Coy Mistress

This poem is about a longing for a women who continually rejects her admirers' love. The speaker is persistent, insisting that she be his. "My vegetable love should grow/Vaster than empires, and more slow" (Marvell 11-12). The speaker's love grows more and more over time and almost seems to threaten her that if she doesn't return his love, her fate would be death. This poem was a bit hard to understand and I still don't think I understand it completely. Compared to "Porphyria's Lover", this poem isn't quite as dark, although it still seems to be about obsession.

Mending Wall

My reaction to this poem is that two neighbors work together to fix the fence so that each can make sure that their property lines are defined properly. The quote within the poem that is reiterated is, "'Good fences make good neighbors"' (Frost 27, 45). The importance of mending the fence (sounds like it is a annual thing), builds the bonds between neighbors as they work together to fix it. It also sounds like the speaker thinks it is somewhat non-purposeful to have a fence if you don't have cows. It also appears to me that they debate on whether they are "...walling in or walling out" (Frost 33). Are they trying to keep things in or keeps things out? It actually seems like they make a game out of this fixing of the wall. Even though my literary preference is not poetry, I somewhat enjoy Robert Frost's poems.

Those Winter Sundays

In this poem, we see distant love of a father and a child. The poem starts out "Sundays too my father for up early," (Hayden 1) this the father is demonstrating that he was a hard worker and still woke up before everyone else to warm up the rooms. The father basically says love in the simple act he does. The child, who all grown up now, realizes that he should have noticed more of all the hard work his father did for him. His father did this because he loved them, he maybe didn't show his love through spending time with his children but by working hard, providing food, and making sure they are safe. Hayden writes that "[n]o one ever thanked him." (Line 5) His father not got a thank you out of his children after all he has done. Maybe he has lots of children and thats why he has to work even harder. His child now sees how much his father loved him and wishes he could go back tell his father thank you. This relationhip between his father and son is difficult. His father showed love in different ways but his child wanted love that his father never gave him until he grows up and sees that the lack of empathy that he should have shown his father.

We Real Cool

This poem was short but has a strong meaning to it. The poem relates to the seven pool players that dropped out of school. The poem states "We Left School." (Brooks 2) The seven kids that left school thought that they are cool but are not. This kind of life style of partying and playing pool, does not lead to anywhere but an unheathly life style. We see this when Brookes writes "We Die soon." (Line 8) There daily carefree life seems to them that they are cool, but their cool life style only leads to death.

Barbie Doll

In the poem "Barbie Doll" states that this girl would rather be dead and beautiful, than alive and ugly. Most girls this day and age have the same state of mind. The poem states "You have great big nose and fat legs." (Piercy 6) Society makes you think that it is better to be dead and perfect, than alive and imperfect. It is really sad how looks are more important than intelligence and talent. The American youth doesn't have very good role models. If you take a look at the celebrities, some don't have any talent what so ever, but they are pretty and thats what the world likes to look at today. In this poem, the girl is done with being ulgy and gives into the world, so she can be pretty, and has cosmetic surgery done. Piercy writes "So she cut off her nose and her legs." (Line 17) She does this so she can fit into the world and look like a barbie herself. Now she feels that she could live a happy life but instead she died the way she wanted to look.

Photograph of my Father in his Twenty-Second Year

I liked this poem. I thought it showed deep meaning and love he had for his father. This person is looking at one of his father's photograph and sees that he has turned to be like his father. The author writes "Sheepish grin, he holds in one hand a string of spiny yellow perch, in the other a bottle of Carlsbad beer." (Carver 3-5) This photograph describes what his father liked to do and he is thankful that he has turned out like his father. We know that he is proud to be he son when Carver writes "Father, I love you, yet how can I say thank you, I who can't hold my liquor either, and don't even know the places to fish?" (Lines 13-15) He wishes that he was still alive, so he could say thank you for what his father has done for him and greatful for the way he raised him. There is a question mark at the very end of this last line. This is stating that, if his father was still alive, he would want to know where he used to fish. Sense his father is gone, he feels a bit of emptiness inside because he loved his father so much.

Digging

I enjoyed this poem because it seemed more easily read than some of the other poems. What I gathered from it was that the speaker uses his pen as a tool much like his father and grandfather used shovels. He delivers a lot of sensory images: "...cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap of soggy peat" (Heaney 25-26). Maybe he is embarrassed that he can't do what these older relatives can do (sweat labor). Yet I wonder if he seems grateful because thinking of how his father and grandfather handle their shovels triggers his brain to wake up, "[t]hrough living roots awaken in my head" (Heaney 27). If he is a writer maybe he gives credit to his father and grandfather for putting those images there, to enlighten him to write the words of whatever he is writing. Line 28 implies that maybe there is a lower self esteem, "[b]ut I've no spade to follow men like them" (Heaney 28). In a way he is a man but not the man he feels he should be (strong), to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

We Real Cool

This poem appears to be about "living in the moment". It seems to have reference to peer pressure from what I got out of it. Most of the lines end in "we". Maybe it's safe to say that this has a gang type reference also. Staying out late at night, the sin, and I am not sure what Jazz June means but I think this also refers to the trouble they get themselves in eventually. I think it is symbolic of youth and rebellion.

