Belly Dancer by Diane Wakoski

In "Belly Dancer", Wakoski talks of the dance almost as a form of self-expression for her. "Can these movements which move themselves be the substance of my attraction" (1-2). Wakoski explains the art of bellydancing as something very attractive and it sounds like she's almost drawn towards and needs it.. "Yet that movement could be their own. That smooth movement frightens them-- awakening ancestors and relatives to the tips of the arms and toes" (17-20). Wakoski describes belly dancing as something very unique and expressive. She compared a slithering snake to smooth movements of belly dancing. With this strange juxtaposition of something fearful, to something artistic, I can feel that dancing for Wakoski is something she holds very dear and uses as a form of self-expression.

She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo

When reading "She Had Some Horses", I felt like the poem was almost song-like from the repetition used throughout. She constantly repeats the idea of "she had horses", which makes the reader understand that this idea was very important. The first stanza of the poem acts as a representation for her heritage. Harjo describes the horses as "bodies of sand" (2), "skins of ocean water" (4), and "the blue air of sky" (5). These images Harjo invokes an earthy and environmentalist tone. Considering her Native American ancestry, it definitely had influence on her style of writing. The constant repetition of horses can be seen as a catalyst for Harjo's different aspects of herself. The second stanza speaks of her physical part of her, describing her physical features and activities she did. The third stanza talks of her history and personality. After all the stanzas, I feel as if I almost know and understand the author personally. "She had horses who who were much too shy, and kept quiet in stalls of their own making" (20-21). Just with the one sentence, I understand a part of her that was self-conscious and timid. "She had some horses she loved. She had some horses she hated. These were the same horses" (59-61). Harjo also explains that she isn't perfect, by stating she had parts she hated. With so many revealing details told by the author, the poem's tone seems very intimate and personal.

Incident by Amiri Baraka

When reading this poem, I felt like Baraka was very indifferent towards the subject. The tone throughout the poem is almost careless. But, it would be more towards being indifferent. "He came back and shot. He shot him" (1). Baraka explains the situation so simply and literal. It seems as if Baraka may not be connected to the subject at all, or maybe so connected he is trying to disassociate himself so he doesn't feel pain for his death. "When he came back, he shot, and he fell, stumbling, past the shadow wood, down, shot, dying, dead, to full halt" (1-3). Baraka goes through how the man dies, from when he was shot, to when he was fully gone. The way he phrases it, almost seems like he's making different stages for being shot. "He died then, there after the fall, the speeding bullet, tore his face and blood sprayed fine over the killer and the grey light" (4-6). This vivid image the author uses supports his indifference. He explains perfectly almost as if  he was there. "We have no word on the killer...We know the killer was skillfull, quick, and silent, and that the victim probably knew him" (11-12, 14-16). Again, Baraka shows indifference, almost as like a crime scene investigator explains a murder. Very distant and unconnected to the victim. At the very end, Baraka states "we know nothing" (18). However, this final phrase acts as a paradox. Throughout the poem, Baraka had explained the murder thoroughly, but he finally states he "knows nothing".

I, Too by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes contributed greatly to the Harlem Renaissance with his many poems. With "I, Too", Hughes spoke his mind freely during a time where African Americans were treated unequally. This poem has a proud and almost rebelling tone to it, especially considering the speaker in the poem is a slave. By reading the poem, I can sense empowerment for the slave, and for the race ultimately. "They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes" (2-3). Clearly, the slave owner looked down upon the slave and would make him eat in the kitchen so as not to be seen by others. This scenario is a great representation of how African Americans were being treated at the time. Hughes felt like they were being treated unfairly and almost like an inferior race that needs to "eat in the kitchen". "But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong" (4-6). Since the speaker is being treated as a lower being, he bides his time and his spirit grows stronger. "I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, 'Eat in the kitchen'" (7-12). The slave formulates a plan to showcase his pride and revolutionize how slaves should be treated. I believe Hughes wrote this poem to attack a problem in society that he wanted change in. When they speaker in the poem decides on a change of pace, it should motivate and inspire people in the real world to do the same and stand up for their rights. "I, Too" may have been a poem that helped many African Americans strive for change and equal rights.

