POETRY JOURNAL

Alissa White

N3 ENGLISH II HONORS

When asked to describe poetry, T.S. Eliot said, “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of a personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality know what it means to escape these things.” This quote relates to a perception of poetry because one might associate music with poetry. People loose themselves within music and it provides everyone with an escape. With poetry and music, one doesn’t have to be an individual instead one can become one with the lyrics, the artist, or the crowd. As one reads poetry or listens to music, he or she doesn’t have to deal with emotions, they can just relax and enjoy what the poet or musician is trying to convey to their audience. Music and poetry are an escape from our everyday problems. Therefore, especially with music, one might really enjoy poetry because it feels as though it offers an escape from reality for at least a little while.

INTRODUCTION

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POEM #1∏

“CASEY AT THE BAT”

“Casey at the Bat” is a ballad written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. This poem is a narrative that tells the story of a baseball team, the Mudville nine, that is down by two in the last inning of the game. The whole poem focus on the team as it tries to win the game. As one reads the poem, we discover the conflict between the teams, the umpire, and the crowd.

Ernest Lawrence Thayer (8/14/1863 – 8/21/1940)

He was an American writer and poet. He is most famously known for "Casey at the Bat," which has been described as "the single most famous baseball poem ever written" according to the Baseball Almanac. He was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, although he was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He graduated magna cum laude in philosophy from Harvard in 1885.

THE POET∏

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The Poem

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;

The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.

And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,

A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest

Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;

They thought if only Casey could but get a whack at that—

We’d put up even money now with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,

And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;

So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,

For there seemed but little chance of Casey’s getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,

! This poem dramatizes the conflict between ability and cockiness. During the last inning of a baseball game, everyone doubted the abilities of the "bad" players and were overly confident about the ability of the star player, Casey. As the story begins, the Mudville nine is two points behind. Everyone is nervous because the best player isn't up until two more players go first. The two players go and it finally gets to mighty Casey. Everyone is excited, knowing that he will obviously take the team to victory. However, he lets the first two balls go by him without swinging. When he finally goes to hit the final ball, he strikes out causing the Mudville nine to lose the game. Everyone had assumed that Casey's talent was going to take the to victory no if's, and's, or but's about it. However, as the game played out, the reader can see that the two players that everyone thought would make them lose because they weren't as good actually helped them more than mighty Casey.

! The poem is written in the form of a ballad. There are not any variations from the form. It rhymes and flows like a song just like a ballad is meant to do. The rhyme scheme for each stanza in the poem is AABB. Types of rhyme that one can find in the poem are end rhyme and a few examples of slant rhyme. The poet choses end rhyme to make the poem flow and have rhythm. He also used slant rhyme so that he would still have flow and rhythm in the poem even if two certain words weren't exact rhymes. The poem has a lot of end rhyme so the rhythm of the poem is smooth. The fact that this poem does have rhythm allows the reader to more easily get into the poem and connect with it. One can also find alliteration in the poem when the poet uses phrases such as "sickly silence" and "deep despair".

! The poem is also greatly affected by tone and mood. The poet chooses certain words to make the readers more clearly understand the emotions in the poem. For example, at the beginning, he uses words to make us understand the despair and sadness that was being felt by the Mudville nine fans. This makes the tone of the poem sad, excited and hopeful because at different parts of the poem the crowd shifts their emotions between these three. The mood of the poem is hopeful because the reader sees this team go from being behind to having their star player up at a point in the game where they could easily win. The poet use the tone and mood of the poem to emphasis the theme of even the best fail or nobody's perfect. Throughout the poem, everyone is

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Poetry Explication

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confident that the Mudville nine is going to win with Casey at bat. However, once Casey finally gets the chance to bat, he doesn't lead the team to victory like everyone hoped and expected. He was the mighty and best player, but even he had a fluke day.

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POEM #2∏

“AWAKE”

Awake is a free verse poem written by Katherine Foreman. This poem tells about how the speaker is nervous and worried about the future. It is inevitable that the future will become the present and that she will have to grow up, but she wants to stay young so that she can feel protected and safe.

Katherine Foreman is a poet. She has written many poems such as “Awake” and “My Answer”. However, there is slim to no information available about her.

THE POET∏

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The Poem

My last night as a full-time child

I didn't want to sleep, for fear of

Waking up in a rustle of too-crisp sheets

And a creak of inadequate bedsprings

With a lightly snoring virtual stranger eight feet away.

And also I didn't want it to be tomorrow,

Because then it would be time to do what

I've denied for three weeks of subsistence

And oblivion--ignoring is bliss.

And I saw everything I never did

Lying around me, pieces and steps of the

Success I never got, reminders that

Whatever I planned, I never got far.