Barbie Doll

As the title of this poem implies, "Barbie Doll" is about a young girl feeling awkward about her body. The symbolism of perfection comes into play right at the beginning. When she was born there wasn't anything different about her and any other girl. Early childhood seems to be quite normal but when she reaches puberty her body changes and she gets teased. She was smart and strong, but all anyone could see was "a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy 11). The cliche about judging a book by its cover comes to mind and maybe that is what this poem was referring to. By the way the poem continues on, I think her parents tried to convince her that a good nature would make the remarks go away, but she gets tired of putting up with it. She takes her life because of the teasing and when the undertaker gives her a fake nose, people suddenly say "[d]oesn't she look pretty" (Piercy 23)? The last line I think refers to the fact that every woman desires to be called "pretty" no matter what the cost. In this case it cost her her life.

We Real Cool

This poem was okay. I think it is about teens being teens. Their out partying having a good time. They have left school and are experiencing new freedoms. Their realizing that life is short so enjoy today.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone

This poem is kind of sad. It is about a woman who has lost her one and only love. It describes how her life has come to an end. She lived for her significant other, they went everywhere together. That's what I gathered when she mentions "He was my North, my South, my East and West." I think they didn't spend much time apart either with the comment, "My working week and my Sunday rest." She is lonely. She doesn't want to keep on living maybe. The mentioning of the stars not wanted now, leads me to think that stars are where people look up to, and make wishes, and this person no longer wants that. She is empty.

Jump Cabling

I enjoyed this poem. I thought it it was a very sexual poem. When Pastan states, "When you lifted the hood of mine. To see the intimate workings underneath." This is refering to two people as lovers, and he is undressing her and looking at her body intimately. As he is putting the cables onto the car together, Pastan states "When we were bound together." They are referring to being together as well as connected sexually. When the car starts, I thought that she felt that she was in a fariy tale, as they finished their sexual experience. At the end Pastan states "I thought why not ride the rest of the way together?" This says that maybe it is possible that they could share their lives together. They don't know for sure, but want to ride in one car together instead of two cars so they can be as one.

"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone"

I really enjoyed this poem and how it describes how a woman has lost the love of her life. This man ment everything to her, he was her world, her lover, her reason for awaking everyday. But described in this sentence "I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong" "Stope all the clocks, cut off the telephone." W.H. Auden. It describes in the beginning how everything stops for a moment during a funeral and everyone is quite while the body is brought out. Everyone wants love in there lives even if they dont believe they do. In the end of this poem she describes how life isn't worth living anymore. Nothing will make her happy anymore so take it all way stating in this sentence "For nothing now can ever come to any good" W.H. Auden. Some people after losing a loved one completely stop living as if life can not go on and will not be the same. This is true to a point because yes your life will be different without that person that was by your side for so long doing the thing with you, but you can still enjoy life and keep on living in a different way.

"We Real Cool"

This poem describes what life is like for a young adult who doesn't quite understand what he wants in life and is struggling to find himself. Once a child becomes overwhelmed with lifes challenges some just decide to quite school. They become involved in drugs/alcohol/partying and having unprotected sex and could get an STD. Most of these teens that quit school and dont graduate become one of these statistics. A life such as this may end soon such as stated in the last sentence in this poem "Die Soon", We Real Cool, Gwendolyn Brooks. Also the title describes that they think they are so cool cause they dont have to go to school and they can do whatever they want but in the end it could end in tragity such as death.

"The Man He Killed"

This poem deals with the struggle of a man having to kill another man because he is a soldier in a war. He describes in the begging "We should have sat us down to wet Right many a nipperkin!" The Man He Killed",Thomas Hardy. This described what would happen in a normal setting outside of war if they were to have met in a bar and just started talking, maybe shared a beer/drink together. War is a tragic ordeal and even though a solider goes into war knowing what his duties are they never really understand the reason for taking another mans life. In the ordinary world things are so different and once a soldier comes back into the normal world it is sometimes very hard for them to adapt again. They might become off guard and think someone is watching them? Become very nervous if approached by a stranger and question why they are talking to them? Kind of like childbirth woman have post-partum depression and in a soldiers eyes he could have this same kind of thing with coming back into the real world and not really understanding the purpose.

"Barbie Doll"

This poem deals alot with growing up and how the public and people view woman. How they pick apart women and that they should all be perfect like a barbie doll. The woman/girl described in this story is perfectly healthy such stated "She was healthy, tested intelligent, posssessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual desterity." Barbie Doll, Marge Piercy. She had it all but according to some mean people that made fun of her legs and nose being to big. This story describes alot what happens in todays society. How everyone should be thin and perfect and do anything they can to get there bodies to look that way: diet, exercise, botox, and surgery. In the end she becomes so overwhelmed that she cuts them off and dies trying to be something she is not. Many of todays actors/actresses have died or come close to it because of trying to make themselves look thin and beatiful for the public. We live in a cruel and sick world based on looks. Looks doesn't get you everything but sad to say in todays world it can get you alot.

Those Winter Days

I liked this poem, too. A hard working father, who seems to want to do anything for his child. The father is playing the mother role, which makes a person wonder, what happened to her. Did she die, are they divorced? The father is lonely, maybe angry that he is alone, raising a child on his own. The child fears the anger. When the poem mentions, when the rooms were warm (Hayden) he'd call- the father was up early, making the rooms comfortable for him before he rises. I think the child was probably disrespectful to his father when the poem mentions he spoke indifferenty to him.