Oliver

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 * POETRY JOURNAL**

1. Messy Room by Shel Silverstein - A poem about a very messy room, was fun to read because I could relate it to my own room.
 * __August 19th -__**

2. Life is Fine by Langston Hughes - Poem about a person's perspective on life. Interesting quote I found was "I could've died for love - But for livin' I was born". Which I thought expressed the person's desire for love while revealing his failure in finding it.

3. The New Poetry Handbook by Mark Strand - I thought this poem was very original in the way it was written. I really liked how the poem ended on a positive note, a note expressing the joy poetry gives to the poet.
 * __August 21st -__**

4. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud - William Wordsworth - About a person who sees dancing daffodils while wandering alone. I really liked this poem because of the immense imagery created of the daffodils.

5. If You Forget Me - Pablo Neruda - A love poem that uses deep nature imagery. Narrator talks about his relationship with his love, struggling not to let go of each other while away.
 * __August 24th -__**

6. In My Sky at Twilight - Pablo Neruda - Very strong imagery composing the narrators true love for someone.

7. The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost - Very inspirational poem conveying the idea of choices in life, being a risk taker and trying to experience something new and different.

8. Where The Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein - Conveying the idea of growing up, transforming from innocence to maturity?

9. Still I Rise - Maya Angelou - A poem about freedom from slavery. Was written in a time when African Americans were discriminated against, very inspirational poem for black people to believe in their own freedom.
 * __August 25th -__**

10. A Dream Within a Dream - Edgar Allan Poe - Many metaphors used, about a person's self destruction? he has let go of a loved one.

__**August 29th -**__ 11. "Hope" is the thing with feathers - Emily Dickinson - very simple language used to talk about hope as a simple idea.

12. Fire and Ice - Robert Frost - about the destruction of the world, debating whether it should end in fire or ice, and if it really matters how it ends at all.

13. Fast Rode the Knight by Stephen Crane - is about a knight riding to war, seeking the glory of victory. Strong imagery is used to portray the knight.
 * __ September 1st __**

14. On Anothers Sorrow by William Blake - Uses rhetorical questions throughout poem to question human sympathy towards others.
 * __ September 6th __**

15. Well, I Have Lost You by Edna St. Vincent Millay - Is about the story of a person who has moved on from a relationship. The direct and simple language created a connection to the reader, as if someone was telling this story directly to them. The poem revolves around the idea of moving on after something has come to an end.

16. O Captain! My Captain by Walt Whitman - This poem is about honoring the death of a person. The poem uses metaphors and imagery to glorify the captain. I found the structure of the poem very interesting also, it was divided into 3 parts.

17. Saddest Poem by Pablo Neruda - Great imagery of the narrators experiences make the poem extremely sad. He describes how his 'soul' is lost without her, and the nights he spend holding her in his arms.
 * __ September 13th __**

18.Bleezer's Ice Cream by Jack Prelutsky - Reminded me of when I was a small boy and the ice cream truck came driving by outside my house.

Checked 18 September 18/15-25 KBoyce Collection is becoming more diverse. Expand commentary.

October Readings:

19. As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes -

This poem is very inspiring, I initially first wanted to read it because of its title. I thought that the title relates very much to the life of most seniors at ISB since we are growing older and more mature. Hughes uses similes and metaphors to describe a past dream about overcoming obstacles in life.

20. Bad Morning by Langston Hughes -

Very short and comical poem. Found it quite comical because I could relate to it, the few lines and simplicity of the language made it even easier to relate to when you experience those ‘bad mornings’.

21. I Heard an Angel by William Blake -

In this poem, Blake uses a rhyme scheme to describe the angel singing and devil speaking in this poem. The use of a rhyme scheme gives the poem structure to compare the angel and devil directly. A description of the angel singing is directly followed by a description of the devil speaking.

22. All That is Gold Does Not Glitter by John R.R. Tolkien -

When I first read the title of this poem I thought of the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. This poem talks about reality and the fact that just because something is “golden” it will not necessarily “glitter”.

