Poetry Reflection Blog

Poetry is important in my life because I can connect to poetry. I can connect to poetry because sometimes poems say what I am thinking. For example in the Shel Silverstein poem titled "Nope," it talks about a person that looks into things a lot. This can relate to me because I always look very closely at things and sometimes think too much about them. If I find out too much or think too much about things, it starts to stress me out, just like the person in the poem. When I connect to poetry, it makes me feel like I am in the same shoes as the person in the poem. This is important because it makes me not feel alone. I think poetry belongs to everyone because I think that everyone can connect to poetry. When people connect to poetry, they feel as if they are not alone. Also poetry can belong to everyone because everyone can interpret poetry differently.

The life of a poet affects what they write about because their life experiences show through their poetry. For example, a lot of poems are about love. If the poet falls in love in their life, or they have an experience with love, they will write a poem to express their feelings. In the book Bronx Masquerade, the kids talk about their struggles in life. They do this to express their feelings.

I am choosing my "Where I'm From" poem to analyze for the one I wrote, and Zorro for the one I read. The "Where I'm From" poem is structured so each line begins with "I am from" and is an aspect of my life. This contributes to the meaning of the poem because the poem is supposed to be all about where I came from and my background in life. It is structured to show all the important things in life that make me who I am. The lines do not have to rhyme but you have to always say where I'm from in the beginning of each line because it's about your background. The words and phrases that I chose have an impact on the poem because I chose specific words that would really tell my story. These are things that I remember from when I was little. These were the important things in my life. 

 The poem "Zorro" is in first person, and that makes it seem like you are reading a personal experience. Also, the poem is in the shape of a Z, and because of that, it shows Zorro's personality. In the beginning of the poem, the poet uses words like "On cue", "As expected", "I understand my role" to show that he is doing everything that everybody wants him to do. People expect him to act a certain way because of who he is. In the middle of the poem this changes. The poet uses words like "But I'm done", "Lose the cape", "Step off the page" to show that now Zorro is being who he wants to be. He is no longer being who everybody wants him to be. The poet compares being an actor to people expecting you to be a certain way. Then at the end, the poet says "Put down your camera. Second, give me your hand." This means he wants people to see him for who he really is.