Our Other Sister for Ellen by Jeffrey Harrison

The cruelest thing I did to my younger sister
wasn't shooting a homemade blowdart into her knee,
where it dangled for a breathless second

before dropping off, but telling her we had
another, older sister who'd gone away.
What my motives were I can't recall: a whim,

or was it some need of mine to toy with loss,
to probe the ache of imaginary wounds?
But that first sentence was like a strand of DNA

that replicated itself in coiling lies
when my sister began asking her desperate questions.
I called our older sister Isabel

and gave her hazel eyes and long blonde hair.
I had her run away to California
where she took drugs and made hippie jewelry.

Before I knew it, she'd moved to Santa Fe
and opened a shop. She sent a postcard
every year or so, but she'd stopped calling.

I can still see my younger sister staring at me,
her eyes widening with desolation
then filling with tears. I can still remember

how thrilled and horrified I was
that something I'd just made up
had that kind of power, and I can still feel

the blowdart of remorse stabbing me in the heart
as I rushed to tell her none of it was true.
But it was too late. Our other sister

had already taken shape, and we could not
call her back from her life far away
or tell her how badly we missed her.

The moment I finished reading this poem, I immediately thought of "The Things They Carried". It was exactly the same in that the speaker tells her whole story only to say that the whole thing was made up. Except in the beginning it never said that it was fiction and I truly believed and fell for the story. Not that knowing it was fake made any difference because it still felt like it was real and it probably is real somewhere else. The one thing that makes this poem’s made up sister very real is all of the use of imagery. The speaker describes her fake sister, “I called our older sister Isabel and gave her hazel eyes and long blonde hair. I had her run away to California where she took drugs and made hippie jewelry. In my head, I can see exactly what the sister looks like. Also, a good use of simile is the line, “But that first sentence was like a strand of DNA that replicated itself in coiling lies”. This really works in the poem because the whole idea of the poem talks about the possibility of a sister and that would connect with DNA. It is became compared to lies and how once you start, you just keep going and one lie gets tangled up in another. I also thought that the poem gets kind of confusing at the end mixing between the truth and lie. It was also kind of weird how the stanzas and lines were arranged because a sentence wouldn’t be continued until the next stanza. I thought that this poem was okay, but I thought that t would be especially good for our class because we have just read “The Things They Carried”, which had similar themes (storytelling). I would recommend this poem to our class and it was pretty intriguing.

Some Clouds- Steve Kowit

Now that I've unplugged the phone,
no one can reach me-
At least for this one afternoon
they will have to get by without my advice
or opinion.
Now nobody else is going to call
& ask in a tentative voice
if I haven't yet heard that she's dead,
that woman I once loved-
nothing but ashes scattered over a city
that barely itself any longer exists.
Yes, thank you, I've heard.
It had been too lovely a morning.
That in itself should have warned me.
The sun lit up the tangerines
& the blazing poinsettias
like so many candles.
For one afternoon they will have to forgive me.
I am busy watching things happen again
that happened a long time ago.
as I lean back in Josephine's lawnchair
under a sky of incredible blue,
broken - if that is the word for it -
by a few billowing clouds,
all white & unspeakably lovely,
drifting out of one nothingness into another.

I like this poem becuase I have felt the same way and it just kind of made sense and interested me. Although this poem is pretty sad, I liked it and thought that is was kind of enlightening. It is about a man who suffered a loss and now he is trying to deal with everything that has happened and reflect upon it. He lost someone he really loved and now he has become somber and withdrawn as he sits and just tries to understand. My favorite lines would have to be, "It had been too lovely a morning./That in itself should have warned me./ The sun lit up the tangerines/ & the blazing poinsettias/ like so many candles." The imagery potrayed is so beautiful and it helps contrast just how unexpected things are and even with all the beauty, there is still death. This line is also the only example of a simile in the poem.

I am pretty sure that this poem only has one meaning because it is pretty literal. It is obvious that the only that happened was that the speaker suffered a loss and is tryng to heal. I love how at the end the speaker is trying to remember everything about his life with the person he lost, who is most likey Josephine. Except the one thing I find confusing is the title, "Some Clouds." Maybe clouds stand for memories or time that the speaker is reflecting upon. I am still left wondering about the title and do not know the exact menaing. I thought this poem was okay and would probably recommend it to others. But, I do feel like it is kind of sad now that I have read it multiple times and I don't know if I would read other poems by this author. I kind of feel in between of this poem and don't hate it, but it is not my favorite.