23. Alone With Everybody by Charles Bukowski -

This poem brings a very sad and negative perspective on life. Bukowski uses very simple language which is very direct and easy to comprehend. Bukowski tries to explain that everyone is destined to go search for ‘the one’ but in reality they never find that person.

24. Let Me Die A Youngman’s Death by Roger McGough -

I think the message of this poem is to live life as if you were always young. The narrator does not want to die a slow death in bed, rather, he wants to die the death of a young man living life. The poet uses vivid imagery to describe the boring death of an old man, compared to those of a young man.

25. How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barret Browning This poem is about a person’s feelings towards another person, and the way that individual describes the most important person in their life. Browning uses vast imagery to display the extent of the narrator’s passionate love towards another person.

November Readings:

26. I Taught Myself To Live Simply by Anna Akhmatova

This poem by Akhmatova in my opinion tried to give advice on how to live a simple life relaxed life without worries. I really liked the imagery used in this to try and convey images of the simple and relaxed life the narrator experiences, such as when he/she says when “I come back. The fluffy cat licks my palm, purrs so sweetly and the fire flares bright.”

27.I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

Because I had studied this poem very closely last year for an English project, I thought it was very interesting reading over it again. This is definitely one of my favorite poems, especially due to the extraordinary imagery and contrast in this poem. The poem reflects the freedom of a white man compared to a black man by comparing a caged bird with a free bird. The direct comparisons between the two, really emphasized the struggles of African Americans in the 1960s and before.

28. Autumn moonlight by Matsuo Basho

“Autumn moonlight--a worm digs silently into the chestnut.” Was an extremely short poem describing the autumn moonlight. I think the simplicity of the poem also emphasized the beauty of the moonlight in the poets perspective.

29. To Autumn by William Blake

Talks about the song Autumn sings of the flowers blossoming and fruits on the trees. I really liked the imagery in this poem that focused mainly on spring, I think the poem tries to reveal how even Autumn itself and everyone else can’t wait for spring to arrive again.

30. The importance of elsewhere by Philip Larkin

This poem describes the narrators or poets feelings of not having a belonging, the poet feels strange and uncomfortable in an environment that is not his home. The narrator makes the place feel depressing in order to express his own depression in an environment that is not familiar to himself. One of the reasons I liked this poem was because I think many people around the world have felt like this before and can connect with the feelings of the narrator in this poem.

31. The journey by Mary Oliver

Reading a poem by the same poet we did an in class commentary on recently was very interesting. I really liked this poem by Mary Oliver because of the imagery in the poem. This poem is about ones own journey and breaking free of the fears that hold people back from achieving their own dreams and journeys. It is also about learning to ignore the voices and critics of other people that try to prevent you from realizing your own journey.

32. Tonight I Can Write by Pablo Neruda As with most poems from Pablo Neruda, I also very much liked this one. This poem is about a powerful portrayal of the tragic feelings, pain and memories of a person someone has loved but has left them. I think this poem has a universal meaning as people around the world can connect lwith the meaning of this poem. Many people experience these feelings when breaking up with a person they loved.

33. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas

This poem by Thomas is about making the most of life before you go “into that good night” which is a metaphor for death itself and afterlife. Thomas wants to give the message that people should make the most of like like the “wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight” and who “did not go gentle into that good night.” Rather than going gentle into that good night, Thomas feels life should be explored and lived even until the very last moments before death.

34. A Dream of Trees by Mary Oliver

This poem is about the narrators dream of trees, “a quiet house, some green and modest acres, a little way from every troubling town, a little way from factories, schools, laments.” I really like this poem because it reflects the feelings of individuals when society becomes too much sometimes. It talks about the feelings desired that cannot be found inside the big cities, things such as the “streams and birds”. Places where there is “time to spare” and time to think and reflect.

35. Brown Penny by William Butler Yeats

Talks about a young man seeking love. At first the poet/narrator flips the brown penny to decide whether he is too young to love, however he decides at the end that love is so wonderful that even though you may be young, you should still try to find it. It also explains how nobody is "wise enough" to fully understand the concept of love, and that it is a very "crooked thing" that is hard to describe and understand.

