
get back up
And
kiss my troubles
Good
bye.
And
my hair
Is
just like me.
I
endeavor to contain
it
Yet
all it wants
Is
to be
Free.
I’ve
had an epiphany.
Conquering
my flaws
Is
an incognito
Future.
Instead,
I’ll
thank
My
flaws
For
forming the girl
That
now,
You
see.
Rationale:
I chose this poem because of the
figurative language that it has. I liked the different metaphors the poem has.
Also, I wrote about a few of my insecurities in this poem, which makes the poem
more personal and gives the reader an idea of the type of person I am. Additionally,
when I was writing this poem, I realized that the flaws I wrote about
characterize me, and without them, I wouldn’t be the same person.
The title of the poem “The Army of
my Flaws” is basically the main idea of the whole poem, since the poem
describes and refers to all my flaws as an army. The figurative language of the poem includes
metaphors, similes, personifications, and the whole poem talks about an army of
flaws, so it is an extended metaphor. Some metaphors include wen I say “a sea
of savage knots” or “they are tangled tree roots”. I used the white space to
divide my flaws; like one of the stanzas was about my hair while the other one
was about my legs. Or, some stanzas were like an introduction to the poem while
other stanzas talked about me accepting my flaws. Enjambment was used a lot in
this poem. This made it much more dramatic or suspenseful. The tone of this
poem can be described as serious/sad at the beginning, but maybe inspiring
towards the end of the poem as well.
In this poem, I was trying to say
that you can’t defeat the flaws you have, so you should accept them. Also,
without those flaws, you wouldn’t be the same person emotionally or physically.
They make each one of us original; without them we might all be the same. For
instance, in my opinion, my hair is one of my flaws. However, that’s how people
recognize me. Everyone has a flaw that makes them unique, and in this poem I’m
trying to say that you should be proud of your flaws for that reason, too.
Don’t
You Remember?
Don’t
you remember?
When
we would dance
to
TV tunes
Looking
like lunatics,
in
our flamboyant,
flashy costumes
And
even though
all
you wanted was rest
Still,
you found strength
to
twirl me through
the
twisting tunnel
that
is my life.
Don’t
you remember?
When
your car was a concert
Belting out Beatles songs,
I’d
weep of laughter
You’d
grin and beam
When
inside,
Your
troubled heart
was
the picture of pain
Don’t
you remember?
The
last time I fell
Tears
streaked my face
Sorrow
was my soul
And
you held me close
Your
words the lyrics
To
the song
I
still sing
“
its ok to fall,
it’s the only way
you’ll learn
to rise”
Don’t
you remember?
When
that girl,
Was
only
a
demure spark
Slowly,
She’s matured
Now,
she’s a luminescent fire
At
times,
She
stings your skin
She
burns your heart
At
times,
All
you desire
Is
for the fire
To
transform into
That
tiny flame
She
once was.
Rationale:
Since this poem is a bit different from
the other poems I've written, I decided to include it in my 3 final poems.
Unlike the rest of my poems, in this one, I included specific scenes and
memories from my life that I share with both of my parents. I liked that this
poem had those scenes from my life because they make the poem unique, personal,
and special to me; since no one else has experienced those memories.
The title of this poem, “Don’t You Remember?”
is a recurring line that appears in the first verse of the beginning stanzas,
so I named the poem like this. Mainly, this poem consists of various metaphors,
such as “your car was a concert” or “the twisting tunnel that is my life”. I
included some alliteration, too, which gives the poem a bit of rhythm. As for
the white space, at the beginning, I divide each memory into a different stanza,
and that’s how I divide my thoughts, too. The line breaks of the poem add
suspense to it as well. Additionally, the tone or mood of the poem is happy at
some parts, but it’s also sad towards the end.
In this poem, I tried to communicate all the
lessons and the joy that my parents have given me as they’ve raised me. Also, I wanted to say that they are the ones
who’ve watched me grown from a shy, tiny girl into the person I’ve become.
However, as I’ve grown, I’m not as dependent or innocent as before, and at
times, I can be rebellious or hurt their feelings unintentionally. Although the poem is written from my point of
view, towards the end of the poem, I wanted to write a little about how my
parents felt about seeing me change and grow up as well.
