Believer Poem Analysis

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

Frost further points out that the stretch of woods being viewed is very rural. This is made possible by the reference to the location between the woods and frozen lake. In closing the final sentence of the second stanza Frost reiterates the fact that this occurs on “the darkest evening of the year” stating the darkness of the mood.

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

I chose this song because, in my opinion, it has a good thesis that backs up the song lyrics and it gives you a positive feeling. Basically, the song is telling us to always keep our faith and stay strong no matter what. It encourages people to

Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, and doctoral candidate in Education at Harvard University with a concentration in Culture, Institutions, and Society. Smith Clint wrote a poem called “Something You should Know.” The poem is about an early job he had in a Petsmart. The poet allows the readers into his personal life, but before he had trouble opening up to people and his work. Moreover, Clint wrote an insight in the poem about relying in anything to feel safe and he says it is the most terrifying thing any person can do.

Individuals have been brought to believe that the only way to end their griefs and sorrows is to end their lives. Though suicide has become a detriment and devastating issue, it has not been presumed to be an effortless or painless act. In society, people become their own threats as they tend to isolate themselves from others which often increases this devastating issue of unsubstantial pain and long-suffering. In the poem, Tuesday 9:00 am, by Denver Butson, individuals are unable to speak and move because of their own specific problems which are burdening them and their ability to help others. The poet is enforcing the idea that individuals need to open up their eyes and be aware of others relentless despair and their struggle to reach out.

The title itself alludes to “The Unknown Soldier,” almost parodying it. According to Georgia Virtual School, an unknown soldier died in battle, however, the body is unrecognizable. It is also known that soldiers are tagged. The fact that the title is the way it is and the subtitle mimics a tag implies that the lives of common folk is so insignificant and uneventful that they might just as well be unknown since they are just another face in the vast crowd of people. This relays a metaphor in the eyes of the reader.

Kate Bagley and Kathleen McIntosh wrote a thought-provoking book that compiles the experiences and struggles of dozens of women within differing religious traditions. Each women’s account is unique in how they choose to deal with their personal realities and how their religions are able or failed to help them cope with those realities. Each woman had to make the choice to either accept their religion exactly the way it is, to reform their religious tradition, or to reject institutionalized religions completely and find their own path to experience the divine. The women I am highlighting demonstrate each response and show that there are multiple ways to encounter the sacred. The women’s story that I am looking at first is Inéz Hernández-Ávila and her struggle to reclaim her Native American and Aztec heritage.

Artist, Kesha, co-wrote and sang the song titled “Praying.” In the video that she created for the song she shows us, the audience, what she went through during her healing process from the sexual and mental violence she received. Through many methods, such as religious references, Kesha took us through her journey through ethos, logos, and pathos.

Freedom I need freedom Not confinement I need courage Not fear I need bravery Not cowardice

Poetry can be divided up into different forms, more easily expressing an author’s emotions and intent with their poetry. For analyzing purposes I chose the poems Self-Help by Michael Ryan, Ghazal by Agha Shahid Ali, Psalm 150 by Jericho Brown, and Emergency by Michael Dylan Welch.

When asking all of my fellow peers to take in and read over this song, it seemed to me that the main reoccurring idea was that of the narrators’ unwillingness to just accept his thoughts, because now he no longer had those materialistic distractions of his “radio.” He now, has to deal with this newfound reality face to face. For the most part, this interpretation that everyone had constructed was in fact, somewhat correct. I will now give my own insight into this song simply through the lyrics.

There’s a song by Frank Ocean where he captures an aspect of religion that I have always found to be incogitable. He sings, “..This unrequited love To me it’s nothing but a one-man cult... I can never make him love me...” Ocean is talking about the idea that this unreturned love, when internalized can be built up. He compares religion to a cult, filled with people who mindlessly follow a figure, in this case God, who represents the answers to all their questions. When I look around the world and see the Churches and Mosques dedicated to these Gods I am in awe of the sense of faith that so many have.

While digging deeper and attempting to better understand my associative response to this song, I discovered a belief that this song elicits these particular emotional reactions from me because I have been a sufferer of depression and suicidal thoughts in varying degrees for almost as long as I can remember. I, personally, have known that feeling of complete hopelessness. I have known the feeling of believing that I had hit absolute rock bottom where there are no silver linings, no ladders back out of the hole that has been dug, and no reason to even go on for one more day. I have also come to realize, just as the man in the song did, that it can make all the difference in the world to have someone there to talk to. I believe that there are times when the only thing needed is for someone else to point out that life hasn’t always been so bad and to emphasize that there have been good times too. If there is someone who can do that, then they may also be able to stress the belief that there could be more good times coming but the storm has to run its course before the sunlight can find its way back through to shine again.

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.