Tuesday, December 3, 2013

For my final project I want to do a video poem about ballet where it starts with a music box and a ballerina is spinning around. She symbolizes the unattainable perfection. It will explain the mind games that the culture of ballet plays with girls. It will show my experience from when I was little until now.

Monday, November 25, 2013


Slut Walk

Slut: Strong, Conscious, Confident, Aware, Unique, Decisive.
Slut: Dirty, Easy, Sure bet, Unpopular, not who you want your sister to be, insecure.
Walk: Strut, Swagger, cocksure, fierce, deliberate.
Walk: A command, “Leave,” “Get out!”

They see girls as either a bitch or a slut
Hurt by rejection they warn that this girl is a bitch
Proud from a hook-up they share embellished stories of honor
When they talk they talk fast
Riddled with laughs and sarcasm
Where the reality of what happened is irrelevant
                      
They give disapproving glances
Short skirts and bare skin equal a dress code violation
They promote Stigma against casual hook-ups and birth control
They decide girls want relationships and cuddling
Girls must see sex as an expression of love
Proper Girls adhere to their gender role


Wednesday, November 20, 2013


The Story of Edmund
Foster care
Lonely, helpless and poor
My family left me for drugs
Nobody makes it in this world alone
The other boys found support in each other
Now they rob, steal, and traffic drugs
On top of the world
My homie Tookie’s down
He told me I just have to kill one person
The guys said I did a great job
They’ve dubbed me “Bats”
Based on my murder weapon
Now they’ve got my back
Now I have a family

Thursday, November 14, 2013




Brenda Hillman read some of her poems and described background information about her inspirations. She questions what animals think and the inner spirits inside pumpkins and other elements in nature. She even used animal language in one of her poems by mimicking squirrel sounds. Brenda says, "There's a spirit inside everything". Within her poems she utilizes the scientific or Latin names of ordinary words because she appreciates the sound and beauty of the words. Her belief in the spirit world prompts her to interpret the energy given off by inanimate objects. 

Hillman's poem, Some Kinds of Reading in Childhood, describes her discovery of poetry and how it helped her through her rough childhood and may even save the world. She discusses how critical kids are of pictures of themselves and how they want to correct their flaws. Hillman says there is "incomprehensible fire" in her eyes when she looks at her packet of pictures from picture day. At Macalaster when she explained her poem she said kids view their photos "knowing what will correct themselves", meaning they can see their flaws. She took comfort in poetry and reading. Poetry saved her from the torment of self judgment and she explains that poetry has the capacity to impact many people and undo the evils within society. 






Wednesday, November 6, 2013


Chemistry - Das Coo’
Americanium
Land of the free home of the brave
Gold - Platinum – Silver - Carbon
America loves dem precious metals
Chemistry = modern magic
Chemists? Aka wizards make
Americanium? Aka pop culture
Crack cocaine came from chemistry L
Breaking good.


Lucky money cats
Greetingz officer gold and beautiful. Fist pump lucky money cats. 
Make me money.
 Meow.
 Asian culture. 
Statue of sorts. Candy inside. Very rare. I love you…so much.
Will you be my valentine?
Dance all day. Just one arm.
You are my lucky charm. Donald Trump.


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

I looked at the blog called "Lewd Enlightenment" by an unknown author, we'll call him Chad. Chad used a simple format with a black background, which draws attention to his poems. Chad's poems are not of a professional caliber, though it seems he uses poetry as a tool to explain his feelings. Some of his poems are slightly corny. For example in "Full Moon, Empty Heart", Chad writes a list poem that appears more genuine than some of his others. "Full Moon, Empty Heart" is about falling out of love. Chad goes through emotions quickly and randomly as the stress of being in a relationship evokes them. In the final line he reaches a conclusion by writing "with surety". He seems like a typical guy who uses poetry as a tool to work through his feelings. His motives for writing poetry come from a sincere place. In the second poem Chad uses poetry to vent about a person. Although his poems are not particularly insightful, I find his use of poetry for its therapeutic value interesting. Since Chad does not put that much effort into the aesthetic, background or format of his blog it seems that he is primarily writing for himself. He does not use poetry to explain things to other people but rather to understand himself. The general quality of Chad's blog is somewhat low because his poems seem aimless. I think Chad needs to get out more. His artistry is lacking,  his font choice and design is unimaginative. The persona Chad creates for himself could have been fuller if he cared more about aesthetics and included a better picture of himself or chose a background that reflects him and his poetry.
1. Quickly
2. Surprisingly
8. In other countries
3. Sadly
4. With regret
5. With relief
6. At a moment's notice
7. On airplanes
9. With haste
10. With waste
11. With no net
12. With bitterness
13. With anger
14. Stupidly
15. Soberly
16. In a fugue state
17. Forever
18. For never
19. For God's sake
20. Because this shit has got to stop
21. With surety
The following poem is an obvious example of Chad's immaturity as a poet. Chad seems like he is scoffing at someone when he calls them hysterical. In the last line in the poem, "hysterical," he uses a line break to suggest this group of people find themselves hysterical as well. So what is the point? The title is saying that Chad doesn't care about these people, however, he cared enough to write a poem. His line breaks do not add meaning to the poem and seem to occur randomly. He also should consider capitalization as another tool to explain himself since he only capitalizes the first letter of the poem. Overall Chad's blog had some heart but left much to be desired. 

