“The piercing chill I feel” by Taniguchi Buson
This poem is so short, yet leaves you with such a significant feeling as if you know exactly how the man in the poem felt. It is about a man who is perhaps just walking into the bedroom that he shared with his now dead wife, when he steps on her comb. It portrays the feeling of the cold comb under the man's foot to death and how it must have felt to him. I can relate to the feeling of doing something so insignificant like stepping on a comb, yet that action making you remember every detail of something that happened or someone that you have lost. A poem is given power when it touches you in some way and you can relate to it.
“Embrace” by Billy Collins
This poem is about perception and the way in which we view others and how we view ourselves. It is about the “old parlor trick” where you “wrap your arms around your own body”. It says from the back it looks like you are holding someone close to you and therefore not alone in this world. From this view, people perceive you as desirable and normal. However, if you look from the front, it looks as if you are waiting for someone to fit you for a straight jacket. From this view, people perceive you as looking ridiculous and alone. It is all about how people see things, not necessarily the action that is actually taking place.
“Even the croaking of Frogs” by Hakuro Wada
This is a very powerful poem because it was written by a Japanese man who was confined to a federal internment camp. It is about hearing the croaking of the frogs on the outside of the barbed wire fence. It is not fair to him that something like a frog is able to croak on the outside of the fence when he is caged. It shows the deprivation that these people must have felt being caged like animals. It says “Even the croaking of frogs”, like everyone else was free, even the most menial animal like a frog. These frogs were free to do as they pleased and say what they wanted, but not them.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Chapter 15 reflection
“Batter my heart, three-personed God, for You” by John Donne
This poem is really interesting to me in the way that is structured. It is about a man that has committed sin and is asking God's forgiveness. The way in which the man seeks to be renewed and forgiven for his sin is very forcefully shown in his expression of word choice. It as if the man knows that it will not be an easy task for God to forgive him, but to do whatever he must in order to cleanse him of his wrongs. I especially like the part that says, “Yet dearly I love You , and would be loved fain/ But am betrothed unto Your enemy;/ Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;”. It is saying that the man wants to find God because he knows that he loves him, yet he is tied to the Devil by his sin. He is asking God to divorce him from his evil ways and take him in. Also, in the title it says three-personed God meaning God's three forms in the religious sense: the father, the son, and the holy ghost.
“Grass” by Carl Sandburg
This poem is an anti-war themed poem. It is about the bodies of war being covered up after each battle and people forgetting that they were even there. It gives you a very ominous feeling about the fact that people do not know their history. This is shown in the lines where the passengers ask the conductor where they are and what place is this, as if they had no clue that it is a part of their history. This poem makes you want to remember those people, just to tell them they are not forgotten and were just covered up as if they were never even there.
“Carnation Milk” by Anonymous
This is the funniest poem I have read lately. I think why it appeals to me is because it is so short and to the point. It is about a person who likes Carnation milk and why they like it. It goes beyond the obvious to really give you a mental picture of the type of person who would have written it though. I picture a young boy who has grown up on a farm and had to do the chores of milking the cow and pitching hay day in and day out. Its almost like a little sing song that he made up in rebellion to his chores.
This poem is really interesting to me in the way that is structured. It is about a man that has committed sin and is asking God's forgiveness. The way in which the man seeks to be renewed and forgiven for his sin is very forcefully shown in his expression of word choice. It as if the man knows that it will not be an easy task for God to forgive him, but to do whatever he must in order to cleanse him of his wrongs. I especially like the part that says, “Yet dearly I love You , and would be loved fain/ But am betrothed unto Your enemy;/ Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;”. It is saying that the man wants to find God because he knows that he loves him, yet he is tied to the Devil by his sin. He is asking God to divorce him from his evil ways and take him in. Also, in the title it says three-personed God meaning God's three forms in the religious sense: the father, the son, and the holy ghost.
“Grass” by Carl Sandburg
This poem is an anti-war themed poem. It is about the bodies of war being covered up after each battle and people forgetting that they were even there. It gives you a very ominous feeling about the fact that people do not know their history. This is shown in the lines where the passengers ask the conductor where they are and what place is this, as if they had no clue that it is a part of their history. This poem makes you want to remember those people, just to tell them they are not forgotten and were just covered up as if they were never even there.