36. An Old Man's Winter Night by Robert Frost

I decided to start searching for some winter poems since winter is rapidly approaching now. One of the first poems I found was this one by Robert Frost. This poem was very sad in my opinion, the poem is about the loneliness of an old man’s winter night as he sits alone. I liked the imagery in the poem, especially the line “All out of doors looked darkly in at him through the thin frost, almost in separate stars.”

37. The Winters are so short by Emily Dickinson

When I saw the title of this poem I found it quite ironic and contrasting to what most people normally say, as you often hear people say “the winter is so long.” When I began reading it however I found it quite difficult to find the meaning behind the poem. I found it interesting that Dickinson almost cherishes winter rather than disliking it like many people do.

38. Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face by Jack Prelutsky

I started reading this poem because of the title, I thought the title at first was quite comical in a sense. I think this poem reflects the idea that you should be happy with the way you are and what you look like. I thought this poem was very creative and comical. I felt the rhyme scheme also build on this comical atmosphere.

39. An Almost Made Up Poem by Charles Bukowski

This poem by Bukowski was very random to me. The poet was jumping between ideas and thoughts. I thought this reflected the title itself well as it seemed like “An Almost Made Up Poem.” He also mentioned “Angels and Gods” twice in capital letters and I thought this was interesting because it seemed as if he was voicing an opinion that things such as religion were also very random at times. Essentially the poem is about a woman who used to write poems and letters to the narrator.

40. Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold

I thought the imagery in this poem made it very beautiful to read, it seemed to be an expression of his own perspective on love. In a sense his perspective his quite negative as the emotions that run through the poem seem very blank and mostly negative. Such as when he says love “hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light”, I felt the sadness of his experience with love as it brought nothing positive to his life.

41. One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

This poem by Bishop is about ‘the art of losing’. It explores the idea that everybody losses things such as car keys, watches, etc. but I think that Bishop tries translating this idea into losing love as well. Trying to explain that everyone losses things, and that it is not the end of the world if and when you do. I really liked the structure of this poem. It gradually proceeds from talking about losing keys, to losing her mother’s watch, to losing two cities and then to losing a person (a loved one.)

42. A Smile To Remember by Charles Bukowski

The title instantly gripped my attention, however as I continued to read on I lost myself in the meaning of the poem. I didn’t really like this poem as I thought it was too negative and I could not seem to quite understand the purpose behind it. The language was very simple and there was no specific structure to the poem as everything seemed quite messy and unstructured.

43. She Walks In Beauty by George Gordon Byron

I really liked this poem by Byron. The uses of similes, imagery and a rhyme scheme really emphasized the beauty of the girl. In this poem I think Byron tries expressing how he feels and views a loved person, as someone extremely beautiful and elegant. I particularly liked the line "She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies." The simile in this comparing the girl to the starry skies was very elegant.  5 December 2011 43/45-75

44. Before You Were Mine by Carol Ann Duffy

A poem about the relationship between a mother and daughter. Initially I had thought the poem would have a more romantic tone and theme due to the title however it turned out not to be this way.

45. The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot

Like the title of the poem "Hollow Men", the poem seemed to revolve around the idea of broken down and empty desolate things. I felt that the tone of the poem established through certain diction was the most striking as it captured the idea of "hollowness" and spiritual beings.

46. A Girl by Ezra Pound

This poem was very metaphorical, comparing a girl to that of a tree growing inside the speaker's mind.

47. A Kiss by Thomas Lux

I liked the imagery of the sea and the waves hitting each other in this poem because it created a very relaxed and calm atmosphere for the poem. The structure of the poem was also significant as there were quite a few enjambments, each of these building upon a more disorderly poetic structure as if to illustrate the disorderly structure of love?

48. The Swan at Edgewater Park - Ruth Schwartz

This poem was slightly depressing in a way because of the negative attitude that the speaker seemed to have. I found it interesting the way the speaker compared the swan to the lady smoking cigarettes with a small baby.

