As we begin week 4, I expect that everyone is settling in to the flow of the class. I expect that you should always have something you can be working on. . .with so many assignments you will definitely learn how to juggle ;-)
This Week: We will work on perfecting those way cool newsletters, discuss how to submit the scan, and get an introduction to Taskstream (Wed).
Journal #3: "Video in the Age of Participation," by Glenn Bull. This is from the most recent L&L (Feb 2007).
This week's question: What is your current favorite poem? Share with the class. If you don't have one, find one. . .Might I suggest Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, or . . .
63 comments:
Podrá nublarse el sol eternamente;
Podrá secarse en un instante el mar;
Podrá romperse el eje de la tierra
Como un débil cristal.
¡Todo sucederá!
Podrá la muerte
cubrirme con su fúnebre crespón;
pero jamás en mí podrá apagarse
la llama de tu amor
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Thisis my current favorite poem Amor Eterno by Becquer. It is about love. it describes how much one feels for another person, hoe ladn, sea,a nd the sun can can chnage of form but the love that one feels would alwyas be the same.
My favorite poem would have to be "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. In a class last semester we did a section on poems and I chose this poem to write a paper on. He's a great poet, if you don't have a favorite poem, check him out for sure!
The Happiest Day- Edgar Allan Poe
The happiest day -- the happiest hour
My sear'd and blighted heart hath known,
The highest hope of pride and power,
I feel hath flown.
Of power! said I? yes! such I ween;
But they have vanish'd long, alas!
The visions of my youth have been-
But let them pass.
And, pride, what have I now with thee?
Another brow may even inherit
The venom thou hast pour'd on me
Be still, my spirit!
The happiest day -- the happiest hour
Mine eyes shall see -- have ever seen,
The brightest glance of pride and power,
I feel- have been:
But were that hope of pride and power
Now offer'd with the pain
Even then I felt -- that brightest hour
I would not live again:
For on its wing was dark alloy,
And, as it flutter'd -- fell
An essence -- powerful to destroy
A soul that knew it well.
My favorite kids poem is "Fat and skinny went to bed, fat rolled over and skinny was dead!"
My favorite adult reader poem is
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
My favorite poem is "FOOTPRINTS" although I am not a very religious person it is a very spiritual poem about walking through life next to a set of footprints. These belong to God and the footprints were always there, untill life got really bad and their was only one set of footprints, in the poem the person asked why during the roughest times you were not their? God responds it was then that I carried you... I just have always liked that.
Have You Got a Brook in Your Little Heart - Emily Dickinson
HAVE you got a brook in your little heart,
Where bashful flowers blow,
And blushing birds go down to drink,
And shadows tremble so?
And nobody, knows, so still it flows,
That any brook is there;
And yet your little draught of life
Is daily drunken there.
Then look out for the little brook in March,
When the rivers overflow,
And the snows come hurrying from the hills,
And the bridges often go.
And later, in August it may be,
When the meadows parching lie,
Beware, lest this little brook of life
Some burning noon go dry!
I didn't have a favorite poem so I searched through a few of them until I found this one. It's a pretty poem that flows nicely, and I enjoyed it =]
It's KINDA a poem, more of a song, but I think it counts:
It's not easy bein' green
Having to spend each day
The color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer
Bein' red or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that
It's not easy bein' green
It seems you blend in
With so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over
'Cause you're not standing out
Like flashy sparkles on the water
Or stars in the sky
But green's the color of spring
And green can be cool and friendly like
And green can be big like a mountain
Or important like a river or tall like a tree
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why
But, why wonder, why wonder?
I'm green and it'll do fine
It's beautiful and I think it's what I want to be
-Kermit the Frog
You are who you are, but that doesn't mean you can't be the very best you the world has ever seen.
My favorite poem....hmmm thats a tough one. I like how you mention Pablo Neruda, a great poet indeed. If i had to choose one poem, i would pick Las Alturas De Machu Picchu.
It is within canto general- a great book, its is like a history of the world, beginning with the plants, animals, man, then to the conqustadores and the libertadores. Its an amazing progression.
