"the lesson of the falling leaves" -Lucille Clifton

          I really liked the style of this poem. It was simple, light, and almost child-like. I've heard the name Lucille Clifton long before this class, probably even since elementary school, which would make sense because of her style. After looking her up I thought this quote from her was interesting and refreshing: "I never thought I would be a poet. The only poets I ever saw were the portraits that hung on the walls in elementary school in Buffalo, N.Y.. Old, dead white men, with beards, from New England." Most poets we've learned about, even from this packet, had hard lives that resulted in their twisted personalities that showed through to their poems. That's why I really like Clifton. She goes back to that simplistic happy idea of poetry that I remember learning about growing up. Someone in class said this too I think, but this poem has the same repetition as a circle poem kind of. How the beginning idea connects with the ending idea that a person agrees with the faith the leaves have to let go. Short and sweet... but I liked it :)

The Guitarist Tunes Up- Frances Cornford

     I really liked the imagery and meaning of this poem. We discussed it in class and some people thought it was sexist and the man was controlling the woman like he would with a guitar, I don't agree with this at all. The last line he says, "Before they started, he and she, to play." Instead of saying that he played the guitar the author says they, as if they are one and pointing out he can't accomplish the music without her, or the man without his guitar.
    This poem is pretty straight forward in the meaning and doesn't really have a deep meaning, yet still makes an impact on the reader. I definitely like Cornford's style because it's different from most of the other poems in this packet.

Nothing Gold Can Stay- Robert Frost

       Since we're talking about allusions....
     This poem is obviously a biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden and how the good things in life are hard to hold onto and don't last long.
      The first two lines Frost says god is nature's "hardest hue to hold" like that innocent birth of something new or even literally, wealth. These things being hard to preserve and keep innocent or stay wealthy. He continues to say that the leaf momentarily turns into a flower, but then turns back into a typical leaf again. Again, referring to those things that are exciting and beautiful when they're new but eventually fade away into the background again when we can't hold onto them. Then the final line really sums up the whole idea: "Nothing gold can stay." Referring to Eden and dawn, nothing that perfect and pure can stay in our world without being corrupted.
      All of the four couplets rhymed and flowed together, which symbolizes that perfection that Frost talks about. Most poems aren't this structured and by the standard "rules" of a typical idea of a poem. Even though it's simple its a very moving poem.

"Many red devils..." -Stephen Crane

      I picture the author, Stephen Crane, sitting at his desk and after keeping his deepest thoughts and struggles bottled up inside, finally letting them out on paper and being in shock what his own mind was really like.  He says, "It was strange/to write this red muck/Of things from my heart." Sometimes I don't think we realize how frustrated and troubled we really are until we get it out on paper or even say it out loud. I picture him just writing and writing until he's let everything out and then rereading it and that's when he realizes how strange it is to pour his heart out and be honest with himself. His imagery really brings the poem and 'red devils' from his heart, to life. It helps bring out the emotion.
      I pretty much agree with everything else that we said during the discussion and this is all I had to add to it!

The Golf Links- Sarah N. Cleghorn

The gold links lie so near the mill
      That almost every day
The laboring children can look out
      And see the men at play.

    This poem is about social classes and how twisted they were in the 1800's and early 1900's.  Cleghorn lived from 1876 to 1959 so we can assume this was the time period she was talking about. She joined the socialist party officially at 35, but had been working on labor issues independently before that. She continued as an activist against lynching, the death penalty, child labor, and more, until she died. This poem is the most well known that was written by her.
      I found this poem extremely sad and eye opening to the extremes back in this time. How children were expected to work to bring home the little money they got for the dangerous and extreme jobs they did. While the men, who probably owned these 'mills', were selfishly out golfing and playing, without realizing the injustices they were contributing to. The children should be the ones at play, not the adults.
      The rhyme scheme reminded me of a childrens song or poem, which is extremely ironic. It has a certain rhythm that makes you ignore the words and just notice the sounds, like the people who turned their backs on the child labor abuse going on during this time and acted like everything was good and happy.

Oh, No- Robert Creeley

If you wander far enough
you will come to it
and when you get there
they will give you a place to sit

for yourself only, in a nice chair,
and all your friends will be there
with smiles on their faces
and they will likewise all have places.

This poem is extremely broad and doesn't give too many clues as to what the author is really talking about. By saying "you will come to it" and using the word "there" instead of a specific place, Creeley leaves room for the reader to interpret. After researching the poem and the author a little bit I realized there are two extreme ideas about this poem, that it's about coming to a positive self purpose and realization, or the complete opposite that you've wandered too far away from your morals and purpose and the idea of temptation. Also alluding to heaven and hell. Before reading these other opinions I thought it was the first of the two. I pictured a person who had been wandering and searching their whole life until finally they found their purpose. As they realized this they could relax in the "nice chair" and be content with their lives, their friends would surround them and find the same happiness. The only think contradicting my thoughts was the title: Oh, No. Why would this cause any anxiety or stress to say "Oh, No?"
        After thinking more about the title I could see the poem in a completely different way. Wandering suddenly takes on a lost and confused tone. Now the person has drifted so far away from this self purpose that they are in a bad place. As they negative influences urge the person to sit and enjoy the comfy chair all to themselves, it shows selfishness and glutton. The so called friends are just planning how to add more corruption as they are smiling.
        Although I'd love to believe it's the first of the two, the second fits with the title and Robert Creeley's typical style of subtle messages. This poem is simply written with hardly any punctuation adding to the quietly bold style.

Turning Pro- Ishmael Reed

      I feel like these past couple weeks have been all about baseball; school's baseball team, the Rockies, and ironically I just watched part of the Rookie this weekend... so I figured this was an appropriate poem! If you've ever seen the movie it's about an older guy who feels as if his baseball glory days are over, then suddenly he's recruited and becomes pro. Although that doesn't have a whole lot to do with the analysis of this poem, it just seemed like a crazy coincidence and was put the mental image in my head.
      I really liked how this poem was written, more like an inspirational story then a typical poem. He builds on top of every line to add to the suspense that the man in the story will walk away with a happy ending. His style was what made me like this poem so much though. The way he describes the events creates mental images from the old man to the crowds to the final game home run. He uses the word 'you' instead of 'he' which isn't typical, but really makes the audience feel as if he's talking to them, instead of just telling the story. Although I haven't exactly experienced the exact emotions in this poem, I still can say that I can relate. The feeling that we're not appreciated for all the day-to-day hard work and only are noticed when something big happens, or on the other side that joy when we do something right and get the recognition we deserve and the feeling pure happiness.
       I like that this poem was different from most of the others we've been reading. Breath of fresh air to read something happy! ha.