Pick Three Poems, Write One.

One Night Past Forever

You laugh and her heart
skips a beat.
You smile and her body
begins to float.

Butterflies pick her up
and fly her to the sky.
Gleaming purple and pink,
the clouds float by her side.

You tease her when she trips,
and help her when she falls.
Assure her everything's alright and
dance into the darkness for she's
your little light.

She falls in love with you
and everything you are.
You hold her hand, fingers
laced together perfectly.
Never have two hands matched
up so well.
And you think to yourself,
this must be a sign.

Because everything is so perfect here,
the both of you together.
So why not make this moment last just
one night past forever.

Snow Day By: Billy Collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,
its white flag waving over everything,
the landscape vanished,
not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,
and beyond these windows

the government buildings smothered,
schools and libraries buried, the post office lost
under the noiseless drift,
the paths of trains softly blocked,
the world fallen under this falling.

In a while I will put on some boots
and step out like someone walking in water,
and the dog will porpoise through the drifts,
and I will shake a laden branch,
sending a cold shower down on us both.

But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house,
a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.
I will make a pot of tea
and listen to the plastic radio on the counter,
as glad as anyone to hear the news

that the Kiddie Corner School is closed,
the Ding-Dong School, closed,
the All Aboard Children's School, closed,
the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed,
along with -- some will be delighted to hear --

the Toadstool School, the Little School,
Little Sparrows Nursery School,
Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School,
the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed,
and -- clap your hands -- the Peanuts Play School.

So this is where the children hide all day,
These are the nests where they letter and draw,
where they put on their bright miniature jackets,
all darting and climbing and sliding,
all but the few girls whispering by the fence.

And now I am listening hard
in the grandiose silence of the snow,
trying to hear what those three girls are plotting,
what riot is afoot,
which small queen is about to be brought down.


Reflection-
This poem has a sense of pure joy and relaxation. The author talks about a snow day and how everyone is happy about it. I think that the voice the author is trying to portray is joy because he says "for now i am a willing prisoner in this house" which means that he is happy that there has been a snow day and he has a chance to relax. It sounds like he is happy to have a day of rest and believes that everyone else is also as you can tell from this line, "some will be delighted to hear" when he is naming off school closings. I know that he must be using a joyful voice because in my personal opinion, snow days are something to be happy about for most people and I know that I enjoy them.

Performance Poetry

1) What voice is apparent within your poem? Please describe in detail.
I think that the voice that is apparent within my poem is me being frustrated with how complicated things in life are, but then there's a sense of completion and relief for me in the end because I realize how easy the simple things are.

2) What type of mood will you try to express when performing your poem in front of the class?
I'm going to try an express a kind of confused and annoyed mood, but in the end there's going to be relief from the confusion because of one simple fact of love.

3) What types of gestures, nonverbals, and or movement will you be incorporating into your performance?
I'm probably going to move my hands around a lot in a confused way and i'm going to use quotes for the word relationship to empashise my annoyance.

4) What frightens you about this assignment? What seems exciting about this assignment?
I'm excited to see everyone else perform their poems because i'd like to see how they chose to express themselves. I'm afraid of being infront of the class and being crazy with my poem because obviously i don't want to be made fun of.

5) How does performance poetry enhance the meaning of a poem? Be specific.
Performance poetry enhances the meaning of a poem by really showing the listener how you feel through movement and almost getting them into the mood that you're trying to portray.


My life, complicated.
The way my mind works, complicated.
This "relationship", if you would
even call it that, complicated.
The way I feel about you, complicated.
Not because I don't know how I feel,
but rather I can't express it.
Being friends with you,complicated...
because such a level as friendship
is seemingly impossible for us.
The way you make my heart skip a beat
when you flash your brilliant smile at me,
complicated.
But being with you,
talking and laughing....
with you
like nothing ever went wrong...easy.

