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Poetry Through the Ages for January
In the blocks below, please find your weekly poems written by me. There are two components to each poem: The poem I wrote as a child (I started writing poetry when I was 11) and an analogy of the lines and word use, using my current and adult understanding of poetic devices and how my lines conveyed the message using devices and styles I learned as an adult. If you have any questions or concerns about the poems, please reach out to me!
Week One:
Gray—2004. Age 15
Black and white.
The differences are obvious,
The color.
The voice.
The manner of colors in a voice unheard,
As time passes, these voice may be heard by colors and walls alike.
Analogy
Black and white.—
Black and white are colors but they can also be a representation of feelings or what the poet experiences as they write the poem. As a contrast, these colors seem like the exact opposite of one another, but they could also complement one another. This is particularly powerful with interior design where colors are used as color therapy to bring balance to the home. In this case, the poet could use this contrast to show how they felt at the time of writing: In two minds about very different thoughts or actions, or the poet could use this as a visual cue regarding the contrast of pen and paper or fingers and keyboards. Even if these colors could be complementary in some settings, their differences are usually a source of discomfort. Most people associate dark with evil and white with goodness, so as the reader, you may have started this poem thinking this poem is about good vs. evil, and without any other context, this is a perfectly reasonable assumption.
The differences are obvious,—
What differences? The differences between the colors or the meaning behind the colors? Another possibility includes the differences between the poet and their surroundings; this might be what they mean by black and white. If the poet views themselves as one color, they could see their surroundings as the opposite of what they experience because their experiences might be the reason they felt the need to write the poem. This is, of course, based on the assumption that poetry is written as a response to something unpleasant—the arts in general, didn’t come from a group of happy–go–lucky people. It’s widely assumed that people who write poetry are less familiar with the concept of ‘happiness’ compared to their fellow man/woman. If people are happy, why would they need the distraction of poetry and symbolism? Do people familiar with this concept (of happiness) still need to distract themselves from the differences of opinions in their lives that could one day lead to unhappiness? For example, if they are familiar with the concept but only under certain circumstances, are they truly familiar with the concept, or are they simply living in ignorance of what could lead them to unhappiness in a literal version of black (knowledge) and white (ignorance)?
The color.—
Which color? Black or white, or could this be the introduction of the title, ‘Gray’? If this poem was a color, would it be gray because the poet says it is or, in this context, is ‘gray’ used as a means to mix two colors or concepts to remove itself from the original colors or feelings? It could be that this ‘color’ was the difference between black and white, but then how could the ‘color’ grey be the difference and a final color? The difference could be the color that wasn’t there before, or it could be the difference between a color and the absence of a color. Most understand the absence of a color is black, which would fit with the black and white theme, but if there is an absence of color, how could white exist alongside black? It could be because, while black is the absence of color, it’s often argued that the combination of all the colors on the spectrum (those seen in a rainbow) becomes white. The colors, in this case, complement one another on a different level, and we could say that black can exist without white because there could be a world where colors don’t exist, but white can’t exist without black because once all colors have been seen, the opportunity to unsee them has passed.
The voice.—
The voice of what? Have the colors become sentient in their quest for differences, or have these colors, and what they represent, always been sentient, and you, the reader, just assumed they weren’t because they are colors? If these colors had a voice, what would it sound like? Has the poet heard their voices and wrote the poem to explain what they sound like? What if these weren’t colors but feelings and personifications of the poet that needed to express to get their point across? In this case, the color theory from the beginning of the poem (about interior design) could be used as the voice of these colors: If these colors were used inside a home with contrasting walls (black and white), the ‘voice’ the poet spoke of could be an echo in the house and from the bare walls. This puts the ‘absence of color’ theory back into place because echoes usually only occur with an absence of items to absorb the sound. In this case, the walls in the home could be black because of this comparison, but the white is still there because the colors of the home could be drwn to that area (to make up the difference of no color for black) and the white walls absorb these colors instead. The voice the poet discusses, in this case, could be the voices of the colors being drawn in and scattered along the black and white (previously blank) walls, even if these colors didn’t agree with being drawn in to make a new color: gray.
And the manner of colors in a voice unheard,—
This line contradicts the line above where the poet stated that there was a voice. How could a voice that has already sounded be unheard? Could there be two voices? Who do you, as the reader, think these voices belong to? Do they belong to the colors who have converged against their will in the walls to create the image the poet and homeowner intended, or are these two distinct voices trailing from white and black, from evil and good, and the walls they have attached themselves to? If the colors could speak, but the walls forbade them from speaking to one another because of their differences, would the colour they create still be grey or would it be another color of the poet’s or homeowner’s choosing?