Las Alturas de Machu Picchu is a long poem that explores a mans journey to the top of Machu Picchu (in the literal sense) but in the figurative, the man is exploring himself. Ascending to the peaks of the andes as a metaphore for reaching an understanding of oneself. Just fabulous...i am biased. Neruda was a great writer.
Some say the world will end in fire
some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But, if I had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate,
to say that for destruction ice
is also great, and would suffice.
~Robert Frost
My favorite poem that I can call forth from memory. I think it's cool, and I actually picked it up from an Astronomy class I had at SDSU: Astr 310 "Cosmology and Gravitational Collapse". An eye opening course, I do so recommend it!
My favorite poem is "The Courtship of Myles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. On doing family history research for my and my husbands families I learned that my husbands line is connected to Captain Myles Standish and my family line is connected to John Alden, who is the other character in the poem. It is based loosely on historical fact and felt like a really cool find for my husband and me.
This following paragraph is from the poem "La Poesia" by Octavio Paz:
Insiste, vencedora,
porque tan sólo existo porque existes,
y mi boca y mi lengua se formaron
para decir tan sólo tu existencia
y tus secretas sílabas; palabra
impalpable y despótica,
sustancia de mi alma.
*In it he demonstrates how deep he feels about poetry, and as he says it here, "I only exist because you (poetry) exist."
My favorite poem is actually found in the Bible. A very well known verse is beautiful poetry in 1 Cor. 1-13. I absolutely love this poem/verse and I think that it speaks true to all kinds of love; love for friends, family, God, reltaionships, and yourself.
Love
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
"Hope" by Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune - without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
I love this poem. I read it while I was in high school, and I've remembered it ever since. I think it has a great message.
My favorite poem would be a Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. I did a reading of it once and after spending so much time memorizing it, it is safe to say it grew on me. Poe has always been a favorite of mine.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
by Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you Nobody Too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd banish us you know!
How dreary to be Somebody!
How public like a Frog
To tell one's name the livelong June
To an admiring Bog!
One of my all-time favorite poems is "since feeling is first," by e e cummings. His elusive style sparks real sensory delight:
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
-the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says
we are for each other: then
laugh leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis
Also: "Autumn Leaves" by Allen Ginsberg
Bukowski, Neruda, Blake, Harjo and many
more.......
Much of my favorite poetry comes from the bible--but my favorite poem from there would have to be a section that has already been mentioned on here a few times: 1 Corinthians 4-8. It is a beautiful depiction of what love really is. In my opinion, the word love, and even the action and emotion of love can be obscured. To me, this selection of the bible shows what genuine, authentic, and innocent love is and should be.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails.
my favorite poem is the Lost Cause by Emily Dickens. It's about the Noble soldiers that fought in the war of northern aggression.
My favorite poem is a poem by Robert Frost I'm sure most of us heard at one point in the classroom, it is called "The Road Not Taken"
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
"The Raven"- Edgar Allan Poe
This poem has always been one of my favorites and was the frist one to come to mind. My birthday falls in October where I would regularly hear this poem. As a child I never knew the importance or worth of poetry, but now I understand. Now that I am a bit older I can now comprehend on a equal level what all the words mean. For those of you who have never heard of or read this poem, take the time to be enlightened by a mastermind.
A VALENTINE by Edgar Allan Poe
For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda,
Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the lines!- they hold a treasure
Divine- a talisman- an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure-
The words- the syllables! Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a sabre,
If one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets- as the name is a poet's, too,
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto- Mendez Ferdinando-
Still form a synonym for Truth- Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.
i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) and i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or the mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
-ee cummings
Good and Bad Children by Robert Louis Stevenson
Children, you are very little,
And your bones are very brittle;
If you would grow great and stately,
You must try to walk sedately.
You must still be bright and quiet,
And content with simple diet;
And remain, through all bewild'ring,
Innocent and honest children.
Happy hearts and happy faces,
Happy play in grassy places--
That was how in ancient ages,
Children grew to kings and sages.
But the unkind and the unruly,
And the sort who eat unduly,
They must never hope for glory--
Theirs is quite a different story!
Cruel children, crying babies,
All grow up as geese and gabies,
Hated, as their age increases,
By their nephews and their nieces.
