Passing Time

By: Maya Angelou

Your skin like dawn
Mine like musk


One paints the beginning
of a certain end.


The other, the end of a
sure beginning.

This poem is very short and sweet. You can tell my the title, its about the passing of time. Angelou is comparing two skins, one like dawn and the other like musk, meaning dark and light. I think the author is trying to say that as one door closes, another is opening. I think this has to do with skin colors, and hope for all races to be equal.  As time passes, peoples views on different races are changing.

Fast Rode the Knight by Stephen Crane

Fast rode the knight
With spurs, hot and reeking,
Ever waving an eager sword,
"To save my lady!"
Fast rode the knight,
And leaped from saddle to war.
Men of steel flickered and gleamed
Like riot of silver lights,
And the gold of the knight's good banner
Still waved on a castle wall.
. . . . .
A horse,
Blowing, staggering, bloody thing,
Forgotten at foot of castle wall.
A horse
Dead at foot of castle wall.


Crane starts this poem with the knight riding fast on his horse to save his lady. It then says he "leaped fom saddle to war", meaning he jumped off his horse to fight the enemies. The fight is described as a "rot of silver lights",  but yet the knight defeats them and his good banner is still on the castle wall. Then, the poem is seperated and paused by the ".....". In the last stanza, the tone shifts as the author starts describing the abandoned, dead horse. This poem to me, makes the reader question- was it selfish of the knight to save his lady and leave his horse to die? After all, the horse did get the knight to the castle. The knight sacrifised the horse, to save his lady. The poem ends leaving the reader thinking about the horse, and not the valiant effort of the knight to save his lady.

Homework! Oh, Homework!

By: Jack Prelutsky

Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you away in the sink,
if only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.

I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.

Homework! Oh, homework!
you're last on my list,
I simply can't see
why you even exist,
if you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!

This poem relates to me perfectly because I have a bad case of senioritis. I used to not mind homework. Now, I can't find any motivation to do my homework, so I'm quite the procrastinator. Jack Prelutsky uses imagery to portray the hard feelings he has towards homework. He says he'd rather touch ten porcupines and take baths with a hungry shark. This shows the great amount of negativity towards homework. He says that if homework didn't exist, he'd be tickled pink. Looks like Prelutsky and I are in the same boat!

The Best of Friends

                    By Jill Wolf

 

The best of friends,
Can change a frown,
Into a smile,
when you feel down.

The best of friends,
Will understand,
Your little trials,
And lend a hand.

The best of friends,
Will always share,
Your secret dreams,
Because they care.

The best of friends,
Worth more than gold,
Give all the love,
A heart can hold.

This poem is about how great some friends are. Wolf states that the best of friends 'understand, care, and give love' to their friends. Good friends are truely hard to find, and they are really special. You can rely them and count on them, thats why they are "worth more than gold." I really like the ryhme scheme in this poem. Each stanza starts with "The best of friends," and then the following second line and fourth line rhyme.  True friends are very important and this poem portrays how great they really are.

Never Say Never

By Justin Bieber

See I never thought that I could walk through fire.
I never thought that I could take the burn.
I never had the strength to take it higher,
Until I reached the point of no return.

And there^,s just no turning back,
When your hearts under attack,
Gonna give everything I have,
It^,s my destiny.

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down,
I will not stay on the ground.
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up up up,
And never say never.

I never thought I could feel this power.
I never thought that I could feel this free.
I^,m strong enough to climb the highest tower.
And I^,m fast enough to run across the sea.

And there^,s just no turning back,
When your hearts under attack,
Gonna give everything I have,
Cause this is my destiny.

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down,
I will not stay on the ground.
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up, up, up,
And never say never.

Here we go!
Guess who?
JSmith and Jb!
I gotcha lil bro.
I can handle him.
Hold up, aight?
I can handle him.

Now he^,s bigger than me,
Taller than me.
And he^,s older than me,
And stronger than me.
And his arms a little bit longer than me.
But he ain^,t on a JB song with me!