But in the middle of these broken promises

To myself, I could see for the first time

That I have not been broken.

! This poem dramatizes the conflict between what one wants and the inevitable. The poet begins the poem with the following lines, "My last night as a full-time child / I didn't want to sleep, for fear of / Waking up in a rustle of too-crisp sheets" (1-3). This quote shows the conflict of what one wants versus the inevitable. The speaker is about to officially become an adult, which most would find exciting, but she just wants to stay young and feel protected. She doesn't want to turn eighteen because she is afraid that once she wakes up as an adult everything will be uncomfortable and awkward like too-crisp bedsheets. She is worried about the future because she doesn't know what is yet to come.

! The poem is in the format of a free verse. Since the poem is a free verse poem, there is not a specific rhyme scheme. However, the poet still manages to create rhyme by using slant rhyme in certain parts of the poem. The reason

the poet decides to use slant rhyme is to create rhyme and rhythm even though the poem is a free verse. Even though there isn't a rhyme scheme in the poem, there is still a rhythm to the poem. The rhythm helps the reader connect to the poem, and I also think it helps the reader understand the poem more easily than if there wasn't a rhythm. There is also the sound device of assonance that can be found in the poem. There is assonance with the words "creak" and "sheets".

! The poem is greatly influenced by tone and mood. The poet’s tone in the poem is uncomfortable and wary. She uses phrases such as “too-crisp sheets” and “inadequate bedsprings” to symbolize an uncomfortable situation to relate back to how she is intimidated by her future. However, even though the tone of the poem comes off as uncomfortable and wary, the mood of the poem has a calm and reflective feel along with a feeling of being worried. The mood and tone of the poem help to create the theme of the poem, which is that all you really need is yourself and the confidence that you will succeed in order to prosper. The theme can be backed up by the following quote, “I exist to others, but all I need is me. / I will be the last promise, when all is said / And kept” (19-21). She clearly states in the above quote that she is the only one she needs.

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Poetry Explication

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POEM #3∏

“WHAT LIPS MY LIPS HAVE KISSED, AND WHERE, AND WHY”

“What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why” is a sonnet written by Edna St. Vincent Millay. In this poem, Millay writes about lost lovers and how she no longer remembers them. The entire poem is about her memories and the things she has forgotten as time has passed. As one reads the poem, we discover Millay’s conflict within herself.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, (2/22/1892 - 10/19/1950)

She was an American lyrical poet and playwright. In 1923, she became the third woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. She also wrote in prose under the name Nancy Boyd. She was born in Rockland, Maine. in 1904, her parents got divorced.

THE POET∏

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The Poem

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,

I have forgotten, and what arms have lain

Under my head till morning; but the rain

Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh

Upon the glass and listen for reply,

And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain

For unremembered lads that not again

Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.

Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,

Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,

Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:

I cannot say what loves have come and gone,

I only know that summer sang in me

A little while, that in me sings no more.

! This poem dramatizes the conflict between ourselves and our conscience. As a reader, one can see the guilt that the narrator deals with throughout the poem. She feels guilty for forgetting about all the people who once meant something to her. The following quote truly shows how bad she feels for forgetting, "And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain / For unremembered lads that not again / Will turn to me at midnight with a cry" (6-8). She is crying for her lost lovers whom she enjoyed but never loved. She changed from lover to lover, and now her conscience is reminding her that the past has caught up to her.

! The poem is written in traditional sonnet format with a rhyme scheme of abbaabbadefedf. It also has a lot of end rhyme and some internal rhyme. The poet chose to use these types of rhyme to create a flow and rhythm to the poem. The rhythm that the poem possesses is musical and flows as if it

were a song. This rhythm helps the readers get into the poem because it sounds so smooth. Also the sound devices of alliteration and assonance can be found in the poem. In the first line, alliteration can be found with the three w's and two l's. Assonance can be found in the following line with the 'a' sound, "I have forgotten, and what arms have lain" (2).

! The poem is greatly affected by tone and mood. The poet's tone is sorrowful, guilty, and regretful. She says, "I only know that summer sang in me / A little while, that in me sings no more" (13-14). This quote shows that she is sad and her happiness has left her. She also says, "And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain" (6), which shows her guilt. Throughout the poem, she chooses to write phrases like the ones above to convey her attitude and feelings and to cause us to sympathize with her. The mood of the poem is also sorrowful because the readers feel sorry for the speaker who is no longer happy. Although the readers know that her unhappiness is her fault, they still feel bad and sympathize for her. The poet builds off of the tone and mood to create the theme. The theme of the poem is to cherish every moment because they won't last forever. The theme can be backed up by the following quote, "I cannot say what loves have come and gone, / I only know that summer sang in me / A little while, that in me sings no more" (12-14). This quote relates to the theme because she never cherished her lovers and now that they're gone she's unhappy because she

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Poetry Explication

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thought that she would be able to have lover after lover for as long as she wanted.