I find this poem touching. As educators, we are looking to help those young children. I liked this Stevenson poem a lot.
NATURAL MYSTIC
there's a natural mystic blowing through the air
if you listen carefully now you will hear
this could be the first trumpet, might as well be the last
many more will have to suffer
many more will have to die - don't ask me why
things are not the way they used to be
i won't tell you no lie
one and all have to face reality now
'tho i've tried to find the answer to all the questions they ask
'tho i know it's impossible to go living through the past
don't tell no lie
there's a natural mystic blowing through the air
can't keep them down
if you listen carefully now you will hear
Things Mother's Learn
I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.
I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.
I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot decide for you.
I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.
I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.
I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.
I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.
I can tell you about drink, but I can't say "no" for you.
I can warn you about drugs, but I can't prevent you from using them.
I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can't achieve them for you.
I can teach you about kindness, but I can't force you to be gracious.
I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.
...Author Unknown
I do not have a favorite poem, but I like several. When reading poems for this assignment, I found this one and decided to choose it because if you are a parent (as I am) you know just how true this is!
Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Maya Angelou
This is my most favorite poem in the world. My mom would read this poem to my sister and I when we were young. She would tell us that we were strong intependent women, she still reminds me of this poem when I am having a bad day. I think that every women should read this poem and live by it.
I was listening to NPR the other day and heard Leonard Choen being interviewed about his life and new work... his lastest poem cought me, especially hearing his voice say the words.
"The Street"
"I used to be your favorite drunk
Good for one more laugh.
Then we both ran out of luck
And luck was all we had.
You put on a uniform
To fight the civil war
I tried to join but no one liked
The side I'm fighting for.
So let's drink to when it's over
And let's drink to when we meet
I'll be waiting on this corner
Where there used to be a street
It wasn't all that easy
When you upped and walked away
But I'll save that little story
For another rainy day
I know the burden's heavy
As you wheel it through the night
The guru says it's empty
But that doesn't mean it's light.
So let's drink to when it's over
And let's drink to when we meet
I'll be waiting on this corner
Where there used to be a street
You left me with the dishes
And a baby in the bath
And you're tight with the militia
And you wear their camouflage
Well I guess that makes us equal
But I want to march with you
It's just an extra to the sequel
To the old, Red, White & Blue
So let's drink to when it's over
And let's drink to when we meet
I'll be waiting on this corner
Where there used to be a street
It's gonna be September now
For many years to come
Many hearts adjusting
To that strict September drum
I see the ghost of culture
With numbers on his wrist
Salute some new conclusion
That all of us have missed.
So let's drink to when it's over
And let's drink to when we meet
I'll be waiting on this corner
Where there used to be a street."
I understand I was probably supposed to pick something intelectual to put here as my favorite poet, but I honestly don't have one. This poem is by an author unknown to me. My other favorite poems come from Shel Silverstein and the Bible.
"If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world."
This is one of my favorite poems, as i look forward toward Spring.
"In Time of Silver Rain" by Langston Huges
In time of silver rain
the earth.
put forth new life again,
green grasses grow.
and flowers lift their heads,
and over all the plain
the wonder spreads.
Of life,
Of life,
Of life!
In time of silver rain,
the butterflies
lift silkenwings
to catch a rainbow cry,
and trees put forth
new leaves to sing
in joy beneath the sky,
as down the road way
passing boys and girls
go singing too,
In time of silver rain
when spring and life
are new.
My favorite poem is by Nancy R. Smith and a few lines from it are..
For every girl who is tired of acting weak when she is strong, there is a boy tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable... For every girl who takes a step toward liberation, there is a boy who finds the way to freedom a little easier.
Those are just some of the lines from the poem.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
...Robert Frost
or another favorite is by Teddy Roosevelt. I guess you can say both these quotes are about choices.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
Winter
One day when it's winter
When the tall oak groans in northern winds
When cruel frost creeps white beneath the bark
And twigs once sappy and green
Shake brittle and dry in the darkening
Then come to my door
Let yellow light spill out
Let me wrap you in warm
Let summer kisses bring back roses
What wingspan glides in the blue August skies
Soar and circle
Paired in gentle harmony, one other
Melt, then--
Be with me
I miss the love of my life!
