Awake by Katherine Foreman

Awake

My last night as a full-time child
I didn't want to sleep, for fear of
Waking up in a rustle of too-crisp sheets
And a creak of inadequate bedsprings
With a lightly snoring virtual stranger eight feet away.
And also I didn't want it to be tomorrow,
Because then it would be time to do what
I've denied for three weeks of subsistence
And oblivion--ignoring is bliss.
And I saw everything I never did
Lying around me, pieces and steps of the
Success I never got, reminders that
Whatever I planned, I never got far.
But in the middle of these broken promises
To myself, I could see for the first time
That I have not been broken.
And I must keep myself, all that is real,
As daybreak does, and nightfall.
I exist to others, but all I need is me.
I will be the last promise, when all is said
And kept.

I was looking at this free-verse poetry website and stumbled onto this poem. It's spectacular! I love it so much! It's a coming to age poem, which is basically where I am in life. The author speaks of how intimidated she is by her future. I love how she uses the overly crisp sheets and bedsprings as symbols of uncomfortable situations. I also love the line "I exist to others, but all I need is me." I guess she is saying we all use people to get ahead; we learn from them, we love them, we trust them. Sometimes they fail us or do us wrong. In the end, however, all you really need is yourself and the confidence that you will succeed. Other people are nice accessories to life. This poem has a really calm tone, very reflective. What I don't understand about it is the last two lines. The regular saying is "when as is said and done," yet Foreman says, "when all is said and kept." I feel as though those lines are very significant, but I don't understand what she meant by it, what the big difference is.

Introduction to Poetry- Billy Collins

I realized somewhere along the way I fell behind an entry so here's another one for this week!

This poem sounds so familiar! I'm pretty sure we read it at the beginning of the year. It's a very simple poem; simple but clever. The author speaks so eloquently of his desire to have his students discover themselves through poetry- to find light in the poems. Instead, the students "begin beating it with a hose" and "torture a confession out of it." Sadly, I completely understand what he is talking about! I always feel like there is an "answer" to the poem. Instead of sitting back and enjoying the meat of the poem, we furrow our brows and force comprehension.
"Introduction to Poetry" is a free verse written by a professor. It really is a nice poem. It has no deep theme and although the mood is light, it is evident Collins is truly passionate about poetry. Collins adds sensory details to connect with the audience. He uses such nice imagery to portray the joy he finds in prose.

Song of the Powers by David Mason

This poem is really a nice, dark twist on the child's game rock, paper, scissors. It clearly speaks of destruction and how futile violence truly is. We discussed this poem in class and I brought up this idea, which might be completely off. I think the rock might be symbolic of the government, the paper of religion, and the scissors of military. Each generally conflicts with the other and no one can stand alone. His structure is really interesting- he begins with three sestets describing the rock, paper, and scissors. He then concludes with a final stanza that breaks that form. His last words are really interesting:

"As the stone crushes scissors,
as paper snuffs stone
and scissors cut paper,
all end alone.
So heap up your paper
and scissors your wishes
and uproot the stone
from the top of the hill.
They all end alone.
As you will, you will."

All three have a viscous cycle of destruction- the battle between religion and government, conflicting with the military. This poem really has a dark tone, almost mid-evil even. It's really interesting, and actually pretty depressing.