Poetry By Freidoon Tavallali

Frost further points out that the stretch of woods being viewed is very rural. This is made possible by the reference to the location between the woods and frozen lake. In closing the final sentence of the second stanza Frost reiterates the fact that this occurs on “the darkest evening of the year” stating the darkness of the mood.

When I think of a poet, images of scowling, mustached men whose 19th century wardrobe could use an update spring to mind—a somber Edgar Allen Poe type whose ink strokes inquire of unrequited love interests and dreary days alone in the snow. I certainly do not imagine modern, multi-ethnic women who live in the same state as me. However, as soon as I read Natasha Trethewey’s poetry, I immediately admired the way her words so effortlessly danced on the page, my mind’s eye watching the elegant choreography with each syllable read. Moreover, when I learned of her tragic history, and the strength and resilience she possessed to carry on, I could not help but to respect the way she turned pain into beautiful art. The right words carry great power

Getting old happens to everyone, it’s part of life. What we don’t realize or even think about is the way we treat these people. Some old people are impaired, or have injuries that prevent them from doing the things that we do. In several stories/folktales/poems, they have a universal theme of treating others, specifically elders, fairly, especially if they are impaired. Two very different poems/folk tales share this same theme, but have other different elements of the story. “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson” (folk tale) and “Abuelito Who” (poem) are the stories that will have their differences compared.

The title of Natasha Trethewey’s poem, “Amateur Fighter”, is what made me curious to read it. An amateur fighter is an odd subject choice. It is more common to read poems or even stories about great fighters or champions. The title also sets the tone of the poem. Obviously, the poem will not be about a hero, but instead, it will be about a fighter. It is also interesting that the poem is titled “Amateur Fighter”, yet the poem says that the fighter won a prize. It makes me think the word ‘fighter’ could mean a boxer or someone who is fighting for life or their place in it.

Billy Collins, born and raised in Manhattan, New York, is one of America’s most successful poets. Known for very famous poems such as “The Art of Drowning” and “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins has succeeded in the department of English Literature for much of his life. With a bachelors degree from the College of Holy Cross and a Masters and PHD from the University of California, Riverside, Billy Collins went on to become a college English professor at Lehman College in the Bronx. He is and for a long time has been a strong advocate for encouraging young people to get into poetry and even created the program “Poetry 180” where he made a collection of 180 poems for schools to read one poem every school day. Setting him apart from the average poet, Collins received the utmost honor from the Library of Congress when he was declared the U.S. poet Laureate in 2001, serving for two years. Following the September 11th terror attacks, Collins wrote and read a poem entitled “The Names” that was dedicated to the victims. Unlike many poets who write extremely emotional poems, drawing from their traumatic backgrounds, Collins keeps it simple and rights about relatable, average, middle class lifestyle topics; both of his poems Introduction to Poetry and Embrace are emblematic of that.

Reflections Within is a non-traditional stanzaic poem made up of five stanzas containing thirty-four lines that do not form a specific metrical pattern. Rather it is supported by its thematic structure. Each of the five stanzas vary in the amount of lines that each contain. The first stanza is a sestet containing six lines. The same can be observed of the second stanza. The third stanza contains eight lines or an octave. Stanzas four and five are oddly in that their number of lines which are five and nine.

In the second stanza, as the poet invites us to “imagine the drip of it”, I find that the sound of the words here are so cleverly evocative that they even make me thirsty! The sibilance of the “small splash”, and the pleasing clanging of consanants in “echoing”, “tin” and “mug” deliver such a strong image of water that is so needed after the image of the “crack[ed].. pod”… It is significant that the poet describes this sound of water as the “voice of a kindly god” because it emphasises to us that very often the people in such a situation (where water is so scarce), view the advent of such a commodity as a kindly act of god. What else is there to do when you have no possibility to improve your situation? What else is there to believe when you

In the poem “Facing It”, by the poet Yusef Komunyakaa, he himself is the one who is speaking, the poem is about his own life experience at the Vietnam Memorial. The way a person can tell if the own poet of the poem is the speaker is by the use of “I”, or first person throughout the poem. In this case, the poet uses words like “I” and “I’m” that support the fact that he is the speaker. The Vietnam War was a Historical event taken place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Which was one of the first war that African Americans were integrated with White people, and the majority of the soldiers were African Americans. Komunyakaa, being an African American soldier in the Vietnam War and surviving, is an honor, as not much African American’s survived. For Komunyakaa all his bad and painful experience is coming back to him to hurt him, as he is visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He is expecting to see his very own name engraved on the black granite wall, as he feels like part of him is gone and left behind in the War. In “Facing It” Komunyakaa memories from the War are coming to him and the memories are affecting his life style in the sense of haunting him/ hurting him with the use of imagery, metaphors, similes and personifications throughout the poem.

The poem “Dear Matafele Peinam” by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner is a tremendously moving poem about climate change. To begin, two of the main symbols of this poem are the lagoon and hands. Firstly, the lagoon symbolizes what the world could look like if people do not change. It shows the negative aspects of the world, and it also highlights the direction Earth is going. This symbol can be interpreted from the quote “men say that one day / that lagoon will devour you” (10-11). This implies that scientists are claiming that the Earth is headed in the wrong direction, and change is necessary before Earth devours its residents. Next, hands symbolize collaboration and change. Whenever hands were mentioned, it was always associated with change. A few examples are “hands reaching out / fists raising up” (62-63) and “marching with signs / hand in hand / chanting for change NOW” (80-82). These are powerful statements about rallies and statements about change. The hands are symbols of how the only way to save the planet for the future generations is to collaborate and work together to achieve a common goal.

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by

Franz Kappus, a 19-year old student, wanted to solicit a career advice and a literary critique for the poems he had written (“Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet” 1). Kappus solicited the advice and critique of Rainer Maria Rilke, a pioneer Austrian poet (“Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet” 1). Rilke wrote ten letters in order to provide assistance to the needs of Kappus. These letters were in Rilke’s work, entitled, “Letters to a Young Poet.”

"The Craft" is a really good movie. Like all good things, it is best left alone. Unfortunately, "life is like a box of chocolates". "Bruja", by Princess Nokia boasts sequences that give a un-subtle references to 90's pop-culture, while dropping a sick flow that is ruined by random cameos from other singers/rappers. The whole thing reminds me of the time Iggy Azalea made that song "Fancy".

In the poem “Passed On” by Carole Satymurti, the speaker tells a story almost as in a novel of their mother and how she left them a box of index cards with advice on life when she died. The speaker’s gender seems to be female. In the poem, the poet presents the theme of growing up and becoming one’s own person through the maturation and acceptance process. She personifies the index cards themselves, comparing them to her mother. They also characterize the speaker and her mother and create a mood of sadness and longing, implying that perhaps the mother has been dead for some time, but the speaker has never truly accepted this.

Rav Tam was a famous Hebrew author, poet, and composer. In 4909 (1149) he completed his famous book called Sefer Hayoshor. Many of his piyutim were included in the machzorrim of many communities. He continued his studies and his work in Torah. He corrected all the Torah books that he thought were incorrect. Rav Tam was considered a Hebrew scholar. He passed away on the 4th of Tammuz in 4931 (June 9, 1171) at the age of 71 in Troyes, France.

The second type of the pastoral is literature that "describes the country with an implicit or explicit contrast to the urban."[3]