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POEM #4∏

“DISCONNECTED”

Disconnected is a song by 5 Seconds of Summer. This song talks about how when one is with the one that they love that they get away from the world. It talks about how when it is just the two of them they get disconnected from the world.

5 Seconds of Summer (2011-Present)

5SOS is an Australian pop rock band that hails from Sydney. It consist of lead singer, Luke Hemmings, guitarist, Michael Clifford, bassist, Calum Hood, and drummer, Ashton Irwin. The band was formed in 2011, however, Ashton joined afterwards. They got their start on Youtube, but really took off after touring with One Direction. They recently performed at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards show, and have their first-album coming out in late July.

THE ARTIST∏

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The Song

Oh oh o-o-oh, oh oh o-oh

Life's a tangled web

Of cell phone calls and hashtag I-don't-knows

And you you're so caught up

In all the blinking lights and dial tones

I admit I'm a bit of a victim in the worldwide system too

But I've found my sweet escape when I'm alone with you

Tune out the static sound of the city that never sleeps

Here in the moment on the dark side of the screen

I like the summer rain

I like the sounds you make

We put the world away

We get so disconnected

You are my getaway

You are my favorite place

We put the world away

! This song dramatizes the conflict between reality when one is with the one they love and how reality normally is. The chorus shows this conflict with the following lyrics, “We put the world away / We get so disconnected / You are my getaway / You are my favorite place / We put the world away / Yeah we’re so disconnected” (12-17). Throughout the song they use the following lyric to show that everything is better when they’re with their special person, “But I’ve found my sweet escape when I’m alone with you” (7). They also continuously say, “Tune out the static sound of the city that never sleeps” (8), to show that the city is always moving but when they’re alone it’s just them against the world.

! The poem is written in the format of a song and because of this there is not a specific rhyme scheme that is followed. However, even without a set rhyme scheme, there is slant rhyme used in the poem. They chose to incorporate slant

rhyme into the poem to create a rhythm and flow. This creation of a rhythm affects the listener’s perception of the song by giving them a catchy and smooth beat to the song instead of something boring or dull. It allows them to get into the song and really enjoy it.

! The poem is greatly affected by tone and mood. The mood of the poem is kind of relaxing and calm. It can make the listener happy if they’re in a situation like this, or it could make the listener lonely and sad if they dream to find someone who makes them feel disconnected from the world. The tone of the song is also sweet and loving because this was written to tell someone how they feel about them. It isn’t about the words that he uses to say how he feels, but it is the way that he used them and how he is able to tell a story with them.

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Poetry Explication

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POEM #5∏“SKIN”

Skin is a song by Sixx:A.M. This is a really heavy song that touches on the issue of self-harm. Sixx:A.M. wrote this song as a letter to those that do self-harm to encourage them that they are more than their self-harming.

Sixx:A.M.

Sixx:A.M. is a hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007 by Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba, and James Michael. Their first live debut as a band was on July 16, 2007 at Crash Mansion.

THE ARTIST∏

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The Song

Paint yourself a picture

Of what you wish you looked like

Maybe then they just might

Feel an ounce of your pain

Come into focus

Step out of the shadows

It's a losing battle

There's no need to be ashamed

'Cause they don't even know you

All they see is scars

They don't see the angel

Living in your heart

Let them find the real you

Buried deep within

Let them know with all you've got

That you are not your skin

! This poem dramatizes the conflict between our true selves and who we are seen to be. The artist, Sixx:A.M., wrote this song as a letter or message to anyone out there suffering from self-harm. The chorus of the song really conveys the conflict between our true selves and who we are seen as is, "'Cause they don't even know you / All they see is scars / They don't see the angel / Living in your heart / Let them find the real you / Buried deep within / Let them know with all you've got / That you are not your skin" (9-16).

! The poem is written in the format of a song. Although the poem has rhyme, there is not a set rhyme scheme for the song. Instead of using a strict rhyme scheme, the artist uses slant rhyme within the song to create rhythm and flow. The rhythm is very peaceful, slow, and relaxing. It kind of is like a lullaby in the way the lyrics are presented so softly. This feature makes the reader connect with the song, especially if

they are sad or going through something. It helps the lyrics translate into a beautiful song.