To a Daughter Leaving Home- Linda Pastan

When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye.

This poem is really great because it can be interpreted many different ways and applied to different situations. It is short and to the point, but very meaningful. When I first read it, I thought about going to collge and how my mom probably feels. The only thing is that I think that the the way this poem is written is kind of weird. It is one big satnza and one or two big sentences chopped up into two to four word lines. It has a free verse, but I did notice a few literary devices, like imagery and how the whole poem is a metaphor. Some of my favorite lines, which are at the end of the poem actually contain imagery and a similie: pumping, pumping/for your life, screaming/ with laughter,/ the hair flapping/ behind you like a/ handkerchief waving/ goodbye. I love the imagery that I get from these lines and similie.

The meaning of this poem was very easily found and from the moment I finished I knew it wasn't just about mom watching her daughter learn to ride a bicycle. I knew that t was about the feeling that a mother gets when her daughter leaves and her concern of he daughter falling or not making it. There weren't any lines that left me confused and it all pretty much made sense, probably because it was so short and concise. I would recommend this poem to mothers or daughters because they are the only ones that would connect with the poem.

Tuesday 9:00 AM- Denver Butson

A man standing at the bus stop
reading the newspaper is on fire
Flames are peeking out
from beneath his collar and cuffs
His shoes have begun to melt

The woman next to him
wants to mention it to him
that he is burning
but she is drowning
Water is everywhere
in her mouth and ears
in her eyes
A stream of water runs
steadily from her blouse

Another woman stands at the bus stop
freezing to death
She tries to stand near the man
who is on fire
to try to melt the icicles
that have formed on her eyelashes
and on her nostrils
to stop her teeth long enough
from chattering to say something
to the woman who is drowning
but the woman who is freezing to death
has trouble moving
with blocks of ice on her feet

It takes the three some time
to board the bus
what with the flames
and water and ice
But when they finally climb the stairs
and take their seats
the driver doesn't even notice
that none of them has paid
because he is tortured
by visions and is wondering
if the man who got off at the last stop
was really being mauled to death
by wild dogs.

This poem is called Tuesday 9:00am by the wordsmith Denver Butson. As I was looking through the list of poems, I thought this poem had an interesting title and immediately clicked on it. Then, when I read it, I really loved it and what it meant. The meaning and significance of the poem is what I love about it the most. It is saying how everyone has problems and life is just one tragedy after another. The world is full of people who are filled with problems and when you think you have problems, the next guy is even worse off. And people just have constant problems that never end and that is why the poet is talking about 9:00 AM Tuesday morning. It is just saying how so much can happen at any time and anywhere; it is an endless cycle. I especially love how the poem begins: "A man standing at the bus stop/ reading the newspaper is on fire"; one would think it is such a normal, boring intro, but then in the end it is surprising to hear that the man is on fire. (I was just pulled right into the poem after the beginning lines.) Also, there are three charatcers that have terrible things happening (burning, drowning, and freezing), but the language used is so relaxed.The poet writes, "Flames are peeking out/ from beneath his collar and cuffs", "A stream of water runs/ steadily from her blouse" and "to try to melt the icicles/ that have formed on her eyelashes". (Especailly peeking sounds almost like a fun word word asscoiated with peek-a-boo, a stream of water is usuall peacefull, and melting icicles is a slow and almost pretty thing to watch.) I feel like since people have problems everyday, the speaker is tryng to make them sound almost pleasant because he is making the last character sound like he is worse off. Especially at the end, he is trying to make the last guy's situation really terrible than the guys before, so he uses the words "mauled to death". It is hard because everyone always thinks they have the worst issues until they go to the next person. The world is just a crazy place and no one knows why any of these things happen.

