Passion

I am really having a hard time with this. I know the things that I should be doing. For the most part I want to do them. I want to be successful and I want to make people happy. The problem is frankly a combination of laziness and an absolute fear of making a mistake. Whether I acknowledge them or not, they are the things that seem to be standing in my way of making progress. According to outside sources (teachers) that I have talked to, one way of getting over these things is finding something that I'm passionate about. Something besides watching my recorded shows every night. I would say that last times' goal was completed.... for now. But I'll keep it on again.

Goals:     Figure out something that I'm passionate about
               Write again

Not Poetry

So, I'm going to try something. I have this bad habit of having great dreams and then never really following through with them. From now on i'm thinking that if I write about them it will somehow become easier to follow through? It's somewhat terrifying actually. People I know might read this not that it would matter but it's strange to think of someone reading your thoughts without you telling them directly. As for right now I'm just happy to say that I pressed publish.

Goal for next time: Write again.

Even If You Weren't My Father by Camillo Sbarbaro

I think that this poem gave off the mood that it did because of the way that each stanza tells a story of the father. Instead of just describing what the father was like, the author used a story to make the reader see in context the father's traits that were so lovable. This makes the reader have a better connection to the father. They are able to better relate to a story and think of their own fathers in the same way.

It also brings up an interesting question about something I have never really thought about: what would I think of my father if he was a stranger? Would we be able to notice those things about our own father? I think the theme of this poem is not just the author loving the father but being able to see people's characteristics from the things they do. Not just seeing the outward act but seeing the deeper meaning behind their thinking. Then, in a way, the poem is showing that we love people for who they are on the inside and necessarily just the outward meanings they have for us.

I really like this poem because my dad is one of my favorite people in the world and I love him a lot!

A Work of Artiface by Marge Piercy

When I read this poem, I didn't think about women in general but about women from China. It was mainly because of the bonsai tree but then also with it talking about the bound feet and the dwarfed growth. But it can definitely pertain to many societies. The poet mentions things that pertain to many societies. Even in America, sure there is the old idea of the Cult of Domesticity of the 1800's, but even now with attractiveness and femininity still having a large role in our lives.

Piercy also seems to have a little bit of sarcasm. She says things like "It is your nature to be small and cozy" and "one must begin very early to dwarf their growth." It is as though she is expressing her own opinion by using the words of what she considers society's perspective of women. She is saying the things in a way that would make it seem illogical and inhumane which gets her point across that things are not happening in the right way.

I really liked the way she was able to make a point about society in this poem without bluntly saying that there was a problem.

Only a Grandma

Every year the same.
They show up
just a couple days before.

The suitcases drop
and to the kitchen she goes.

The roller is pulled from
the dark depths
dusted,
and dropped into
a pile of supplies
that we're brought
just for her.

Counters are cleared,
flour sprinkled,
and the show begins.

Not a recipe in sight;
it's all over in 20 minutes.

Green, crisp apples for my dad
rhubarb and strawberries and blueberries too.
Chocolate if we're lucky.
Cinnamon and sugar over the extra
strips of crust for a midnight snack.

Now we have dessert for the next two weeks.

Human Condition by Thom Gunn

The first thing you notice about this poem is the way it is set up. In every stanza there are 6 lines and the lines are relatively short. There is also a interesting rhyme pattern of A, B, C, B,C, A. The combination of these things makes for an interesting rhythm. When you read the first line, there seems to be a rhythm, but as you keep reading, it seem as though the author is justing writing down thoughts and the rhyme scheme seems forgetten. The result is a little bit unsettling. I feel like I want to rhyme at different times than the author does and it makes me feel uncomfortable. This feeling goes very well with the idea of the poem which seems to be the discomfort the author feels with being exposed and alone. It is implied by the title that this feeling is a very normal and almost an expected part of living life and being a human.

For the Sleepwalkers by Edward Hirsch

I thought that the main theme of this poem wasn't really discovered until the second half where the author starts talking about our hearts. At the beginning, he makes it seem that he is talking only about the interesting idea of sleepwalking, but then he mentions that "our hearts are leaving our bodies." Our hearts are out in the world trying to get to certain things, but then they are forced to "fly back" to our bodies. This comparison goes back to the safety the sleepwalker feels. They go where they want to without being afraid just like our hearts do. So then, the theme the author is trying to tell us that we need to just let our bodies have a little faith in what our heart wants. Sleepwalkers welcome things that are normally scary like darkness. In the same way, we need to welcome things that our heart wants even they are scary. And the whole reason we need to do this is so that we can find nourishment from a place that we never would have found if we hadn't tried. It's kind of like the saying "You miss every shot you don't take." In the second stanza he uses the comparison between a stairs and a window, and a doorway and mirror. It's the difference between just watching and actually doing something.

Another sidenote that I just thought was kind of cool was how the author started the poem with the word "tonight". That really emphasizes the sleepwalking and darkness idea that starts the poem.