Saturday, May 25, 2013

Post #10

"End of Unit Reflection" 
     a.  What did you do well in this unit?
In this unit, I believe that I used figurative language well, wrote poems that were personal to me, and I relate emotionally to poems as well as discovering new things about myself.
     b.  List two or three specific things you learned that were new
or challenging for you. 
1. How to use metaphors correctly.
2. How to write personal poems or express my emotions in my poem.
3. How to make personal connections with poems/ express personal feelings about poems and discovering something new about myself after reading a piece of writing.
     c.  Decide what you would like to keep exploring, were
you to study poetry again next year.  
Some aspects of poetry that I would like to keep exploring are writing more personal poems. In my last poems, I was able to write with more emotions and make them more personal, but at first, it was difficult for me to express my emotions in my poems. If you notice my first poems, they're pretty vague, broad, and don't have that much feeling. However, the last ones are emotional, and more unique or personal, which makes the poems more special. Therefore, I can continue practicing this skill to create poems that are better and more passionate. 

TOP 3 POEMS AND RATIONALES


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.  

Post #8

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.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Langston Hughes' Mother to Son


Langston Hughes'
Mother to Son


Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
  1. What is the poem about?
This poem is about a mom who is telling her son about life. She is telling him that even though life can get hard or have obstacles, you still need to keep on going no matter what. I think she is also saying that you shouldn't look back at the past or stop because you'll fall and it will be harder to get back up. She says her life hasn't been perfect-its had many hardships and  tough times- but she's still kept on going, too.

  1. What is the theme?
In my opinion, the theme of this poem could be that even when life gets hard, you should keep on going. Another could also be that you should never give up no matter how tough things are.
  1. What poetic devises does Hughes use in this poem?
In this poem, he uses an extended metaphor do describe that his life "...ain't been no crystal stair." Then he uses various metaphors throughout the whole poem, such as "And sometimes going in the dark where there ain't been no light".Repetition is used when he says "and splinters and boards torn up and places with no carpet on the floor"and enjambment is used too emphasize important words,too.

  1. Which are most effective?
The most important poetic device for me would probably be the extended metaphor the author used to describe life as stairs. It provides a clear explanation of what he wants to say and I think that it was very clever/original that he thought of comparing life to stairs.
  1. What does the mother want the son to do?
 The mother wants the son to learn that life is hard, and when it gets tough, he still needs to keep going and keep moving forward. She is telling him to never give up, also.

"The Drum" by Nikki Giovanni.


"The Drum" by Nikki Giovanni.

The Drum
daddy says the world is
a drum tight and hard
and i told him
i'm gonna beat out my own rhythm

Post #7


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 only goal.

My legs
Are stern soldiers
They’re 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.
All I want
Is for them
To 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 try to contain it
Yet all it wants
Is to be
Free

I’ve had an epiphany.
I can’t fight
My Flaws
They
 Are the ones
I have to
Thank
For forming the girl
That now,
You see.


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Post #6



Growing Up


Welcome to Child Country
Here, Imagination rivers flow, and
The 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, and dauntless Decision warriors will invade your mind.
You’ll only have one savior to pass by this treacherous path: Hope


After this,
All is unknown, and we aspire one question.
What will the future hold?
You decide: faith or chaos

wwfwf-personification

_____-extended metaphor

gwgeg_-metaphor


1. What is your poem about?
This poem is about the different stages (childhood and adolescence) of growing up that I have gone through/ am going through. I compared those stages to different countries you pass by.
2. What do you think about it? What is your favorite line?
This poem is a bit different from the other poems I’ve written because it uses a lot of metaphors, and I tend to mostly use similes in my poems. I also like that the poem has a pattern to it, and it has a rhythm as well. My favorite line from the poem would be “Your emotions will quarrel, and dauntless Decision warriors will invade your mind”.
3.  What did you do to make your poem effective and memorable? (Writing style)
What makes this poem more effective is the use of metaphors as well as alliteration which gives the poem a bit of a rhythm. If the poem hadn’t used all the metaphors it has, then it wouldn’t make sense and it would be boring. Also, the whole poem is an extended metaphor because it helps explain the topic efficiently and clearly.
4.  Highlight where you use similes, metaphors, personification, allusion, extended metaphor, and/or figurative language. 
5. How helpful was your peer revising go? Did your peer editor see your poem in the same way you wanted them to?
The peer revising went well because my peer editor’s opinion helped me modify some parts of the poem that he thought could be improved or modified. Also, he understood what I was trying to communicate in this poem, so he saw my point of view/ my opinion about growing up.