“Photo” by Diane Wakosi

 

This poem is very personal for the poet it depicts hurt, anger, regret and grief.  Many people say “a photo has a thousand words”, which I believe said a lot to the poet internally, and mentally.  As Diane and her sister was viewing a photo of their father, they were both reminded with hurt and pain.  Their father left a lot of unknown answers lingering.  Not only was the poet and her sister hurt, but their mother felt emotionally distraught.  What was written in the back of the poem strike a more unreasonable understanding for the poet, her sister and mother.  The poet used a lot of imagery to portray a more defined picture of what the photo meant to her.  The end of this poem struck me the most because of what she said “I see the face, not even a ghost, but always with me, like a photo in a beloved’s wallet, how I hate my destiny”.  My interpretation of this section of the poem is that the poet know for sure the photo well remind her of hurt and pain, like a wallet holding you important items but what shes not sure of is her destiny, which we all are not certain of.  How would you describe this poem? Or any other ideas?

Jimmy Santiago Baca “It would Be Neat If with the New Year”

 

This poem was very heartening and it has a very deep and coaxing approach for me.  The way how Jimmy exaggerates about his “boot” complements the title of this poem.  If you read this poem you would see where I’m coming from.  Jimmy also uses History, and Culture to express his emotions.  The way he delivers his past reminded me of my past and what I hold on to dearly to keep that momentum in my life.  The way how he connected jazz and music to his childhood gave me a better understanding of his style of poetry.  The beginning of this poem “It would be neat if with the new year” already gave me the indication that the poem has hope for a better future.  His desire for a new chapter in life would be intriguing to him because, he have hope, and more confidence.  Jimmy contemplates a lot about starting a new chapter in life, because it meant giving up some of the memory that bears with him which reference back to his “boot”.  He uses his “boot” as a tool of a new way of life, for instance buying a new pair of shoes give you a more sense of comfort it’s the same for jimmy except it’s hard to let go because of the memories it holds.  Maybe some of you can agree with me?

Amiri Baraka “Way out West”

This poem is about change and acceptance, Amiri has a talent of expressing his poems in a realistic way, as in connecting his poems to the reader.  I respect his style and approach in his poems because it relatable and very relevant to majority of readers.  His poems are not emotional, but very remorseful and permissive.  In this poem, Amiri used nature as a way of expression to describe his past, or an era where life was simple and easy going.  I like most of Amiri’s poems, but I favored this particular one because it’s very relatable to me and relevant for me.  There was a time in life where I appreciate living standards more as oppose to this era.  I notice in this poem Amiri dedicated it to Gary Snyder which I think Amiri was referring to “Maverick Bar”.  It seems as though both poets use their surroundings to articulate their feelings, also both poets expressed their concerns about acceptance in a non-receptive way.  Maybe some of you can agree with me from reading both poems. 

Langston Hughes “I Look at the World”

This by far is the best poem I’ve read because of the emotions behind it, and the way Langston Hughes conveys his frustrations.   Many African Americans can express a personal connection they experienced with this poem.  Langston Hughes is opening a pathway for many black to follow; he is trying to give black some knowledge on the fairness of life.  Langston Hughes knows there were more to life than what he was given.  Life shouldn’t be about your mind being in mental slavery, I think that’s what he was trying to convey when he stated “This fenced- off narrow space assigned to me”.  This phrase can always illustrate why should he be assigned a life?  I compared this poem with Komyunkayaa’s “Facing it”, because both poets faced pain and despair, about their race.  One man has to live with the memory of many lose, and the other has to live a life of being oppressed.  Both poets is also living a life where they have limited control, and a life that’s not destined for them.  It’s almost like they have no control of the steering wheel of a car.   I also thought that the ending of this poem was intriguing because Langston Hughes is trying to appraise a situation where his fellow comrades should come to a realization what morally right and be assertive in what they believe in.

Galway Kinnell “Blackberry Eating”

I thought this poem had many different creative structures to describe the poets love for blackberries.  This by far has a different type of structure because it was more vibrant and had a lot of astonishing descriptions to express the poets love for blackberries.  September has a connection to his love for blackberries because that’s when he enjoys it the most, I would assume that’s when blackberry are usually in season.  The poet also describes his curious thoughts on the art of making so many different things from this fruit.  Is there something that so close to anyone, or any object that has a lot of meaning to you guys? Share your thoughts.

Gary Snyder "The Maverick Bar"

 

This poem is very intriguing because it seems to bare a cultural clash amongst two different cultures. The reason why I made this statement is because the poet mentions the local bar band that’s emphasizing on “America” way of living by singing a song called “we don’t smoke marijuana in muskokie”.  This title raised my concern for acceptance simply because a “Muskokie” to my knowledge is the border of eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas, which leads me to believe that their lifestyle is abnormal to people in the Maverick Bar.  What I’d also like to point out is the way the poet ends this poem, he says “We left—onto the freeway…In the shadow of bluffs…To the real work, to what is to be done”, my interpretation to this statement is that the poet believes that his way of living is much more accepting.  Maybe my conclusion is too general or maybe the case may not be so, any suggestions? Or comments?

Blog---Paul Blackburn “Brooklyn Narcissus”

“Brooklyn Narcissus”, represents a poem with mixed emotions, the author seemed lonely, and unstable.  The author also seems to have a troubled mind because he’s in constant battle with himself.  The introduction of this poem would give you the impression the author is under the influence of alcohol, because he says “Straight rye Whisky, 100 Proof”.  As you continue reading this poem they are more indications of the poet feeling lonely, rather than him being intoxicated because he ended the sentence saying “you need a better friend? Yes, myself.

The second part of the poem elaborates more on the poet’s loneliness because it says “The lights the lights the lonely lovely fucking lights”.  At night, indeed the lights are all alone, which would be the ideal time for someone to have alone time to observed the beauty at night and what we don’t usually see in the day we would see at night.  All the different colors at night, and the scenery seems like it reminds the poet of Christmas because he mentions “Blue/green double-stars…Xmas trees of tugs scream and struggle”, I would assume “Xmas’ because of the blure and green and the bright gleaming on the river.

This poem can relate to Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing it”, because both authors used an object or situation to reflect on memories.  For instance Yusef used the Vietnam Veterans memorial to reminisce about his experience in the Vietnamese War, and Paul Blackburn used loneliness and the train and bridge to reminisce on what may appear to be a lost relationship he once had.  Both authors convey a lonely and lost feeling, as if they lost a part of them In the past, and its challenging for them to move on from it.

On the contrary, “Facing It’ has more realism to it as oppose to “Brooklyn Narcissus”, simply because the event that was more realistic.  Thus, ‘Brooklyn Narcissus may be more relatable for many people because of the connection it has with inner loneliness; we constantly battle our minds about being lonely and have some sort of broken pieces that cannot be mend together.  The reason why I made such a strong statement is because the author stated keep hinting ‘loneliness”, and “the flowers died when you went way”.  I know on my behalf I can relate “Brooklyn Narcissus” to relationship hardships, because the same type of loneliness the poet is feeling are the same emotions I carry around when I remember the one I loved.