Jail Mate: Poem Analysis

Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, and doctoral candidate in Education at Harvard University with a concentration in Culture, Institutions, and Society. Smith Clint wrote a poem called “Something You should Know.” The poem is about an early job he had in a Petsmart. The poet allows the readers into his personal life, but before he had trouble opening up to people and his work. Moreover, Clint wrote an insight in the poem about relying in anything to feel safe and he says it is the most terrifying thing any person can do.

I wanna actually grow up and succeed and instead of follow, lead. I wanna grow up to actually become a model not sit there and hold a bottle. I never wanna get up when I hear the alarm, but then again I never wanna marry Jake from state farm. Even Though, the alarm makes me wanna put a bullet through my head I know i'm better off at school then in the bed. I could get my 90 up to a 99 just fine. I don't wanna work at a booth selling Babe Ruth. As this ends I gonna try harder, and date

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

“Something More” by Tracey Moffatt is a formal and stylistic experimentation photography and her work draws on her own childhood memories, popular culture, as well as the history seen in still cinema, art and photography. Apparent in her works are themes such as childhood cruelties in suburban life, the mutiny of stereotypes and relations between white and black Australians. In her works, referencing to the artist’s own life and experiences, Tracey Moffatt draws on her Aboriginal background as a foster child growing up in Brisbane in a foster family in the sixties, avidly consuming images from magazines, films and television.

The Lord spoke to Mo`-ses somewhere in the wild Of Mount Si`-nai inside where they knew, Of Is`-ra-el’s whole congregation beguiled, In the first day & month, & year two. “This visit came after the exodus from E-gypt-land, saying, “Now is the time To count the entire congregation, the sum Of the children of Is`-ra-el’s prime. “To name ev’ry one of their father’s house, by Ev’ry male in each clan by their names.

Dawe in his poem ‘Drifters’ presents the inevitable nature of change, particularly change that is unwanted. Moreover, Dawe manifests the diverse responses individuals have when encountering change in their lives and the transformative impact of change. These prominent themes are manipulated through the motif of travelling, flashbacks and symbolism.

The “Hard Rock” was a main inmate in the poem. The name of Hard Rock is based on a hard nut to crack because he was the only one inmate who never submitted and gave a lot of troubles to officers. The Hard Rock was treated really badly and punished as warning to other inmates in the hospital. Why he was treated so badly is because not only he never submitted to officers; there might be that he was a black person. While the Hard Rock was treated badly, other inmates were very submissive to officers because they did not want to be treated in the same way as Hard Rock. He was forced under the strong power in the oppressive community, yet he had the power of perseverance and was very strong; hence, his attitude has not changed through the poem. The Hard Rock was a hero for other inmates because he was very strong, against the authority, and brought hope to other inmates in the poem “Hard Rock Returns to Prison” by Etheridge Knight.

I notice that Kay Ryan develops the meaning of the poem from literal to metaphorical. She does this throughout the stanzas. The first stanza says, “They are not imaginary but accessible only intermittently.” She uses language that leads the readers to believe that this poem is literal. In the second stanza, this is where the meaning of the poem shifts from literal to metaphorical. She says “Seasonal, shall we say, in the way of the exquisite high parts of Yosemite”. After reading and examining this stanza, the meaning of the poem opens up and changes from literal to metaphorical. What if “These places” weren’t actual places, they were a state of mind. This makes sense because a feeling or a state of mind is not imaginary, it’s real and certain feelings are accessible only occasionally, hence the word “Seasonal”. Plus, if the

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

Poetry can be divided up into different forms, more easily expressing an author’s emotions and intent with their poetry. For analyzing purposes I chose the poems Self-Help by Michael Ryan, Ghazal by Agha Shahid Ali, Psalm 150 by Jericho Brown, and Emergency by Michael Dylan Welch.

Society A: The Ancient. Your transported here when your almost done aging. Society B: The Brave. They always do the extreme and wild. If we ever needed anything they would be are army.

Many may say that within every piece of literature, object, and spoken word there is a deeper meaning, or perhaps a hidden message. These hidden meanings are often hard to find and require more thought. In the three poems “The Unknown Citizen”,“Old Age Sticks” , and “Anyone lived in a Pretty How Town” there is a hidden meaning behind each word. Some could say that they all tie together in some way. The three messages from these three poems will be examined in the paragraphs below. Here is the way these three messages, can be deciphered within each text.

Yeah Ayo, bros, it's time. It's time, bros begin Straight out the slippery dungeons of rap. The drum drops deep as does my torch.

the poem “ Crushing” is a narrative with a central theme of the youthful years of under-privileged juveniles with vivid images of theft, racing, intoxication, and calming ending of a beach vision. The poem is a wholesome picture that goes from being wild in the beginning to a calming image of a beach and stars at the end, which is also a technique of the poem that is taking readers on a journey. It spectacularly builds up images of fancy and elegant partying, to a calming end of evening beach scene. This could be represented by the core question of the poem that, the youthfulness of someone is intoxicating when someone gets lost in translation and becomes dazed and confused.

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.