All Hallows by Louise Gluck

I picked this poem from this specific group of poems because at first I did not like it, but then after awhile I believe that I have come to an understanding about it. Because this poem is written about such a celebrated holiday, which has such spiritual meaning behind it, I think the poet is emphasizing the religious aspect of the poem. The poet writes about the end of the harvest, the fields are bare and the animals are in the barn. It is late October and the earth is "going to sleep" in a way because it is not going to grow for awhile. This sense of death is brought upon the reader when the wife in the poem holds out her hand for the spirit. It seems as if she is feeding the spirit the seeds for it to grow. She is calling upon the spirit to come alive now that the earth is done harvesting. This poem is very poinant because in a way I see it as the death of the earth but the birth of the spirit. Even though this "death" does not last forever, neither does All Hallows Eve. Gluck is portraying this poem in this way to possibly shed more light in this holiday and give awareness to the true meaning behind the day.

America by Allen Ginsberg

I am choosing this poem because I like the way that it is written. The author writes this poem as a stream of consciousness. I like the fact that the persona of the poem is the writer of the poem, to me it makes it more believable. As a reader I feel like you have insight into what his mind is thinking, doing, and producing. I also think that this poem has wisdom because he seems to be watching the television and talking about all the things he sees on the news. All the negative aspects of America and how we need to make it a better country. I also think that this poem is very poignant because it moves along very well and the reader follows his train of thought rather easily. This poem is one that also opens up the eyes of the people that read it because you are getting someones view of the world and their opinions, which could be negative or positive regarding a person, place, or act. This poet seems to push their opinion rather strongly through their work.

We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

I chose this poem because I think it could stand for many different things in life. There is a saying that people wear different masks everyday to show what role they are playing. But, I believe that we wear masks when we do not want out emotion to be evident to others. When something has upset us or made us mad we will sometimes hide this so that we don't have to confront it with other people. This poem speaks about covering up lies because masks cover our faces and eyes and people can't read a person when their eyes are covered. The poem then asks why should the world know about every tear that we shed, some things in life a meant to be personal and private, so the masks are looked at in a positive fashion. In the last stanza it speaks of smiles covering up cries of tortured souls and I believe that the author of the poem is speaking about how the African Americans had to cover up their faces but their souls still tried to show through. I like the poem for the truth that it speaks.

may i feel said she by EE Cummings

This poem was not one that stuck out at me the first time that I read it, I had to read it a few times to understand the way that the language was used in the poem. Then, I decided that I really liked it. The poem is written as a stream of consciousness and each line is a different thought from each person. The poem itself is about 2 people being intimate and the man is understood to be cheating on his wife. This does not stop him and he pleasures the woman regardless of his situation. I think that this is a good poem for people to read because it is full of emotion and lust. The people are so caught up in the moment that they are taken away from reality and as much as this is a horrible act to pursue it happens more times that we like to know about. Overall, I like the new language as it is presented in the poem and I like the emotion that is sensed from the two people in the poem because it makes it seem real.

I Am by John Clare

I am choosing this poem because it is not something that I would normally choose to reflect on. I believe this because it is a poem about death, or at least it is to me. The person that is talking seems to be in conflict with himself, he doesn't like the place where he is at right now and believes that no one else cares that he is unhappy. You read the poem and realize that he is dead. His friends don't think of him anymore, the people that he loved think of him as a stranger now, and would like to be in an untroubled place. He lives his life in the quiet nothingness where he says that there are no joys. Yet, I believe that he is fighting these feelings and he misses the people that believe he is a stranger now and he is upset that he is in a different world. For me, this poem seems very poignant because once you die, you seem to be nothing to anyone, but in reality you are great memories to the ones that remember you and are still very loved.

The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks

I picked this poem out of the other selections because it is on such a controversal topic. We always hear so much about abortion and how it is either wrong or a right of women. And, when it is wrong or a right, I feel like we never hear the woman's side of the story. We never hear what this poet is saying, that she loved the baby and is saddened by the fact that they never had the chance to giggle, suck on their thumb, get married, or cry. She is saddened by the thing that she had to do, even though the reader does not know why-we feel her emotions. I feel like I do not really see myself in the poem, but I just feel for the poet and understand her emotions. I believe that this poem is very poignant because of all the emotion that is felt while reading it. She expresses her point by explaining her saddness.

A Marriage by Michael Blumenthal

After reading this poem I immediatly knew that I liked it. It reads rather easily but sends such a strong message. It is uplifting to me, I guess, to know that someone is writing about what a marriage REALLY should be. You are alone, making your way through life and all of a sudden someone comes along and is a helping hand for you and you now get through life together. I think that if more people thought like this we would hear less about divorce!! I liked the analogy that he used with the ceiling because it does seem like it gets lower and lower and it is shutting you in as things get thougher in life, but as soon as there are another set of arms to hold it up, you can take turns. And in the end, with each other's help, the ceiling will never fall, your lives will not fall apart.

Ellen West by Frank Bidart

I chose this poem not because I can see myself in it but because I can find a friend in it. My best friend whom I have grown up with faught like this during our last two high school years. I believe that she had many of the same thoughts as Ellen and struggled with this sickness alone. Many a time, my friends and I tried to talk to her about it, but much like Ellen she refused to believe that anything was wrong. Thankfully my friends story doesn't end like Ellen's, but it is such a problem that our society faces and I think that every person at some point has not been happy with what they see in the mirror, but it is their own personal way of dealing with it that we don't know about. In a way I am sad for Ellen because I think that she could have faught back at this sickness and overcome it but it overcame her in the end.

Up by Margaret Atwood

I picked this poem for the fact that I was able to see myself in it. I read this poem not so much for the last lines because I don't find myself feeling like I have to forgive someone, but because I understand the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed, for whatever reason. I sometimes feel that I would like to stay in bed with the doors shut and just be with myself for the day. I have had the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed because of the knowledge of what the day was going to bring. I think that the person in this poem didn't want to face what the day was to bring and tried to overcome this in their own way.

Dusting by Julia Alvarez

I like this poem because the subject that is spoken about is so simple but impacts a person greatly. The mother's act of dusting away her daughter's marks on the furniture in a way takes her "stamp" on life away. She wants to make a name for herself and be somebody. In the last lines of the poem she expresses this by saying that she doesn't want to be a nobody like her average mother. I believe that this girl is creative and wants her name to mean something one day and by dusting away her name her dream is being taken away as well.