“Carnation Milk” by Anonymous
This is the funniest poem I have read lately. I think why it appeals to me is because it is so short and to the point. It is about a person who likes Carnation milk and why they like it. It goes beyond the obvious to really give you a mental picture of the type of person who would have written it though. I picture a young boy who has grown up on a farm and had to do the chores of milking the cow and pitching hay day in and day out. Its almost like a little sing song that he made up in rebellion to his chores.
Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost
I remember reading this poem in every grade through middle and high school. I think that this poem can be taken in many different ways, but I really do not think that it has to do with religion as many people usually associate it with. Frost uses the word fire to represent the desire, greed, and power of the human race, while ice is the hate, selfishness and coldness of humanity. I think what he is saying is that the world is going to come to an end because of one, either fire or ice, according to these meanings of the word. This poem could mean several things though and has been linked to religion, humanity and even the actual events of the ice age. I think the interesting thing about a poem is that no one person reads it the exact same way.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Literature
As I have been reading the past two stories we have been assigned in English class, I have realized something. It is not that I do not like classical tradgedies such as Hamlet and Oedipus, I just have a hard time reading them. I truly enjoy these stories and think that they are very important pieces of literature to read and understand. Yet there within lies the problem, it is hard to understand a language that has not been spoken in centuries. I really think that you should be required to learn more about this almost foreign language while you are still in middle school and high school. If that was the case, by the time that you got to college you would be able to understand more about the story and it wouldn't take you two hours to read fifty pages. I'm sure it would not take the average person two hours to read, but I actually like understanding what I have read and getting the whole concept of what the author is trying to portray to the reader. I know there are classes that focus more on British Literature and stories of this nature, but unfortunately when it is not part of your major as a college student you do not get all the opportunities to learn about it. This is why I think that if they expressed the importance of this literature before we got to college it would greatly enhance our ability as students to understand this beautiful literature.
My job
So I have never worked in retail before in my entire life until now. I can't say that I hate it, yet I don't get excited when I do have to go in. I especially do not get excited when they schedule you for 3:45 am on Black Friday! Now don't get me wrong I think that Black Friday is an incredible shopping day that I usually participate in every year in order to get the best sales possible. Of course this was before I worked that day! I have never had to be up that early in my life, if anything I am usually still out. So I got to go to bed at 8pm on my holiday, in order to get up at 3am on Friday. When I got there, there was already a line of about 200 or more people standing in line freezing just in order to get the best deals. When I entered it was like the quiet before the storm, no one was really awake yet and everyone sat there just anticipating the rush of greedy customers. When the doors opened the line of people filed in one by one and the roar filled the store. The next twelve hours of my life is a blur of transactions. I could not tell you what a single one of them looked like or what I said to them besides "Thank you", which I am required to say. When I finally got off an hour later than I was scheduled, I walked outside got in my car and rode home in complete silence. I jumped into my bed about 8 pm and crashed! I do not remember waking up again until twelve hours later. So needless to say my holiday was wonderful until Black Friday!
Holidays
Holidays can be a very nice time of year, especially when you get to spend them with your family. This Thanksgiving was very special because for the first time in four years I got to go to Nashville to see my entire family. It was so wonderful getting to see everyone together and seeing cousins I have not seen in a very long time! Also we had a gigantic feast layed out on the table since everyone decided to add one of their own dishes to our family gathering. So needless to say we all ate until we could hold no more and then just sat around reminiscing and laughing. I truly wish that I could go up there every year, but unfortunately my dad seldom gets holidays off. As I get older though, I realize just how important family is and how secial it is to be able to spend time with those you love while you still have the opportunity to.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving draws nearer, it makes me realize the true meaning of the holiday. From what I can tell most people associate Thanksgiving with the food that will be devoured or the awesome football games being watched. But is that what Thanksgiving is really about? I don't think so. Yes, the food is going to be wonderful, but what is more important to remember while our eating that food is who is sharing that experience with you. You need to remember how thankful you are to have those people in your life and how great it is that you can all come together for the holidays because many do not get to. Thanksgiving to me is all about family and remembering all the things that you are thankful for in your life and in the lives of others.
Word Count: 153
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