Stanford and University of California alumni Sandra Lim reads from The Wilderness on April 7, 2015, at Prairie Lights. As an alumna from the International Writing Program Lim was making her return back to Iowa City after 11 years. In The Wilderness Lim reads a collection of poems about love, spring and one poem that caught my attention was about the individual struggle of one's body within one’s mind. The poems are open to many interpretations but that is the way that I chose to interpret that poetry in particular. The interesting thing about Lim’s poem is how describes the body parts in some of her poems. It is very vague. It almost makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable but at the same time, I really like her style. The way she describes…
The wounded heart now enormous tune of sorrow, Skunk breath a force to linger tomorrow. Saint unreal a body-less per poster, Bound by force that will never divide as greater. Benevolent a flaunt of no remorse, Unmistakable tone unruly of course. Patch up the hole in your britches; water new soil, Be thankful thieves ravishes in turmoil.…
Certainly, one of the goblins’ treachery effects is the loss of the notion of time for Lizzie (V.449) and it previously happened to Laura (V.139). Despite having being attacked by wicked creatures, Lizzie walks home happily. The bouncing of the coin is like a victorious hymn for her, the proof that she has confronted and overcome temptation. She conserves her kind heart and thus her purity and vitality, which make her run home.…
Peppers, parsley, pansy, pickles, and pears. Carrots, cabbages, celery, and cactus.There’s also rodgersia, rampion, and rapunzel.Oh, how I love my plants!…
Many writers on their venture to becoming great, are faced with roadblocks. I too feel those stresses. When sitting down to begin a story, novel, or poem we all strive to be different. But as Baldwin explains, "there is no original thought, because we all humans think and feel has been thought and felt so many times before, by so many generations." This in itself makes starting writing a very daunting task. Not to mention the sea of fellow authors you are competing with for limited shelf space. A trip to a jam packed bookstore reiterates this feeling instantaneously. Really, what sets the writer apart is the original perspective and finding out what shape to give it to really hold the readers attention. This can all be achieved through the power in…
A tattoo is like poetry, because there is always more to the story than what meets the eye! The sonnet “First Poem for You” by Kim Addonizio is a riveting piece of poetry that uses symbolization to help guide the readers to understand the emotions and feelings the woman has towards her partner. Visual and tactile imagery used within this poem helps readers interpret the meaning of the poem. The theme is longevity and the true meaning of a relationship. In Addonizio “First Poem for You,” Addonizio utilizes literary elements to develop the story and detail a fictional character that is in love with a man that has permanent tattoos. Upon analyzing the symbols, visual imagery and theme throughout this poem the readers will better comprehend the poem to its entirety; these elements symbolize permanence, which is the meaning of the entire poem.…
The thought of the “future” scares me, it scares me because I have no clue what to expect, and it’s not like high school anymore to where you can just plan out how it’s going to be, but I sure will try, and I will succeed.…
The future is extremely ambiguous, and is one of the many wonders that people cannot figure out. Even if people try to plan out the future do not know what the future will hold. In Sylvia Plath’s novel The Bell Jar and Bill Cattey’s poem What Is Happening To Me both share the idea that the future is very indecisive and difficult to face.Through Plath’s characterization of Esther and Cattey’s analogies within his poem, they show the frustration a vague future can behold on individuals.…
When it comes to playing the proverbial, "game," even Einstein knew that knowing the rules was not enough. I believe that in order to truly succeed in any endeavor, one has to apply their knowledge practically, be willing take risks, and operate proactively. Fortunately, I have always had a predisposition to learn with dexterity, so the rules have never been an obstacle for me. Playing the game, however, can potentially be challenging.…
In the poem To This DAy by Shane Koyczan, he talks about three different stories and all of them have a different type of bullying and how they have all faced it, and tells you that you can stand up against them but it could haunt you for the rest of your life. In the poem Shane Koyczan shows that bullying will never go away like from the poem, it says “to this day despite a loving husband, she doesn’t think she's beautiful because of a birthmark that takes up a little less than half of her face” (Koyczan), she became sad because she believed them that she was ugly from when they put “... a sign to her desk that read beware of dog” (Koyczan), that happened in grade five, but it all started in“... grade three where she got called ugly” (Koyczan),…
It seems that all fears are based on illusion and future thinking. The future is unpredictable, and few have the courage to go explore the unpredictable. In the story “On the Rainy River”, Tim O’Brien, which is the author of the story as well, receives his draft notice to fight in the Vietnam War. The war seems wrong to him, and the fear of the uncertainty of its outcomes determine O’Brien to resist making a decision about whether to go to war or flee. Indeed, the interplay between fear and foresight is a predominant theme in this essay. “On the Rainy River” suggests that fear is a powerful motivating factor when faced with a life altering decision.…
In this poem “The Mother” it was this mother that had many abortions. This speaker was having an emotional breakdown. For example, “I have heard in the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed children” (Brooks 1940). When reading ‘’The Mother’’ the speaker talked about her and focused on the children she aborted. But the speaker never mentioned a father. So, after realizing she did not mention a father this question came to an understanding. Why do people have different emotional and physical feelings after abortions? When asking that question by people it means men and women. There is evidence of when it comes to abortions, many people do not think about the men withdrawals. Abortions, which are the discontinuation of a pregnancy before…
“Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.” -Swami Sivananda. In the poem Itinerary, speaker Eamon Grennan demonstrates the ways in which individuals deal with the uncertainties of the past. The past has the ability to influence an individual to either move on despite the uncertainties and worries of the unknown, or to not move on at all. However it is important to do your best to move on and focus on the present and the future. This is also true in my own life. When faced with uncertainties of the past, an individual may choose a method of isolation because they are frightened to move on. They also may try to relive certain moments from the past in an attempt to find comfort in anything familiar to them. The individual will attempt to do so until they let go of the past and look at a broader perspective on life, which will assist them in moving on to see what the future holds.…
The works we studied within Creative Writing were all helpful in creating my own works to submit to the class. Throughout all of the reading, many of the works inspired me in different ways, whether it was short story plot ideas or word usage in the poems. While crafting my work for the final portfolio, I reviewed many of the poems from our poetry packet in an effort to find inspiration and to create new interesting images. I took the most inspiration for my formal poem, which I found most difficult to write. One of the poems that was most useful to me was Jilly Dybka’s “Memphis, 1976.” Dybka’s poem follows the sestina form; I also wrote my last poem in this form, so it helped to follow the form by looking at her poem as an example. Dybka’s…
“It seems that to find the real path we have to go off the path we are on now, even for an instant, and earn the privilege of losing our way. As the path fades, we are forced to take a good look at the life in which we actually find ourselves.” This thought from the author and poet David Whyte brings up important concepts about our lives. Sometimes taking a step back and observing our own nature is all we need in order to better understand ourselves and where we are going. However, it seems that along this path we spend far more time worrying and fretting about our fears than what it required to confront them and deal with them.…