! The poem is greatly affected by tone and mood. The whole message behind the song is sad, therefore, Sixx A.M. uses words that make the mood and tone of the song sad yet hopeful. The mood is melancholy and sad. The tone of the poem is also sad, but it is also hopeful because they are saying that even though someone might be harming themselves they are more than that and they can make it through it. The tone and mood also help to emphasize the theme of the song. There are multiple themes including you are more than your skin, you are more than what people define you as, and you can define yourself. All of these themes can be reinforced by lyrics in the song such as, "When they start to judge you / Show them your true colors" (18-19). Also the following lyrics relate to the theme, "Just rise above this / Kill them with your kindness /Ignorance is blindness / They're the ones that stand to lose" (22-25). These lyrics relate to the themes because they reinforce the idea that you should show who you really are and be nice to them even when people are judging you.

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Poetry Explication

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POEM #6∏

WRITTEN POEM

This is an unnamed poem that I wrote. It’s about how things aren’t always as they appear on the outside and how we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The two main characters are named He and She and from what others see they seem completely different, but they actually help each other in ways that no one would expect.

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He was the sun and She was the moon

He was the rainbow and She was the rain

He brought happiness and warmth

She brought coldness and pain

You could hide in his smiles, but her eyes exposed the truth

He was fearless but She could barely face the day

He was always important while She faded away

No one would ever think that they'd ever be friends

Because She was a wallflower and He was the man

And how could someone as wonderful and sweet

Be close to someone who had to cry herself to sleep?

They were from two opposite worlds like summer and winter

He was uplifting like the plants sprouting vibrantly green in the spring

She was crumbling like the broken, dull leaves dropping from the fall trees

But little did people know that She kept him strong

And He broke down when it was just them alone

She was the one that kept him alive

And He was the one that gave her a purpose in life

On the outside it seemed that they'd be better apart

POEM #7∏

WHERE I’M FROM

This is my version of the Where I’m From poem by George Ella Lyon. In this poem, I skim over things that have helped shape me into the person that I am. I also tell a little bit about where I’m from.

Where I'm From by Alissa White

I am from tender heads From hot combs and barrettes I am from a field of dreams Whether they were broken when conceived

Or turned into a beautiful reality

I am from the fallen leaves, The chilly November mornings Of Kentucky in the fallI'm from the early Christmas mornings Watching Drumline with my brothers,Waiting on our parents so Christmas day could begin

I'm from Momma and Daddy and Kevin and Matthew

From feeling like I had to grow up faster than I did I'm from the stubbornness and irritation Present in my mother's side of the family

And the patience and love

That was handed down to me

From the love of books And the magical places it took me to From Harry Potter and Junie B. Jones To the many young adult novels that reach deep to my soul

I'm from stuffy Baptist churches And Sunday School early in the morning

I'm from the loneliness inside my head The brokenness and pain that pits me against myself

From the longing of true happiness The longing for someone to know That on the inside I'm not a perfect soul

I am from my memories and experiences

I am from happiness and love

I am from hate and despairI am from my family and friends

I am from myself

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POEM #8∏

FOUND POEM

This is my found or blackout poem. I used the second page of the Pages for Found Poems pdf to make it. This poem reminds me of teenagers and their hidden lives that come out when no one is watching. It also kind of reminds me of suicide, especially in the last line when it says, “Because you could die so quickly.”

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CHAPTER 9∏

WORKS CITED

Photo Links

Title Photo

http://rhsrebellion.com/poetry-the-fullest-moon/

Introduction Photo (used more than once)

http://www.heragallery.org/exhibitionArchive2.html

Casey at Bat Photo

http://www.lcaid.com/wallpaper/baseball-hd-wallpaper-sportwpp-xpx-wallpapers.html

Ernest Lawrence Thayer Photo

http://www.nndb.com/people/902/000206284/

Awake Photo

http://birthdaywishessms.net/18th-birthday-wishes/

What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why Photo

http://poetry.rapgenius.com/1501652/Edna-st-vincent-millay-what-lips-my-lips-have-kissed-and-where-and-why-sonnet-xliii/But-the-rain-is-full-of-ghosts-tonight-that-tap-and-sigh-upon-the-glass-and-listen-for-reply

Edna St. Vincent Millay Photo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_St._Vincent_Millay

Disconnected Photo

http://jamie3d.com/3d-type-disconnected/disconnected_low

5 Seconds of Summer Photo

http://www.billboard.com/artist/5778308/5-seconds-of-summer

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Skin Photo

http://www.mykindnesscounts.com/2012/03/01/the-butterfly-project/demetria-lovato-demi-lovatos-stay-strong-tattoo-drawing-r-c-tattoodonkey-com_large-2/

Sixx:A.M. Photo

http://loudwire.com/sixx-a-m-finishing-touches-new-album-nikki-sixx-rips-sully-erna-again/

Author Information Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Thayer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_St._Vincent_Millay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Seconds_of_Summer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixx:A.M.

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