Each Turn Hill And Valley That Comes My Way By Jake Voge

As I was sitting in my bed last night, I struggled to figure out what I should write my poem about. It was getting pretty late, and I tossed up ideas in my head including soccer, school, my future in college, and since it was on my mind, sleep. Because I had my cross country banquet earlier that night, I settled on that topic to write about. This past fall concluded my final season of running. It was the beginning of many “lasts” during my senior year, and the poem above is a testimony of running a cross country race. It is a testimony to a sport that has been one of my biggest challenges, but also one of my most rewarding. There is more to be said than just 27 lines of rhymes in the poem. My poem is more than just a cross country race, but
It begins on the starting line of the race until the firing of the gun (4). As the 5k and mass amount of runner commences, the poem follows the runner throughout the course. The poem says, “I take each turn, hill, and valley that comes my way” (5) and “I have teammates that run by my side” (9) in order to convey the reality of running in a race. Whenever I ran in a race, I always ran next to Jake Voge because we would work together to finish the course. Many people always say that cross country is an individual sport; however, it is very much a team sport. Simply put, the poem is an anecdote of a cross country race as evidenced and supported by the
Diction is simply word choice, and I spent a lot of time choosing and writing words in order to elevate the poem to a greater message. Throughout the entire poem, it use concrete words such as miles, hills, turns, race, and course. These words help describe the physical race itself. Moreover, the poem uses abstract words including faith, trust, and love in lines 8 and 27. I chose these three words because they are words that have meaning to me, and they help me get through each day. The specific word choice helps to make the poem more realistic and relatable. In addition to diction, repetition is used to help emphasize the theme of the poem. In lines 8 and 27 the poem repeats, “I have faith. I have trust. I have love.” This repetitive nature of the poem helps the reader see that even though life may be hard, one can continue living if he has faith, trust, and love. High school is tough for many people, me especially, and I would not make it through if I did not have faith, trust, and love in my life. Finally, another literary device being used is imagery. Imagery can be seeing right from the beginning. The poem starts by saying, “Steady breathing, mind focusing, and heart pounding” (1). The poem also used descriptive words to help the reader feel like they are a part of the race. The poem says, “Through each and every single stride...ups, downs,