Blackberry Eating by Galway Kinnell

Reading "Blackberry Eating", I noticed a certain amount of imagery that almost requires the reader to involve themselves into the text. Galway Kinnell is simply explaining how much he loves everything about blackberries. However, it is not just blackberries he is in love with. He also loves words. The blackberries he loves so much, symbolizes how he feels words are so unique and full of taste. "..the ripest berries fall almost unbidden to my tongue, as words sometimes do, certain peculiar words like strengths or squinched" (7-10). Kinnell compares the ripest berries to strange words like strengths or squinched. A word as funny as squinched is so hard for Kinnell to explain he has to compare it to something relate-able, like a truly ripe blackberry. "I love to go out in late September among the fat, overripe, icy black blackberries" (1-2). Just the way he describes these fruits is enough to depict a vivid image inside the reader's mind. However,  he also evokes the sense of touch and taste when Kinnell "squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well in the silent, startled, icy black language" (12-13). He describes the blackberries so well, it's like the reader can almost taste and feel the squished blackberries inside their mouths. I believe Kinnell cannot express how greatly he feels about words, so he gives an extraordinary description of a simple activity to help us realize his vision.

In Golden Gate Park That Day ... by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

When I first read "In Golden Gate Park That Day...", I thought it was just a simple scene where a couple go for an outing to the Golden Gate Park. It seemed very normal and the tone seemed almost casual. However, when I read the poem again, I can see what Ferlinghetti does with every single stanza. This poem does in fact, describe a couple going for an outing, but there are some many underlying problems hinted by Ferlinghetti and his specific diction used throughout. Even in the first stanza, you can sort of sense a feeling of separation between the couple. They seem to be doing their own thing, where the man is "carrying an old beat-up flute in one hand" (6-7) and the woman "had a bunch of grapes which she kept handing out individually to various squirrels as if each were a little joke" (8-13). Already it seems like they aren't acting like a true couple. Also, Ferlinghetti makes sure the readers notice the line "without looking at each other" (22) and by repeating it three times. This furthers the distance the readers assume between the couple. The final lines of the poem where the woman was "without any particular expression except a certain awful look of terrible depression" (49-51) really emphasized how the couple truly grew apart and un-fond of each other. I believe Ferlinghetti is describing how relationships deteriorate after a while, by showing how a normal seeming couple is truly two depressed and distant people.

Homework by Allen Ginsberg

In "Homework" by Allen Ginsberg, a strong amount of metaphors are used to represent his view on global affairs that he sees. In addition to the metaphors he uses, Ginsberg employs allusions to laundry based cleaners to greater describe the situation. "..and pour on the Ivory Soap, scrub up Africa, put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle" (2-3). Ginsberg specifically uses "Ivory Soap", the soap brand, because of the familiarity with the Ivory Coast, and how its dirtied by its history of violence during its gaining independence. Ginsberg believes that the violence in Africa has ruined its natural form, disturbing the birds and elephants he wishes to put back into their normal habitats. "Dump the whole mess of Russia and China in the wringer, squeeze out the tattletail Gray of U.S. Central American police state" (12-14). Ginsberg points out more problems that need to be "wringed" out, creating a vivid image of all the grime and dirt leaking out of Russia, China and Central America. I believe Ginsberg wants to communicate a message of world peace. Despite the tackiness of the idea, he uses the metaphor of the idea of laundry to communicate the message, making it seem more interesting. "..put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon till it came out clean" (15). Ginsberg clearly wants world peace, however he realizes it might take "aeons" just for it to become clean. Ginsberg wishes his dreams were true and it was really as easy as doing laundry to rid the world of its problems.