The poem is free verse and does not conform to any patterns, rhymes, or rules. But, the poem did have a lot of imagery. I could really imagine a lot of the things that the wordsmith wrote. Some imagery used is "She tries to stand near the man who is on fire/ to try to melt the icicles/ that have formed on her eyelashes/ and on her nostrils/ to stop her teeth long enough/ from chattering to say something; this is excellant imagery and it is portrayed vividly in my mind as I read it. Also, I like how the stanzas are arranged and each has to do with one person plus their relation to the person/people written in the stanzas before. The first stanze is about the man on fire, second is about the drowning woman next to the man on fire, third is about the woman freezing and the others (drowning and fire) near her, and fourth is all of the getting on the bus plus the driver's thoughts at the very end. I really enjoyed this poem and thinking about it's deeper meaning. Of course I would reccommend it especially to someone who really wants to get something meaningful out of a poem; this poem is clear, easy to read, and simple. The poet has such a simple and to the point way of saying something so deep and profound. It really made me think about things in the world and my own life in particular. After reading this terrific poem, I would love to see other poems that this poet has written.

With a bald spot in the middle of my hair--

In this stanza, the poet uses rhyming and imagery. The lines that rhyme are "do I dare", "middle of my hair", and "descend the stair"; "growing thin", "to the chin", "a simple pin", and "legs are thin". I think the poet uses all of the rhyming to make it stand out more. The things that stand out are all of the imagery, like the bald spot in the head or the collar of his coat resting on his chin. Knowing what the poem is all about, I can see that this is the first time that the speaker begins to speak poorly of himself and say how he is not good enough. I now know that the bald spot is signify that he is old or past his time. He speaks as if he is thin and frail by saying "they will say: 'but how his arms and legs are thin!". I can also see how he starts to think that people will judge him and will not accept the way he is. He assumes that peole will mock him, but he is just all talk and people may not even really say things about him. Through out the poem, he is constantly guessing what people say, but it is not really the truth. The speaker is stuck in his old age and self pity, that he doesn't realize that people may htink differently than what he thinks.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

In this poem it seems kind of weird that some of the lines ryme and others don't. There is not any constant form and the language and thoughts seem very varied. The lines that I like are the couplet "In the room women come and go Talking of Michelangelo". This couplet is actually repeated two times through out the poem. I think they are good lines that help the reader unsterstand more of what the poem is about. Knowing this, one would think that he was at some fancy party. First, I know it is a party because it talks about all of the women and how the come and go. Then, I know it is fancy or upscale becuase the speaker talks about Michelangelo. (Only an educated person would know that he was a Renaissance man. A Renaissance man is a very well rounded gentleman who cared about everything from the arts and huimanities to philosophy.) The speaker is trying to say that women don't care about him, they only want that perfect guy. This couplet expesses the low self esteem of the speaker and how he doesn't think he is good enough. Maybe he wanted this part of the poem to stand out and that is why he made it rhyme and repeated twice.

Prufrock is on the outside as he talks about the women who are on the inside. He is 'locked' out on the streets with the gross restaurants and one night hotels and could only dream of being with those women. This is the life that Prufrock lives and he is just a witness to all of these women that he sees. The women are at some exclusive place that Prufrock feels he isn't worthy enough to be there too. He is past his time and therefore has been locked out from most things. Getting older is hard for him to deal with and he describes everything he does as pitiful in comparison to others. Maybe at one point he did know the women that came and went, but know he is down and out becuase he has passed his prime.

Same old story from yesterday morning

I think that "to be inside" means to be a part of something. I think the poet, who uses a lot of imagery to make more of an impact, feels lost since he was an immigrant and he does not know where he fits in. Asking if he is inside someone or something is like asking if he belongs there or if he is a part of that. The lines "practice until you feel the language inside of you" is saying that the more you try something the more, it will be a part of you. Once you become familiar enough with something , you will be able to feel like you belong and can identify with that thing. This realtes to all parts of the author's life and he feels like he just wants to belong. When he says "Am I inside you? I asked once lying between her legs, confused about the body and the heart", I think the wordsmith is trying to ask if he is supposed to be there. Being an immigrant, the author has been displaced and he is confused about his own identity and how he fits in. Everyone wants to belong someplace and feel like they are "on the inside". I think that at one point or another everyone feels what the author is feeling (whether or not they are immigrants). This poem is all about figuring out what you as a person and if you fit in with your enviornment.