The Bagel
David Ignatow
I stopped to pick up the bagelrolling away in the wind,annoyed with myselffor having dropped itas if it were a portent.Faster and faster it rolled,with me running after itbent low, gritting my teeth,and I found myself doubled overand rolling down the streethead over heels, one complete somersaultafter another like a bageland strangely happy with myself.

The speake of this poem is probably a man out of his teen years. He is probably working and busy if he doesn't have time to run after a rolling bagel.
The diction of the poem is about a busy man chasing a bagel down the street. The man is clearly aggrivated, griting his teeth and bent low. He ends up tripping and falling down in a somersault. He finally sees the humor in the situation and his mood changes to happiness.
Some imagery in this poem would be a bagel rolling on its edge down the street in the wind. Or, a man tripping over himself and looking foolish and uncomfortable. He ends up somersaulting over himself.
Some figurative language in the poem would be "dropped is as if it were a portent" which is a simile."Faster and Faster" is a use of repition to exxagerate a point.
I think the meaning of this poem is how older people become so serious and busy. Sometimes they need to loosen up and forget and laugh and calm down.

maggie and milly and molly and may

by E. E. Cummings

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea


The speaker is a third person not involved in the situation. They are probably a parent of either Maggie, Milly, Molly or May. I found this because the speaker does not ever say "I" or "me" in the poem.
The diction of the poem is about Maggie, Milly, Molly and May (four girls) who decide to go to the beach. Maggie finds a shell that she really likes.Milly found a star fish. May found a shell or rock. Milly was chased by a scary fish of some sort.
Some imagery in the poem would be the stranded starfish with five fingers. Another image would be a fish puffing out bubbles from its mouth.
Some figurative language in the poem would be "maggie discovered a shell that sang". That is personification because shells don't actually sing, they just make whistle noises if you listen really quietly.Another example would be "Milly befriended a stranded star". That is anopormorphism because you can't actually become friends with a starfish.Another example would be "smooth round stone as small as a world" which is a simile.
I think the meaning of the poem is little things that make you happy can distract you from the bad things going on. For instance, a pretty shell that made a beautiful noise distracted Maggie from her problems in her life.

Possum Crossing by Nikki Giovanni analysis

Possum Crossing
by Nikki Giovanni
Backing out the driveway the car lights cast an eerie glow in the morning fog centering on movement in the rain slick street Hitting brakes I anticipate a squirrel or a cat or sometimes a little raccoon I once braked for a blind little mole who try though he did could not escape the cat toying with his life Mother-to-be possum occasionally lopes home . . . being naturally . . . slow her condition makes her even more ginger We need a sign POSSUM CROSSING to warn coffee-gurgling neighbors: we share the streets with more than trucks and vans and railroad crossings All birds being the living kin of dinosaurs think themselves invincible and pay no heed to the rolling wheels while they dine on an unlucky rabbit I hit brakes for the flutter of the lights hoping it's not a deer or a skunk or a groundhog coffee splashes over the cup which I quickly put away from me and into the empty passenger seat I look . . . relieved and exasperated ... to discover I have just missed a big wet leaf struggling . . . to lift itself into the wind and live The speaker of this poem is a women who is frustrated with people and sympathetic towards animals. It frustrates her that people don't take the time out of their busy lives to watch out for the welfare of the animal. She feels bad for the animals because they lose their lives on a day to day basis for nothing. Their deaths could be avoided, but due to the failure of drivers to acknowledge the animals, there is nothing preventing the poor little animals from being harmed. As far as the diction goes, I love how the author caused a dramatic effect when she would pause for a while using three periods. It gave the reader a chance to reflect on what had just been said, and also put more emphasis on the upcoming line. Throughout the poem it was constantly adding dramatic effect to places that really stood out because of it. For example, in the 5th stanza when she says, "I look... relieved and exasperated..." This lets the reader soak in the situation and really understand the authors feelings. The were tons of imagery in this poem that made it fun to read. One specific example was in the 5th stanza when she described the scenario in the car saying, "Coffee splashes over the cup which I quickly put away from me and into the empty passenger seat." I can clearly see an image of a women in the front seat of a car throwing her coffee aside in hopes that she would avoid the animal in the street. An example of figurative language in this poem would be in the 5th stanza when she says, "I hit the brakes." This is an example of anthropomorphism because she associates a human action with a non-human object. You technically can't hit brakes. The correct term would be to apply brakes if you were going to use the word in that particular context. However, it does correctly represent an example of an anthropomorphism, which is definitely a form of figurative language. The meaning of this poem is to stick up for others when they can't stick up for themselves. The author mentions the tiny squirrels and the pregnant possum to create a sense of vulnerability so that we can see how truly helpless these animals are. Then to show contrast, she explains how people are too busy with their coffees and their morning routines to realize the animals crossing the street. By creating this sense of "good" and "evil", the author can draw you into her side and make you feel like by supporting this "Possum Crossing" sign, your doing the right thing. By supporting this "Possum Crossing" sign, you're sticking up for the animals when can't do that themselves.