A Room in the Past

In "A Room in the Past", Kooser talks about specific memories of his grandmother in a kitchen that he has grown very fond of. He talks of "a morning light so bright you can't see beyond its windows in the afternoon" (3-4), and of "dishes jingling up in the cupboard" (6-7). He remembers specific details of the kitchen, because it was directly related to his grandmother. Kooser then fills the second half of the poem with contrasting images, creating almost a duality in the poem. "No one's at home in this room, its counter is wiped, and the dishrag hangs from its nail, a dry leaf" (10-13). He fills the reader's heads with another image, one of emptiness and no life. This image is cleverly used in contrast to the happy-go-lucky image in the beginning, to show Kooser's sort-of depression that his grandmother has passed away. "..she put them all back in their places and wiped out the sink, turning her back on the rest of us, forever" (17-19). He is obviously bitter and unaccepting of his grandma's death. Even though he sees that the kitchen is empty, he believes that she had a presence that she left there, but she abandoned it through her death. I believe Kooser is trying to show how hard it is to overcome death and its effects on family members. Kooser sees a gap where something lively and caring once was.

The Gift by Li-Young Lee

Throughout The Gift, Lee chooses to showcase the bond between a parent and their child. The title chosen was a basis for a metaphor that is seen at the end of the poem. It wasn't truly a gift, however, it represented the safety and protection a father always has over his child. "Metal that will bury me" (27) "Death visited here!" (31). These two lines represent the insecurity and fear of a child when an accident occurs. However, Lee wants to show how a parent protects a child both mentally and physically when the speaker says he "did not hold that shard between my fingers and think" (26) and "did not lift up my wound and cry" (30).

Typically, Asian household share a great sense of family and belonging. I believe Lee is showing this aspect of Asian life perfectly by showing how calm and caring the father deals with the situation. Also, in asian families, respect and look up to their elders. You can clearly see this when Young makes the speaker talk about his father in such an admirable way. The speaker shows his father with a "lovely face" (3) and having "two measures of tenderness" (10). With Lee's ethnicity, I believe he wanted to describe how Asian families function.

Facing It by Yusef Komunyakaa

In "Facing It" by Komunyakaa, a Vietnam War Veteran stands traumatized next to the memorial which he visits. Throughout the poem, Komunyakaa focuses a lot on the physical setting. He gives many parts of the setting, like mentioning he's "inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial" (10-11), describes "a red bird's wings cutting across my stare" (22-23), and talks about "a plane in the sky" (24). I believe Komunyakaa talks about the setting so much to share the sense of trauma instilled inside the veteran. When someone is traumatized, some of the symptoms include dissociation, where people almost become motionless. The veteran states "I'm stone" (5), merely observing things around him in the setting, instead of being alive. I believe Komunyakaa is trying to show us how seriously trauma affects people.

The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop

Through "The Fish", there are many literary devices that Bishop uses to strengthen her poem. While reading the piece, I noticed Bishop included many instances of juxtaposition throughout her poem. "He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime" (line 16-17), she compares an ugly crustacean to beautiful and petite roses. She does this again by comparing a "swim-bladder" (line 32) to a "big peony" (line 33). Again, two very different things, one being an organ for waste and the other being a flower bursting with bright petals. I believe Bishop is comparing these ideas to create an even greater effect of beauty on the object that is more desirable. Much like in our society, comparison between competitors is used to showcase one's superiority. Most companies these days will compare their products to an inferior or less effective product to put theirs in a golden light. I see internet service providers, like Optimum, comparing their speeds and affordability to a obviously less powerful provider, Verizon FiOS. With the comparison these internet service provider companies made for you, you are persuaded into believing what they want you to. Much like in "The Fish", Bishop uses the fishes gritty and maybe ugly demeanor to drastically improve the beauty she has found in the fish. This causes the readers to truly see the beauty she has seen, even though in reality, its probably not all that good-looking. She lightly persuades us into seeing true beauty through the comparisons of such different images. Personally, I think the use of juxtapositions by Bishop really makes the poem. For me, at least.