Values ’68
By Spike Milligan
The Price is dying
‘Give him air.’
Headlines! Crisis!
Kennedy Shot!
The assassin captured
Too late! Kennedy dies!
The telegrams flow
And bury the body in- Arlington.
Somewhere in Meekong
A prince of battle is blown into bloody meat.
No headlines
No crisis
And only
One telegram.
(Written on the day of Robert Kennedy’s assassination)
Explanation: In this poem, the speaker discusses how people will do anything just to get a story. In the midst of crisis and destruction, someone will always be trying to capture on the moment. In the poem the speaker discusses when President Kennedy was shot. Instead of describing it in a somber way, the speaker talks about how the media glorifies the event. The speaker also discusses how as a society we fail to recognize the unsung heroes. “A prince of battle is blown into bloodymeat. No headlines.” The speaker describes the death of a brave soldier during battle. Though his death was heroic no one will ever know the tale. This poem symbolizes the culture of our society and how we put emphasis in the wrong places. While we take the time to recognize celebrities and public icons for their deeds, we fail to give tribute to those who have sacrificed their life for our freedoms.
Fresh Faces by Nathan Smith43
Everyday when I wake,
Everything strikes me as fake,
The monotony of this place,
It’s binds, constraints, slow boring pace.
This fallacy of living, stale days, long hours,
Dead faces, doing their daily duties, with little power,
What’s next? Who cares? It’s all the same,
All of the tiny little minds that crave for fame.
That’s all we need, recognition,
We act like it’s a lifelong mission,
For people to acknowledge our presence,
Craving for our omnipotent acceptance.
What happens when hit that goal,
All those little people, who continue to extol,
The fame you've stumbled on, it won’t last forever
Your ship has departed on its last endeavor.
I see these people every day,
Trying to wave the pain away
But deep inside, I repent the craze,
Fresh faces only sour the stale days.
By: Nathan Smith
Explanation: This poem seems to be about a girl who is looking at the world and sees people pretending to be something that they are not; people who are fake and crave popularity. “That’s all we need, recognition. We act like it’s a lifelong mission, For people to acknowledge our presence.” This quote from the poem shows that all people in today’s society want is to be recognized and to be accepted by others. People are too nervous to be themselves; they fear judgment. The author of the poem is saying that popularity and fame do not last forever it will eventually fade away and these people actually become more “harmed” by this popularity. These people need to mask this pain that the fame has brought them. If people just decided to be themselves in the first place, they would not need to mask themselves.
The Dog Lovers
By Spike Milligan (1970)
So they bough you
And they kept you in a
Very good home
Central heating
TV
A deep freeze
A very good home-
No one to take you
For that lovely long run-
But otherwise
‘A very good home.’
They fed you Pal and Chum
But not that lovely long run,
Until, mad with energy and boredom
You escaped- and ran and ran and ran
Under a car.
Today they will cry for you-
Tomorrow they will buy another dog.
Explanation: This poem seems to apply to human nature. The dog could symbolize material goods. The poem shows how people are so careless with their things and do not take time to treasure them. “Tomorrow they will buy another dog.” People know if the item breaks or is destroyed they can instantly replace it without any care because they have the money to do it. A better example of this would be an iphone most kids these days have them and if they accidently break them then they can just replace it no problem. Kids today do not appreciate what they have. In the poem the dog was never taken out on a run shows how people do not fully appreciate and take care of their possessions or pets. They just look for instant gratification rather than long lasting treasures.
Eye Contact by Illyannakari
Do you see me?
Not the image you wish to see
Do you see me?
The light that lies within
Do you see me?
Whether masked by paint or veils the result the same to erase who I am and replace with an image of what you wish me to be
Whether bare or elaborately covered the result the same to erase who I am and replace with an image of what you wish me to be
-virgin, priestess, mother, harlot
You avoid my eyes
For you the body is what I am
For you the image is all
You avoid my eyes
Do you see me?
Not the image you wish to see
Do you see me?
The light that lies within
Do you see me?
You avoid my eyes
By: Illyannakari
Explanation: The image that this poem portrays to me is one of abuse and harassment, especially toward women. It appears in the poem that the woman’s real self (her personality and her goodness that are instilled inside her) is over looked by possibly her partner or significant other. “For you the body is what I am For you the image is all.” This quote from the poem is how I determined that this partner seems to only be interested in her physical appearance and lusts after her body. He is not interested in her personality. The author keeps repeating “Do you see me?” throughout the poem. The repetition stresses how badly the author wants their significant other to see the real her. The woman desperately wishes to be seen for her personality and not just her physical body. This poem could have been written about any women in any case of physical harassment or abuse in any situation. Women in society today are sadly usually just used as items and not as human beings!
Race for Life
By: Christine Holden
An annual event
A city proud
A sporting challenge
An excited crowd
Waving banners,urging on
Father, Mother,Daughter,Son.
A community heart from the start began to beat a faster pace for marathon runners in the race.
An annual event
A city sad
A sporting challenge
That can't be bad?
Flashing lights, urging on
Father, Mother, Daughter, Son
A community heart at the end began to beat began to tend their marathon runners in the race.
And loved ones?
Blood and tears on their face.
Explanation: This poem was written based off the event that happened at the Boston Marathon. Every year Massachusetts holds an annual event called the Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon occurs every year on the 3rd of April it is held in honor of Patriots Day. Patriots Day is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The image that the poem portrays is that as a country we have lots of freedom and with this freedom we believe that nothing can happen to us on American soil. However, this is not the case. It is always surprising to Americans if situations like this occur in our own backyards. It is usually only something you see on TV. Terrible events like this are not common in our country unlike it is in other countries where deaths of innocent citizens occur daily. We are naive as a whole. Tragic events like this bring us closer like the poem said, “A community heart.” It shows how strong we are in the face of terror and that no matter what we will come together.
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