My favorite poem is called "Footprints in the Sand" and it is by Mary Stevenson. Here it is:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“ You promised me Lord, that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “ The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
I really like it. It is really inspirational and a neat description of God.
If- By Rudyard Kipling is one of my favorite poems. This is a poem about friendship and standing up for yourself. There is no need to follow what others are doing, or to get hung up on what one person thinks, and this poem shows a great example of that. The poem is great for older and younger people, and is also great for teaching in school.
One of my favorite poems is by my boyfriend who wrote one just for me on Valentine's day about 3 years ago.
My Better Half by Daley John Ek
She takes the time to soothe away my stress,
On mother earth's ground we laid to rest
Exchanging voices as the winds carried them West
With my arm around her body, and head upon my chest
Here I would stay, until the golden sun coppers The floor to nothingness
My beloved beside me possesses a love that
Cannot be extinguished
Nurturing mind from the tips of her fingers
And although my body always burns, she sends
My spine shivers
She holds within a beauty far beyond compare,
Adoring her face as my fingers rubbed through her hair
Her lips felt like soft rose petals fallen from the sky, And she leaves me breathless,
Completely paralyzed
The old soul in me has fallen into his slumber
Because of the ease from his pain that now heals forever
And I would say my favorite melody of choice,
Is a world of silence existing only our voices
My favorite poem is ... drum roll please...
SICK
"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay,
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is---Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"
~Shel Silverstein~
Love it!! Hope you enjoyed!
This is one of my favorite poems. I really like it because it makes me think about decisions I make, have made and will make in the future. Also, it shows that making your own choices and going a different way than the "usual" often ends up better in the end.
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
There are a few poets and poems I like. However Shel Silverstein has always been one of my favorite poets. I think he has appeal to children and the child within.
LISTEN TO THE MUSTN'TS
by Shel Silverstein
Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child, Listen to the DON'TS Listen to the SHOULDN'TS The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS Listen of the NEVER HAVES Then listen close to me-- Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be.
My best friend is always near
When she speaks to me it always sincere
We've been inseperable for quite a while
When I'm upset, she makes me smile
Everything I do, I do it with her
Living with each other is what we'd prefer
Now and then our relationship is rocky
Mainly because, were both sort of cocky
Everytime we get in a fight
We talk it out, and make it alright
When either of us is in any pain
We listen, and never complain.
All our deep dark secrets we confide
We complete each other, side by side.
We always seem to make it through
Staying friends forever is what we'd like to pursue
When were together we get along fine
Im her other half, and shes mine.
I actually just recently found this poem on a random website and it fit with me and by best friend to a tee! We have been best friends since 6th grade and nothing will ever change that! =)
My best friend is always near
When she speaks to me it always sincere
We've been inseperable for quite a while
When I'm upset, she makes me smile
Everything I do, I do it with her
Living with each other is what we'd prefer
Now and then our relationship is rocky
Mainly because, we're both sort of cocky
Everytime we get in a fight
We talk it out, and make it alright
When either of us is in any pain
We listen, and never complain.
All our deep dark secrets we confide
We complete each other, side by side.
We always seem to make it through
Staying friends forever is what we'd like to pursue
When were together we get along fine
I'm her other half, and shes mine.
I actually just recently found this poem on a random website and it fit with me and my best friend to a tee. We have been best friends since 6th grade and nothing will ever change that! =)
Footprints in the Sand
by Mary Stevenson
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was
walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the
sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he
noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one
belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When
the last scene of his life flashed before him, he
looked back at the footprints in the sand. He
noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed
that it happened at the very lowest and saddest
times in his life. This really bothered him and he
questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that
once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all
the way. But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life, there is only one set
of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed
you most you would leave me." The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would
never leave you. During your times of trial and
suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it
was then that I Carried You."
This is one of my favorite, it is written in prose. Even some writters claim to be the authors it is known as anonimous. I love this one because it shows the infinite love that Jesus have for us.
