"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.

Life is Fine

By Langston Hughes

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love--
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry--
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!


This poems message really stood out to me. I think the author is trying to tell the reader no matter what troubles you may come across in life, your life is still worth living. The narrator is going through many troubles in his life, and is contemplating suicide. He first considers drowning himself, and then considers jumping off a high building. However, he can never bring himself to it. He thinks about his baby, and that makes him realize what he has to live for. This is a really good lesson for people. Many people go through struggles and tough times, but you just have to have a positive outlook about things. You have to focus on the positives of life, like the ones who love you. Your life is worth living, no doubt. At the end of the poem, the narrator says "Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!" I think the narrator realized all the important things in his life, like his child, and changed his outlook.

Snowflakes

by Linda A. Copp

Snowflakes spill from heaven's hand
Lovely and chaste like smooth white sand.
A veil of wonder laced in light
Falling Gently on a winters night.

Graceful beauty raining down
Giving magic to the lifeless ground.
Each snowflake like a falling star
Smiling beauty that's spun afar.

Till earth is dressed in a robe of white
Unspoken poem the hush of night.

I found this poem and thought it was very appropriate for today! I really liked it because it's short and sweet, but at the same time, very descriptive. In first line "Snowflakes spill from heaven's hand", the author uses personification to convey the image of snowflakes falling from heaven. I like this line because I think that snow is one of the prettiest things God made, and this line portrays snow to be a gift from God. Also, the poem is filled with imagery, which paints a picture for the reader. "Graceful beauty raining down... Till earth is dressed in a robe of white". To me, these lines are a perfect description of snow. After todays snow, everything was covered in a blanket of white. I've always loved looking out the window to see the ground covered in snow, it's so beautiful and peaceful.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I like this poem because it gives a different perspective about dealing with death. The speaker of this poem is giving advice to his dying father. He tells his father that death should be fought, rather than just mutely accepted. In the lines, "Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Thomas is expressing the idea that even though you are growing old and weary, you should not give up on life; instead you should fight to live. Repetition is used throughout the poem with the lines, "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light". I think the author repeats these to stress the importance of not giving up. At the end, the author tells his father, “curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray”. He wants his father to burn with feeling and emotion while he still can, even if he curses his son. He does not want his father to fade quietly into death.  I think this poem is very inspiring and the author has a good point. We only have one life to live, and we shouldn't take it for granted.

Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens by Jack Prelutsky

Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking at my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced about my bed.

They were on the chairs and tables,
they were on the chandeliers,
they were roosting in the corners,
they were clucking in my ears,
there were chickens, chickens, chickens
for as far as I could see...
when I woke today, I noticed
there were eggs on top of me.

 

I like this poem because it is amusing and funny. The author is describing his dream, where chickens are everywhere in his room and on his bed. He creates great imagery, by describing the chaos going on as the chickens are on the chandeliers, roosting in the corners, and nesting in his hair. He also uses repetition, starting off most lines with "they were" or "there were". We find out however, that the chickens might not have just been a figment of the author's imagination. In the last line, the author wakes up to find eggs on top of him. I think it is clever how the author reveals this in the final line. This leaves the reader questioning whether this craziness was a dream, or if it really happened.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

The mood of this poem is peace and solitude, as it is just the man and his horse on a dark snowy night. I interpreted this poem to mean as you go through the journey of life, you have to take time to enjoy the beauty of things. The man stopped to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow in the woods. However, he knew he had to keep moving on and persevering through his journey because he had responsibilities and 'promises to keep'. The horse shook the bells on his harness, questioning if it were a mistake to stop, because he knew they were not at the end of their journey. Sometimes people are so caught up in the journey of life, they are confused by others who stop to smell the roses. You can apply this analogy to life. Although you have responsibilities and things to do, you still need to take the time to stop and enjoy the true beauty and peaceful aspects of life.