- Original Poem:
“The Cries of Night”
a restless night
i’m on the brink of sleep,
but not quite
because
the sound of the T.V.
on in to the early morning hours
because
the sound of a baby next door
crying for a mother that won’t come
because
the sound of police sirens
getting louder every second
because
the sound of arguing
words drenched in hatred
all these sounds
always there, always loud
yet, they haven’t been a problem…
Until Now
Reflection: This poem was written as a response to the poem “Song of Myself,” so it could be seen as an allusion to said poem. I utilized several other literary devices, including enjambment and repetition. I did this to create a kind of “list” format, as seen in “Song of Myself.” Overall, this was one of the pieces I was most satisfied with, though it did go through a lot of revision.
2. Original Poem:
“The Kinda Poet I Wanna Be”
I wanna be that kinda poet
the one that can comment, on like
mortality
or something
by just writing about,
a wheelbarrow
or something
Reflection: This poem was a free write I wrote on my own time, when I was fairly frustrated and lacked inspiration to write about anything “good.” This poem alludes to William Carlos William’s
poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” a favorite of mine. While researching William’s poem, I came across many explanations and theories about what the simple poem meant. It was very impressive, and I aspired to be able to write like that.
3. Sonnet
“A Sonnet for the City I Call Home”
This bright city never truly does sleep,
Despite it’s liveliness it can not hide,
Sorrowful tales buried not quite so deep
The lonely people with their broken pride
The families struggling to make ends meet
The children all but forfeiting their lives
The lies this place crafts are never quite sweet
As hopeful idealists try to survive
Every soul in this city isn’t blind
They may lie and claim that they do not know
The truth of this melting pot of mankind
The life of hard times and living down low.
Despite my loathing of this wretched place,
Living elsewhere would be such a disgrace.
Reflection: The sonnet was by far the hardest thing for me to write. I’m much more accustomed to writing free verse poetry, so writing with so many restrictions was quite challenging. Additionally, I had a very hard time starting this poem. I wrote so many ideas and first lines, but they were all quickly abandoned. In the end, I just wrote a normal poem with the same amount of lines and rhyme scheme, and then edited from there. I’m sorry to say that my iambic pentameter isn’t quite up to par, but it was the best I could do.
4. Heart poem: “Buffalo Bill ’s” By: e. e. cummings
Buffalo Bill 's
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
Jesus
he was a handsome man
and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister Death
Reflection:
E. E. Cummings was one of the most innovative poets of the early twentieth century. He shook the writing world with his own original style that managed to be beautiful despite it’s simplicity. One of his poems, “Buffalo Bill ’s,” is my heart poem. This poem is not only intellectually interesting for me, but is also personally important to me. The poem’s combination of word choice, literary devices, and themes overall made me choose this as my heart poem.
The use of word choice was very important in understanding this poem. For example, the use of the word “defunct,” meaning no longer existing or functioning, had importance. Buffalo Bill used to be an icon of America’s frontier, but the poem, written shortly after his death, shows how people didn’t really have a use for him and the ideals he represented anymore. The usage of the word defunct leads me to believe Cummings thought that Buffalo Bill was pretty much useless. Additionally, in the first line of the poem, there is a space between Bill and ’s, implying that the poem isn’t just referring to the historical figure, but to any kind of classic American hero. Buffalo Bill becomes more of a symbol, rather than just one man. This is meant to make the theme not only apply to the only mentioned idol, Buffalo Bill, but to make the poem more general. Additionally, in the sixth line, Cummings combines the words one, two, three, four, five and pigeons, just, like, that. This is meant to add to the pacing of the poem. It is meant to be read as if you were watching it actually happen. The actual event was fairly quick, so this word combination is supposed to mimic that.
Furthermore, the use of literary devices are relevant in the comprehension of this poem. In most of E. E. Cummings’ work, enjambment was very common. The purpose of enjambment in this poem is to bring up a new idea. Instead of dividing his poem in to stanzas, he breaks apart his sentences and phrases with line breaks. Different ideas are emphasized in different parts of the poem. Additionally, E. E. Cummings’ poems were also usually free verse. This is mainly because his poems are more of a flow of ideas and thoughts, rather than with complex and thought out rhythms and rhymes. It also gives the poem a simplistic aura, while also getting a theme across. This poem is seemingly like an obituary for Buffalo Bill. Buffalo Bill died in 1917 and this poem was written in 1920. The poem addresses the fallen American hero for both nostalgia and reflection on the past.
The main idea of this poem strongly resonates with me. The first half of the poem is told from a child-like perspective. It shows someone who was fascinated by Buffalo Bill and how he would ride his horse or shoot at pigeons. This section mainly builds up to the next section. The next half of the poem is told from the perspective of a more mature person. The narrator is sarcastic and poking fun at the once great hero of the American Frontier. The change of perspective and mention of death both seem to lead to the concept of death of the innocent or past ideals. The next half of the poem is told from the perspective of a more mature person. The narrator is sarcastic and poking fun at the once great hero of the American Frontier. The change of perspective and mention of death both seem to lead to the concept of death of the innocent or past ideals.
This unique combination of elements in this poem made me choose it for my heart poem. The combination of word choice and literary devices certainly made for a very an interesting poem, albeit a somewhat confusing one. The theme also really struck a chord with me. Although I learned of all this after researching and contemplating this poem, I had first heard it as a child. I was very little and didn't really understand what I was reading, but the words stuck with me for some reason. I think it was the non-conformity of the poem that made me like this poem the most. I had always thought poetry could only be in a set pattern and always had to rhyme, but this poem changed that for me. I didn’t just learn something about word choice, literary devices, themes, and whatnot, but I also learned what more the world of poetry had to offer. And I’ve been writing and trying new things ever since.