SICK
"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay,
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is---Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"
~Shel Silverstein~
My favorite poem is "Island" by Langston Hughes. This poem helped me get through one of the most painful period of my life, the sudden death of my mom. I felt as if I would never recover from the sorrow that I was feeling. At the time I was taking a literature class and this poem was among the assigned readings. It described my feelings exactly but it also gave me hope that I would by ok with time. Since then not a day goes by that my heart does not ache for my mom but these few lines helped me to be where I am today.
Island
Wave of sorrow
do not drown me now
I see the island
still ahead somehow
I see the island
and its sands are fair
wave of sorrow
take me there.
MIRACLES
by: Conrad Aiken
Twilight is spacious, near things in it seem far,
And distant things seem near.
Now in the green west hangs a yellow star.
And now across old waters you may hear
The profound gloom of bells among still trees,
Like a rolling of huge boulders beneath seas.
Silent as though in evening contemplation
Weaves the bat under the gathering stars.
Silent as dew, we seek new incarnation,
Meditate new avatars.
In a clear dusk like this
Mary climbed up the hill to seek her son,
To lower him down from the cross, and kiss
The mauve wounds, every one.
Men with wings
In the dusk walked softly after her.
She did not see them, but may have felt
The winnowed air around her stir;
She did not see them, but may have known
Why her son's body was light as a little stone.
She may have guessed that other hands were there
Moving the watchful air.
Now, unless persuaded by searching music
Which suddenly opens the portals of the mind,
We guess no angels,
And are contented to be blind.
Let us blow silver horns in the twilight,
And lift our hearts to the yellow star in the green,
To find perhaps, if, while the dew is rising,
Clear things may not be seen.
This is one of my favorite poems, although it was hard to choose just one!
I am not much of a poem girl. I like quotes of people. Poems seem to loose my interest after a while. There for I have not been exposed to much to it. (I like a lot of what people have put on the blog -thanks) But I am fond of Edgar Allen Poe. How about this one:
A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM
by Edgar Allan Poe
(1827)
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Embrace
You know the parlor trick.
wrap your arms around your own body
and from the back it looks like
someone is embracing you
her hands grasping your shirt
her fingernails teasing your neck
from the front it is another story
you never looked so alone
your crossed elbows and screwy grin
you could be waiting for a tailor
to fit you with a straight jacket
one that would hold you really tight.
Billy Collins
I'm not a big poetry fan, but I remember a poem my old roommate had posted to his desk called "The Guy in the Glass" by Dale Wimbrow. I like this poem because it's about self acceptance and responsibility. It's easy to mislead others or act fake, but you cannot truly fool yourself. When you look in the mirror, are you happy with the person staring back at you?
My favorite poem is Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou. I find this poem to be very encouraging. It describes me perfectly. :) In the Black community, this poem is rewritten many times to fit the needs of special occasions.
My favorite poem by Langston Hughes is Mother to son. It is such a touching and beautiful poem and it is by far my favorite.
Chris COnstante
There is another sky
by Emily Dickinson
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
Here is a few lines from a poem on children by Kahlil Gibran
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and HE bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand befor gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,so He loves also the bow that is stable.
I don't have a favorite but I thought this one i found online was really good
Everytime I Look At The Stars
I gazed in your eyes,
Such a beautiful blue;
My heart whispered to me,
And that’s right when I knew;
The waves had ceased crashing,
On the sand at our feet;
Time had stopped passing,
My search was complete;
I finally discovered,
What I'd known all along;
A mystery uncovered,
That just couldn't be wrong;
It wasn't our first kiss,
Nor' the day that we met;
But I realized something,
I will never forget;
With the stars shining brightly,
From high up above;
I'd one word to describe it,
That word, is love.
I knew then these feelings,
For my sweetheart were true;
The man of my dreams,
And my soulmate, is you.
I think of it every time,
That I look at the stars;
This memory is mine,
But that moment was
OURS.
- Stephanie Lumley -
One of my favorite poems is from Carlos Cuahutemoc Sanchez, a spanish novel writer, but also has a few poems in his books. The poem I like is Called "Hija", a father writing to his daughter and giving her advice, its very sweet.
I have not really been one for poetry other than music lyrics, so I chose to research some of langston Hughes's work. A Dream Deffered is a great lyric because everyone has dreams, and are chaaracter can become better or worse after our dreams seem to be shattered. What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
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