Reflections on Poems

Silence p. 708:

    Marianne Moore's poem, "Silence," is about a father expressing his thoughts or advice to his child. The poet explains the father's advice about superior people, in his own word's, the father is quoted throughout most of the poem. The thoughts that the father is giving about superior people, is that they never make long visits, independent, they like to be alone sometimes, and that they are robbed by their speech. The father is trying to express that once you speak your thoughts then they are known to everyone, therefore you are robbed by it. I believe the quote, "The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence," is the main point to this poem. This quote is trying to express that actions speak louder than words. You can not just say your going to do something and then not do it, this is what the author meant by being robbed. Rather, if you just do what you're going to do, without just saying it, then you show by action not words.

Grass p. 714:

    Carl Sandburg's poem, "Grass," makes a huge statement about history and war. The poem talks about how grass grows overtime and how we forget things that happened at certain places. Sandburg is expressing that where certain battles and wars happened, that there is now grass that covers these areas and that they are covered up and hidden now. This poem really touched me by this. It expresses how we have forgotten about all the souls that have been lost and the battles that have been fought. It as if the grass is covering up, for all these tragic deaths, and people want to forget that these wars ever happen. This poem gives us this strong message of how people have forgotten these tragedies, by the use of grass covering up these battle grounds. I believe he is trying to show us, that even though the ground has changed and it now covered with grass, that people should still remember these battles and the souls that were lost, and not be like the grass, that hides and covers these battle grounds now.

Lonely Hearts p. 721:

    Wendy Cope's poem, "Lonely Hearts," describes personal ads in newspapers. It seems as if involves two speakers, that are writing back and forth. The poet repeats the first and second lines throughout her poem. These two lines are in the form of a question, as if a lonely heart is stating something about themselves and also stating what they are seeking for, and then asking the other lonely heart if they are the person they are seeking for. This poem involves a man and a woman, who seem to be writing to one another. This technique that Cope uses, with two different speakers are what makes this poem interesting. It reminds me of the song, "Escape," by Jimmy Buffet, in which he uses this same technique, of two people talking to one another by personal ads. In fact this is what intrigued me to read and reflect about this poem, because the poem reminded me of the song, or really vice versa, because the poem was written first. This shows that this idea of using two different speakers throughout a poem or song is still used today.

The Piercing Chill I Feel p. 743:

    Taniguchi Buson's poem, "The piercing chill I feel," even though only three lines, gives us a lot of imagery. I could see and imagine this scene of a widower stepping on his dead wife's comb. I could imagine a man stepping out of bed one morning closely after his wife passed away, onto comb. When he feels the piercing of the comb on his heel, he not only feels this, but also he remembers his dead wife. Feeling and seeing her comb, sends a chill through his body, as if his dead wife was right there with him. So, even though this poem is very short, I could still imagine this in my mind as if I was right there watching it happen.

The Victory p. 748:

    Anne Stevenson's poem, "The Victory," is about a mother who thought she would be fulfilled and victorious in life by having a baby. The mother believes that she has won when her baby boy is born. But as the poem goes on, the mother seems some what resentful in her decision and regrets having a child. She realizes that having a baby is a lot of work. She then begins to believe that it is not her that is victorious, but it is her baby, son who has won. The mother is very upset at this fact and questions why she must love him, since it is him who won in the end and not her. This poem is very sad and shows how some mothers want to deny their children. Also, how some mothers get very upset at the fact that their children get all the attention and they do not receive any.

Not Waving but drowning p. 757:

    Stevie Smith's poem, "Not Waving but Drowning," gives us the image in our mind about a person who is need of help, and who is crying out for help, but no one realizes it, in time. He relates this message as if a man is drowning in a pool. The poem involves two speakers, the dead man and a speaker who is talking about him. As the speaker talks about him, it as if the dead man replies to correct what he says. The message within this poem is to be close to people, and to not go out to far, where people can not hear you.