Anthropomorphism- That was an awfully angry storm we had last night. 

Apostrophe- Oh George Washington, you have such a great sense of humor.

Irony- Asking for your money back when you get something for free.

Metonymy- Houston we have a problem.

Paradox- Day understands night. 

Personification- The boots that I bought today were pretty happy.

I am By John Clare poetry analysis

I Am!
by John Clare
I am! yet what I am none cares or knows, My friends forsake me like a memory lost; I am the self-consumer of my woes, They rise and vanish in oblivious host, Like shades in love and death's oblivion lost; 5 And yet I am! and live with shadows tost Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, Into the living sea of waking dreams, Where there is neither sense of life nor joys, But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems; 10 And e'en the dearest—that I loved the best— Are strange—nay, rather stranger than the rest. I long for scenes where man has never trod; A place where woman never smil'd or wept; There to abide with my creator, God, 15 And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept: Untroubling and untroubled where I lie; The grass below—above the vaulted sky. Speaker/Diction: The speaker here is trying to convey a sad, depressed feeling. He does a good job of it too. The poem is slow paced which helps you think about what the speaker is trying to say. Imagery: In the jast line of the poem i cans see clearly a man laying in a field looking up at a open blue sky. In line seven i see a person in a pitch black abyss of a room listening to all of the insults of his life. It's very different from the first image I described. Language: Similes: Line 2 and 5. In line two he is comparing himself to a forgotten memory. In line 5 he compared his woes to shades of love. Apostrophies: In line two the speaker refers to his friends, who aren't present. Meaning: The meaning of this poem is that you can't let your life pass you by. The at the end of the the last line portrays the speaker slowing down to enjoy things more as opposed to the beginning where his friends forget him because he is like a ghost or a memory, not really there.

Simile- The opera was like nails on a chalkboard.

Synecodoche- My dad wants me to wash the windows of the car. I washed the widows. When he asked "did you wash the car" I say yes. Here the "car" means the window.

Tauntology- The water was ice cold and below freezing.

Understatement-Happy Gilmore was an "ok" movie.

Intro to Poetry

We've decided to begin this blog with hopes that we can spread our knowlegdge of poetry to others. Hopefully, someone out there that reads this blog will see a different side of poetry by the time they've reached the end of it. As long as we can affect the poetic mind of one of our readers, this blog has accomplished it'a purpose. We have concluded that poetry is a collaberation of thoughts and ideas that are written down for others to enjoy and analyze. Reading poetry is more fun than watching a movie; poems provide the reader with the necessary details to visualize contents of the poem. In simpler terms, you make your own movie. This stretches the imagination. Studying poetry is a great way to enhance your creativity. After reading and studying poetry, you can even write your own poems. This is a great way to test your knowledge, and really see what you have learned. We've learned that poetry can be one of the best ways to express yourself, and that there's an infinate amount of porms you can write. There is an endless amount of kinds of poems: happy poems, sad poems, angry poems, meloncholy poems, intellectual poems, etc. We hope to learn more about the lives of authors who have written poems so that we could understand why the poems may have been written a certain way. We are eager to deeper explore the halls of poetry.

~Billy, Matt, Maggie