As time passes, these voice may be heard by colors and walls alike.—
Given my explanations above, how would you analyze this line?
What do you think? Do you agree with my understanding and symbolism? I’d love to know!
Please use this [ link ] to the optional forum to start a discussion about the poem. Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].
Week Two:
The Parents—2004. Age 15
She wakes up from a dream,
Screaming,
Panting and crying.
She falls asleep again.
She never woke up.
But smiled when she realized she was already dead.
Analogy
She wakes up from a dream,—
The poem from last month was called “Age”. Do you, the reader, think that these two poems are linked? Most of us associate an age with our parents and to a time when we woke up from our dreams and could call our parents to comfort us. If ‘she’ is the poet, this could mean that the poet is the one dreaming and the one who woke up from the dream. The question is, why did ‘she’ wake up? There is also the possibility that ‘she’ is someone the poet is observing, someone ‘she’ spends time with, and someone who the poet knows well enough to spend time with while ‘she’ is in her most vulnerable state (sleeping).
Screaming,—
Who is screaming? Is she screaming (whoever that is), or is the poet screaming? Are they screaming because of the dream that woke them (whoever this is) up, or is the screaming coming from somewhere else? If you, the reader, heard screaming from somewhere in your vicinity, what would be your reaction? Have you ever woken up from a dream screaming and not knowing why? If you have, how sure are you that you were woken up from the dream and not your real surroundings from where you were sleeping? This poses another question: If the poet or ‘she’ is screaming and noone is there to hear it, who would the poet know there was any screaming? Did they hear this screaming themselves or were they told that someone was screaming and they took their word for it? If this is the case, how do you, the reader, know what you’re reading is true? If these screams are the result of heresy, can you be sure they exist? What if you hear them and then are told you were the only one who heard them? Would the others call you crazy if you told them you hear the screams of those you read about and know what they dream about?
Panting and crying.—
If she is ‘panting and crying’ in her dream, how would the poet know? Was the poet in the dream with their muse (or she), watching her every move, watching the dream unfold; watching how her dream parents treat her? In general, parents are seen as protectors and providers; it is a given in most cultures that this is what a parental role is. What happens when a parent or both parents don’t fall into this category? What happens when parents harm their children? The children wouldn’t know any better so they could assume this is the norm. This could be why she was screaming in the beginning of the poem: She could have dreaming of her parents and what they have done to her. What have they done? Only she knows, not even the poet. If her parents aren’t the protect/provide type, the panting and crying may need to be done quietly: What if her parents hear her and scold her for being loud? Are her parents the reason she is ‘panting and crying’? What would be the reason she was ‘panting and crying’? Would it be reason enough to dedicate an entire poem to them? Would this be a good or negative dedication?
She falls asleep again.—
Sometimes, falling asleep in dire circumstances is the only way to protect yourself, but what did ‘she’ need to protect herself from in a supposedly safe place (somewhere where ‘she’ can fall asleep)? Do you, the reader, believe that falling asleep is a choice or a reaction to either how sleepy you are or a natural response to stress? If ‘she falls asleep again’, how does ‘she’ know she can fall asleep at all without waking in a scream? Does ‘she’ feel safe enough to fall asleep in front of someone who could be watching her experience her sleep and screaming state? If ‘she’ falls asleep again, is ‘she’ sure she’s going to wake up, given the circumstances that her parents aren’t the good kind? Why would ‘she’ want to wake up at all?
She never woke up.—
How would ‘she’ know she never woke up? If the context is the obvious one (she died), would ‘she’ become sentient after Death, at least enough for her to realize ‘she’ wasn’t coming back to her broken home with her parents who created her pants and cries. In this case, was it her choice not to wake up? Do you, the reader, believe we can choose to stay asleep forever, in cases other than suicide, and just choose to eliminate our chance to contribute to our family and society ever again? Is ‘she’ stayed asleep, who found her and realised that ‘she never woke up’? Was it you, the reader, in the confines of your mind and imagination, who found her, or was it ‘her’ parents who caused her sleeping state? If ‘she’ knew ‘she’ wasn’t going to wake up, why did she wake up in the first place (in the beginning of the poem)? Did the aftereffects of her sleep induce her thoughts to wander to what was happening; to the reason she wanted to stay asleep forever? The feeling of numbness without the possibility of the pins and needles after that?
But smiled when she realized she was already dead.—
Given my explanations above, how would you analyze this line?
What do you think? Do you agree with my understanding and symbolism? I’d love to know!
Please use this [ link ] to the optional forum to start a discussion about the poem. Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].