Coming of Age Writing Prompt #5: What are some epiphanies that you have had about yourself?

Why does it matter
Who said it did
Maybe it was me
Who made that decision
Because the decision is me

Why does it matter what he
Thinks, she
Thinks, they
Think
Why does it affect me

Thoughts are for
Those who think them
Does it change me because I know
He hates
Me, I annoy
Her, to them I'm
Weird

To me
I'm me
And me is happy,
The way me is

Coming of Age Response: What are some questions and concerns you have about growing up and adulthood?

Who will I be?

Because

Now I am drifting

Between whom I want

To be

Who I am now

I’m not sure

Growing up means

What does it mean?

That I need

To choose

Who

As long

As

I choose

Right

I am told

That when I

Grow up I must

Choose who

I want to be

But for now

I will stay

Me

Sonnet

The summer winds do whistle through the wood
A pretty day with sun and birds, air's light
I walk and stroll enjoy soft breeze, so good
A lone rose growing tall a pretty sight

I go to pick it up and sniff its scent
A strong and sweet perfume that leaks I sniff
To smell this scent all day and night, it's meant
To keep this scent, to savor a sweet whiff

But then a finger scrapes a point, not fun
The beauty has hurt me so shame this thorn
A bee then sprouts from petals smooth it comes
The sting begins I scream, this pain I scorn

My finger hurt I trudge await, I'm maimed
A lone rose left upon the ground remained

Response to Classmate's Blogs

Sarah:
Sarah's blog had many thoughtful responses and poems. Of these I think that her sonnet was my favorite. I really appreciated how she brought out the good in winter, a season that I greatly dislike. She talked about the feeling of warmth from a fire while looking at the snow. I could really connect to this part because I have always loved being inside during a snow storm with a hot drink and being happy that I am cozy and warm. As well as having strong, thoughtful descriptions it followed iambic pentameter. Overall it was obviously very thought-through and had a lot of effort.

Tulah:
Tulah's responses have a lot of depth and substance. In her response to My Papa's Waltz she stated her opinion in an organized way with a lot to back it up. I liked how she thought about how every detail mattered. As well as defending her own opinions, she explained what they boy's motives were to her. In the last paragraph of her response she states that "we look up to our parents, and so we find it hard to fault them." I defiantly agree. When my parents are saying something that I don't think is fair, I sometimes see why because I look up to them. Overall, Tulah's response was very thought provoking.

Alberta:
Alberta has some very good poetry on her blog. Of her poems, the one that I appreciated most was her narrative poem. I liked how it didn't out-right say what the narrator was thinking, but it is still a joyful poem. In my mind I interpret it as a poem about confidence, but I can see many other ways to interpret it. Another thing that I liked was the line breaks. They were in a place that gave the poem a smooth rhythm. The descriptions gave me a very good visual as well. Overall, it was a very creative poem.

Response to "My Father's Waltz"

My Father's Waltz was a very sad poem. Under many layers, the author admitted that his father was a drunk and abused him. Whether it was about a specific time or his whole childhood, he makes the reader feel the pain of his father's belt buckle and "hand caked with dirt."

What is most interesting about the poem is how the author says it so casually. He explains the hand as keeping time and the belt buckle from slipping. It is as if he was abused on a regular basis and began to think of it as normal life.

That is a scary thought; being abused could be his normal life. Each day waking up, eating, and being abused as his mother nonchalantly looks on. Talking about the mother, I wonder what exactly she is doing and thinking while her husband drunkenly hits their son. Is she helpless, or could she have made the husband stop? Maybe she is scared for her own safety, but would sacrifice that of her son's.

This poem shows a life that I could never imagine having, yet the author lived it and was brave enough to share it with us. I admire his bravery in this situation, in his life!

Narrative Poem

A beautiful day, I think to myself
The sun and the heat will surely be out
I run to  the window that's under my shelf
And look for the sun that will defiantly be about

But there it is
The wind and the rain
And there goes my bliss
Oh, such pain

All I wanted was a day to play
Amongst the beautiful summer air
Now on my mattress I shall lay
While I contemplate this unfair

I guess I will go out anyway
Into the wind that's harsh and cold
I don't care what they'll say
I just am so bold

Poem on an Incident

                                                    just a young tree
                                              living happily in the world
                                          in its few years budding, blooming
                                           turning red in the fall and going
                                            on its path of simple, simple life
                                                one day a stranger came
                                                walking down the street
                                                        he smiled
                                                                       and yanked on me
                                                           just a
                                                        poor tree
                                                       strong, now
                                                           with a
                                                           broken
                                                           branch
                                                         a broken
                                                         limb, the
                                                        pain of one
                                                      person's pull

Reflection on Starry Night

Starry Night by Anne Sexton is a very interesting poem. It takes a painting that many think of as pretty and turns it into something creepy. It turns into death and monstrous thoughts; a battle within ones self. 

This poem shows that things can be seen from different perspectives based on the person's personality. If they are generally unhappy they will see the dark colors and notice how they compliment the painting. A generally happier person will notice the stars and how they compliment the painting.

Like the painting, the poem has many layers and many feelings within. They can be interpreted in many different ways. It just depends on the person and their view of the world. They just need to look carefully and extract what they can connect to. Each poem/painting is multiple opinions.

Poem On "Heat"

A still air drowning me
A heat covering me
Rubbing close
Covering me in a captive's
bond
No way to move
No way to resist

It was best not to try
To let it do what it came  for
Then pass
To wait for the cool wind to save me.

Until then
I will
Brace the
Heat

Reading Response: The Singing by Alison Croggon

The main character in The Singing, Maerad, shines apart from main characters of other books. Maerad refuses to be weak and she has determination that runs through thick and thin. As she tries to help save the city of Innail while it fights the the evil ally of the Nameless One, the Landrost, she finds herself close to death. The fear of the encounter changed her attitude. Death so close left an immovable shadow over her.

Maerad has faced dangerous sorcerers and elemental gods, yet she expected those. Though she knew she was heading to a dangerous place (the Landrost's mind) she hadn't come to terms that she could die from it. In Maerad's defense, death is a hard thing to understand and an even harder thing to come to terms with. Even as she found the bodies of others she could never fully accept that they were gone forever.

Maered is just a young girl who has more pressure than she can handle. She is wanted by the powerful Winterking, an evil man without a soul, and many dark sorcerers;she carries the key to the safety or ending of Annar, the treesong, yet she is still undaunted until a nightmare almost becomes reality.

As the nightmare rode the hope was safe

Determined to keep the thing that mattered

As she fought for Annar the hope went away

Wrapped in a blanket of dark she fought sleep

Social Action #2: Write a Poem

A life beyond my own
A life of nothing, yet they are still here
Their few coins hit their old paper cups
For just one meal they beg and plead
On plastic crates that no-one needs

Tattered clothing on bodies thinned
As they turn invisible to but a few
The few that stop and drop a couple cents
Then go on their way
And forget about that person who will sit through the cold night
Without a care as they shiver in the rain

Stuck in a circle
No way to get out
Beg, buy, eat until they die
Some in shelters
Others on the street
Hoping and praying for a fresh day

Extra Credit: Poem

A freedom between two worlds
A song connecting them without bonds
A hope keeping the light on
A light shinning down
A dancer stops and bows

Extra Credit: Poem

Sounds of sorrow
Joined by the winds soft cries
Sad as the night

A faint glimmer appears through the dark
A circle strong
Strong with light
Living for life
Life for the light
The light that stands strong