Where I Come From Models – Part 3

      The poem in free-verse that grabbed my attention was the "Digging" by Seamus Heaney. My overall impression of the poem is that it was a poem about a man who didn't follow in the footsteps of his family. Both his father and grandfather were great diggers for potatoes, but he is not. He reveals at the start and end of the poem that he "digs" with his pen-- that he is a poet--different than his father and grandfather. I enjoyed the repetition of the "old man" in this stanza: "By God, the old man could handle a spade.   Just like his old man." It made me stop and reread it. He was using this as an effective way to get the message across to his audience that his father and grandfather were so similar. His olfactory imagery of the potatoes is very realistic:

"The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap

Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge"

      I was impressed by how much detail he put into potato digging. Also in that stanza, he applied enjambment after "slap", but the enjambment seemed to me accidental in order to keep within the aesthetic structure of the poem. However I can't help but wonder if he had put deeper thought behind it. The line "Once I carried him milk in a bottle" also left me curious about his intentions. This is a very strangely worded sentence, but I can't seem to find the importance of this line. I don't see why he would want it to stand out.

Blank Verse Collaboration

Somewhere on the Rainbow                  By: Grace, Alexa, Rhiannon, Elizabeth, Jessica

Above you, after rain, a sight of awe. 1

The vibrant colors stain the sky with vi

bes. 2

I glow on springtime daisies growing vast. 3

On skin I shine like suns on days most bright.4

I live inside your soul as happy zest.5

The summer air is full of life and bliss.6

The color yellow I am. I am joy.    7                      

The sounds and smells I make from crashing waves,8

My seaside sanctuary calms the mind.9

Untainted seas with swimming fish in reefs.10

Put toes in sand; relinquish doubt to me.11

Serene I seem as I am sea-foam green.   12                   

From far the deep blue lake is calm and cool.13

Light blue the sky is full of hope and life.14

The blueberry is subtly sweet and soft.15

With wings spread wide the blue-bird sings so swell.16

I am those things: I am the shades of blue.   17             

Oh Fuck! Your face is one I wish would burn.18

To hell with you to die a painful death.19

To fester blood, to blister skin, inflict 20

Some evil, lose your heart, replace with me—21

The Hate! Remember me! The color Red! 22

I stain. Pollute. I taint, disgrace, destroy.23

Not just the coal that burns, the ash that forms. 24

I rage, I censor, seize, defeat, offend. 25

Unknown and feared. I crush, depress, entrap. 26

I shame and sin, I’m scandal. Wicked. Black.  27           

Another splendid moment passes now. 28

So long, farewell, until we meet again.    29

lines 1-2, 18-22, 28-29 written by Elizabeth 

lines 3-7 written by Grace

lines 8-12 written by Alexa

lines 13-17 written by Rhiannon

lines 23-27 written by Jessica        

"Traveling through the Dark" reflection

                The poem that caught my attention was “Traveling through the Dark” by William E. Stafford. I thought it was interesting how at first he says that …”it is usually best to roll them into the cannon”, but she decides to push her into the river. I think that the significance of this is that a river is a much gentler place to be. I think that once he realized that a fawn was in the picture, he took a much more caring approach. He also switches the action from “roll” to “push” in order to care for the baby. I thought it was interesting how he says: “…I could hear the wilderness listen” as if the wilderness was a person--ordinarily it would be the other way around. I also was drawn to the meaning of swerving in this poem. In the first mention of the word swerve in the first stanza, I didn’t think much of it aside from its literal meaning. However, when the word was mentioned again in the last stanza: “I thought hard for us all—my only swerving”, it made me think that perhaps swerving held more significance than I initially thought. I think that to swerve in the second instance symbolizes his thought process of going back and forth; pondering on what he should do with the doe. After reading this poem, the second to last line stuck in my head: “I thought hard for us all”. I thought it was touching how he subtly acknowledges the fact that the fawn was important and had been alive enough to be included as someone just as the doe and the author himself.

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" Reflection

The poem that grabs my attention is “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”. The parts I like best are the first and last stanzas. In the first stanza, I really simply imagine a cloud floating across the sky looking down upon this scene of daffodils. This gives him a perspective able to see all of the many pieces of nature that surround him, making him realize he is not so lonely. The simile he uses “I wandered lonely as a cloud” makes me lose all thought that he was a person, and I then think of only the cloud.  However, in the last stanza I am brought back to reality. When he says “…on my couch I lie…” I begin to think of a person again. As he mentions the daffodils in the last two lines, he summarizes the message of the whole poem, that joy can be found in solitude. However, technically he is not speaking of complete solitude, because really the company of these dancing daffodils and other beautiful pieces of nature surrounds him. When I finished reading this poem, I kept thinking about how interesting it was that he decided to de-personify himself into a cloud and simultaneously personify the forms of nature such as the daffodils and the waves. I also noticed that he used the words “twinkle, shine, sparkling, flash”, all similar descriptions for very different things. He uses them to describe stars, the daffodils, and waves, which to me seemed a bit strange

A Little Bit about Myself

Hello my name is Rhiannon Flanagan-Rosario. I am a first year Biomedical Engineering Major with a minor in Spanish. I am from Evanston Illinois, a suburb just north of Chicago. I love to travel, when I am so fortunate enough to do so. I hope to study abroad in the Ecuador LBAT program this summer, where I will be immersed in the Spanish Language and culture. I enjoy running a lot, I was on the track and Cross Country team in high school and I am a member of the Women’s Distance team here at Tech. I have one sibling, an older brother who attends the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, majoring in Computer Science. I also have a pet fish back at home who is named Bruce Wayne. My parents raised me to be a well-rounded individual, and so growing up I have tried numerous activities. I’ve played 3 different instruments (each for multiple years), and about 9 different sports. Because of my vast exposure to many things, I have become a very curious, open-minded person. This characteristic is transferred to when I am reading poetry as well. I try to think of the many meanings of a poem, and I am always curious about what the author intended the poem to convey. I have taken poetry units in high school English classes, but never a poetry-specific course. I am eager to receive a more focused education on poetry in this class.