Pages

The turns you had to take still keep you awake
Down come the walls where you once stood
From constant changes you have made
You'll keep inside 'til you have a say

We change as we get older
We're not to stay
The days we walked are over

Now we just drive away
From everything I know
You're counting days on the back of your hands
You turn the pages 'til you have no more plans

The only time you had to think of all the things involved
Came when you were least expecting
And now it's up to us to replace it
To tell us when ages have made a difference
Cause changes tell just who we are

We change as we get older
We're not to stay
The days we walked are over

Now we just drive away
From everything I know
You're counting days on the back of your hands
You turn the pages

Now we're just miles away
From all that we could be
You're counting days on the back of your hands
We turn the pages

Remember the days you've counted won't be forgotten
I hope you won't leave yourself out
When we turn the pages

Now we just drive away
From everything I know
You're counting days on the back of your hands
We turn the pages

Now we're just miles away
From all that we could be
You're counting days on the back of your hands
We turn the pages

-There For Tomorrow

SUMMARY:

I chose this song because it is by far my favorite song. Everything about Pages relates to me and how I feel about life. The song is about how people change throughout their lifetime. Sometimes you may feel like you're changing too fast and wish that you could just stop time and stay in your comfort zone. In all reality though, you have to learn how to deal with change because change is always going to keep coming at you no matter what you do. You may feel like you're going down an endless road to no where, but sometimes changes can be a really good thing. Overall, it's a really inspiring song for me because I've learned that leaving the past behind and accepting change isn't necessarily a bad thing.

In a Dream

In a dream so very long ago.
A young girl sat in a meadow.
The fireflies danced before moonlight,
swirling around in that beautiful way
and tickling her nose as they flew by.
The girl leapt to her feet and wings
spread from her back.
She flew to the skies to dance with
the stars and sing with the moon.
The winged girl landed ever so
gracefully back on the ground and
the fireflies continued to dance
around her singing sweet melodies
in her ear as she lay on the grassy
floor.

Off to sleep she went as I awoke
in the night, to see a winged girl...
standing right before me.

The Universe In Your Bathtub

As the day comes to an end you start
to notice your tired body aching.
A warm bath is just what you need
to reflect on the day's tiring events.
So you turn the faucet and the universe
begins to fill your bathtub.

When it's finally full of stars and planets
you decide to decend into the cosmos.
You close your eyes and it's as if your
body is floating through space.

A shooting star rockets passed you,
blowing your hair back from your face
letting your eyes see all there is to
see in this wonderful place.
The moon is right in front of you,
and look! Saturn is right there!
Then you notice the sun, but how could you not!

Millions of stars glitter around you.
It's almost like they're dancing and
asking, "Will you dance with us?"
Your reply is not needed, just the
swaying of your hips and the movement
of your lips.

Space gets cold and your dancing slows.
And at that moment your eyes flutter open,
revealing what's really there.

Just an ordinary bathtub filled with water
that's no longer warm and comforting.

Just a bathtub, no stars, no planets...
only imagination.

But as the water drains you say goodbye
to Pluto and Mars, to the sun and the stars.
And say that you'll be seeing them again
next time the universe fills your bathtub.

A Brilliant Soul: Sestina.

Your heart is blazing like a rampant fire.
Your sweet scent is like the wind, gone.
Your pulsing finger tips seem untouchable.
Your smile shinning brightly like the light.
Your eyes, are a perfect shade of blue.
Your soul is secretly hidden in your core.

You look into my eyes, straight to my core.
Stirring up emotions in my heart like fire.
My soul is no longer glowing a gloomy blue.
Our need for each other, no longer gone.
The heavens shine upon us their brilliant light.
So many things longed for no longer untouchable.

Your breath upon my neck seems so untouchable.
Yet your eyes they peer endlessly through my core.
And your laugher is so happy, so careless and light.
But your hatred it burns like an untamed fire.
I’m afraid that sooner or later you might be gone.
And then my soul might once again be a dull, blue.

But you, your soul shines vibrant red, not dreary blue.
To you I am completely unwanted, not untouchable.
I’m positive that you would rather see me gone.
And you don’t care about this heart I have in my core.
No longer beating with the same uncontrollable fire.
Instead it’s hiding in the darkness, away from the light.

Maybe someday my little broken heart will find the light.
And my soul will shine a vivacious red, not lifeless blue.
With the raging passion of the greatest wild fire.
You will be the unwanted one and I the untouchable.
I will let someone better stare deeply into my core.
And you, you will be out of my life forever, gone.

But until that blissful day when you are finally gone.
I will look to the skies and into my heart for a light.
To brighten up my saddened soul that’s hiding in my core.
It will be shimmering and shinning not yet red, still blue.
Because if I find him I will no longer be untouchable.
I’ll let his love fill my soul with the passion of fire.

You will be long gone with a soul that stays blue.
I will have found the light to make you untouchable.
And my core will be flaming with the excitement of fire.