I be trying a chill
They be trying to side with the thrill.
No pun intended, was raised by the power of Will.

Like Luke with the force, when push comes to shove.
Like Cobe with the 4th, ice water with blood.

I gotta be the best, and yes
We^,re the flyest.
Like David and Goliath,
I conquered the giant.
So now I got the world in my hand,
I was born from two stars
So the moon^,s where I land.

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down,
I will not stay on the ground.
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up, up, up,
And never say never.

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down,
I will not stay on the ground.
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up,
Pick it up, up, up,
And never say never.

I think its safe to say most young girls are obsessed with Justin Bieber because of his music. This song, "Never Say Never", which is also the name of his new movie, is about fighting for what you want. It encourages you to keep fighting and keep trying. Even when you are knocked down, Justin Bieber says to not stay on the ground; pick yourself up and keep fighting. Bieber uses a simile in the line, "Like David and Goliath,I conquered the giant." He"s saying he felt so strong that he felt like he conquered a giant. Repetition is also popular in many songs. In this song, the line "Pick it up" is repeated many times.

"The House That Built Me"

By Miranda Lambert

I know they say you can’t go home again
I just had to come back one last time
Ma’am I know you don’t know me from Adam
But these handprints on the front steps are mine

Up those stairs in that little back bedroom
Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar
I bet you didn’t know under that live oak
My favorite dog is buried in the yard

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

Mama cut out pictures of houses for years
From Better Homes and Gardens magazine
Plans were drawn and concrete poured
Nail by nail and board by board
Daddy gave life to mama’s dream

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

You leave home and you move on and you do the best you can
I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could walk around I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me


In this song, Miranda Lambert personifies the house she grew up in, by saying it "built" her. This song really touches me everytime I hear it. Because I just recently moved out of the house that I've lived in all eigtheen years of my life, I can really relate. My parents built the home a year before I was born. My mom has always been a decorater, and she loves design magazines; so the lines "Mama cut out pictures of houses for years/From Better Homes and Gardens magazine/Plans were drawn and concrete poured/
Nail by nail and board by board/Daddy gave life to mama’s dream" perfectly explain the house that built me. My room was the back bedroom upstairs, and it was my favorite place in the house. As of right now, that house is the only place I've ever known as home. It is where I grew up, and became who I am today. My favorite dog is buried in the yard, just like the line in the song. This house will always have a special place in my heart, because it is where I spent my childhood, and I have had a hard time losing it. The lines "Ma’am I know you don’t know me from Adam/ But these handprints on the front steps are mine" show that although the current owner doesn't know the singer, she has many memories of growing up in that house. I like that she goes back and visits the house, maybe I will do that one day in the future when I'm grown.

Tryin' on Clothes

By Shel Silverstein

I tried on the farmer's hat,                                                  
Didn't fit...
A little too small -- just a bit
Too floppy.
Couldn't get used to it,
Took it off.
I tried on the dancer's shoes,                                       
A little too loose.
Not the kind you could use
for walkin'.
Didn't feel right in 'em,
Kicked 'em off.
I tried on the summer sun,
Felt good.
Nice and warm -- knew it would.
Tried the grass beneath bare feet,
Felt neat.
Finally, finally felt well dressed,
Nature's clothes fit me best.

In this poem, the narrator tries on a farmers hat, and it didn't fit him. Next, he tries on dancer shoes, which didn't fit him either. The summer sun and grass beneath his bare feet fit him best. This shows that the narrator is a nature-loving, tree-hugging person. Nature makes him feel at home; not being in a hat or fancy shoes, just being simplistic in nature. That is his "well dressed". I love the imagery Shel Silverstein always creates in his poems. He really creates a picture in my mind of a boy trying on these things. The vivid description of the grass beneath his feet is great imagery. I like this poem, because I love being out in the sun in the summertime, so I can relate to the narrator. During the summer, there isn't anywhere I'd rather be.