49. Elegance by Fleda Brown

I really liked the alliteration, similes and imagery because it all added to the elegant flow of the speakers mind and thoughts. The speaker although very elegant in his descriptions of his thoughts does not seem to have a strong sense of awareness of his surroundings. It felt as though the speaker was very free and careless in a way.

50. Woman Work by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's poems tend to focus on the struggle of woman during the 1960's when they still had very little rights compared to men. Like her other poems, this poem also focuses on the struggle of woman during this time. The rhyme scheme gave structure to the poem and emphasized all the duties that an "average" woman has to do everyday and how her work often goes unappreciated by men.

51. A Study in Feeling by Ellis Parker Butler

A poem about the ways in which a musician needs to understand feelings and mood in order to write music. Also reflects through very vivid imagery the joy of writing a great piece of music through the thrill the violinist experiences in the end.

52. Dead Snips Proud Men by Carl Sandburg

I found this poem very interesting because it discusses the overall idea that no matter what, death in itself will always be the most powerful force in the world. No government or person will be greater than it because at the end of everyones life death takes over.

53. All The World's A Stage by William Shakespeare

I felt that this poem gave a good perspective and insight into how Shakespeare or the speaker in the poem sees the world as one grand stage full of drama and various characters and plots. I thought it was interesting to think of life itself as a stage where every character has their own entrances and exits just like they do on the stage in a play. I liked the strong use of imagery in the poem because it made the poem seem more lively as if to represent a play in itself.

54. Cause and Effect by C harles Bukowski

I thought the overall mood in this very short poem was very sad. The poet uses enjambments between lines that get increasingly shorter. I think the poem tries to discuss the idea of death and how even "the best often die by their own hand" due to personal reasons.

55. Again and Again by Rainer Maria Rilke

A poem about falling in love. The repetition of "again and again" serves to reflect how people continuously fall in love. I really liked the metaphor describing a person's knowledge as the "landscape of love", I feel as if everyone has a different "landscape" and perspective on love however even so, people still fall in love again and again. The speaker does however also mention the sad effects love can have on a person when they fall into "the frighteningly silent abyss".

56. Striking by Stuart Calverley

A poem about the speaker's narrative of a story about a railway passenger. In terms of the poems title "Striking" I wasn't quite sure what connection it had with the overall poem itself. I think the title of the poem could be referring to the 'striking' behavior and personality of the passenger who rides the railway with the speaker.

57. The Blind Man's Song by Rainer Maria Rilke

This poem was also quite sad as I felt the overall mood of hopelessness generated through certain negative diction. I felt the blind man, who was the speaker felt hopeless, certain words such as despair, curse, etc. portrayed this to me.

58. How To Get On In Society by John Betjeman

Referenced the activities of a highly established very rich person who would drink tea and lounge on the couch. I felt that the tone of the poem was mocking this sort of society and structure of living.

59. She Was Very Strange, and Beautiful by Michael Burch

I really liked this poem because of the very vivid nature imagery used to express the strangeness and also beauty of the woman. The rhyme scheme structure of the 3 stanzas also established a very poetic structure which made the woman and the imagery within the poem seem even more mysterious and beautiful.

60. Passport by Mahmou Darwish

Like the title of the poem, "Passport", this poem was about identity and recognition of the speaker. I really liked this poem because of the way the speaker compared a persons identity from their passport to that of who they really are (their personal identity). I thought that the speaker conveyed this idea through the use of societal imagery of buildings and structure against the nature imagery of the bird. I think Darwish tries to comment on the idea of self-identity against the identity that other people see one as.

61. Wayward Wind by Belinda Subraman

This poem struck me very hard. It is about the determination and bravery of a cancer patient to fight the last bits of pain before death itself. I felt very connected to this poem in a way because my grandmother recently passed away with cancer as well, I felt that my grandmother like Paul also had the same determination to fight against the pain and struggle of their diseases in their last periods of life. Overall the atmosphere of this poem was quite sad, however despite this sadness the speaker who seems to be the doctor or nurse of the patient does understand and underpin the bravery of the patient in fighting a disease which he knows will eventually kill him. The ending of the poem reflects the freedom given to the lost soul after their death, as Paul's ashes are spread in the wind.