THE BEST DAMN THAT COULD BE GIVEN AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT

Your swagger
I’d say something nice
about it
but I’d be lying

frankly I don’t think
you pull it off
very well
not everyone can

some people
are unaware of such
the ones who
find themselves

hysterical

Monday, October 28, 2013

At first I was unenthusiastic about reading the Louis Jenkins poem "Football" because I do no know much about sports. After reading it I understood the point of the poem had little to do with the actual game of football. It asks the question, when is it time to stop when we know something is wrong? With a variety of wrongs committed in the world it is often easier to look the other way and pass the problem off to the next person to deal with. Louis Jenkins stops the chain of passing off the problem. He does not toss the leather shoe to his teammate but instead keeps it.

"Walking through a Wall" seems to take a humorous approach and describes different types of walls. He talks about walking through a wall as if it were physically possible. Since it is metaphysically possible to walk through a wall I can easily picture myself leaning in toward a wall and succumbing to the darkness before arriving on the other side.

In both of these poems he creates a slightly ridiculous image that means more than what is seen at face value. Walking through a wall could depict a variety of metaphors, however, I thought it explained different transitions people go through in life. Some walls will repel you and tear your clothes but when you find the right one your focus will center you as you slip gently across.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Chris Martin Poems

I find it intriguing how he does not write a narrative poem but rather a stream of consciousness to tell a story. I appreciate his creativity and inward approach to poetry however I find it difficult to follow his poems. His poems tend to use punctuation sparingly and he frequently uses enjambment. These two factors make it difficult for me to distinguish where a thought ends. This is a section from Chris Martin's poem Fertility for Dummies where he does not use punctuation and I find myself getting lost.

A make of the and will any
Minute be thrusting
A sharp part of their body

Against mine and now snow
has begun to flutter
And circle tentatively beyond

 His style is incredibly evident in all of his work,and I run into the same confusion when I read all of his poems. I feel I can not always fill in the gaps when he jumps from thought to thought.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Excuses, Excuses
My dog ate my homework
My mom said no
My cat died
My computer crashed
My wallets empty
My phone died
My schedule’s full
My grandma’s sick
My car broke
My head hurts
My kid’s sick
My work went late
My wife’s in the hospital
My nurse forgot to give me my pills

Wait, who are you? 
2 chainz crib
Gold chainz errwherr
Diamonds glissenin’
Feminist art

 Gold plated fountain
Pouring grape drank
Monocle

Racks on racks on racks
Lambo,   phantom, suicide doors
Baking sheet

Escorts lounging
Pills and brownies
Love

More than two chains…



E=mc2 (Einstein=modernChainz2 )
My dearest Albert,
Good news, they named a bakery after you.
Also, I am struggling in physics.
I failed my poetry test.
Your failures give me courage.
Your unique hairstyle inspires me to be myself.
Your t-shirt got me in trouble.
Still your biggest fan.

Love, ellie
Out of reach

I don’t know why the unicorn liar is in North Korea
                                                 A mystical hideaway out of my reach                            
Kim Jun Eun keeps North Korea isolated
The mysterious unicorn lair discovery was based on substantial evidence
A sign with Unicorn Lair written on it marked the magical territory
Iridescent creatures with pointed horns
Roam the city of Pyongyang

A fantasy world I am not allowed to enter

Friday, September 27, 2013

Out my window 

one vacant house 
people enter the vacant home
but never stay
various reasons prevent people from buying the newly built home

I look to the right
a large home sits amoungst flowers and a well groomed lawn 
only one person inhabits this home

I look out and see the land where tall and untamed grass grows 
where homes will one day 
I loath the emptiness 



Thursday, September 19, 2013

Joyce Sutphen Journal
               In the poem “Death Becomes Me” Sutphen describes the physical process of growing older. She attributes her ageing to death “Death has making itself at home in my body”. She illustrates death wearing down her joints and weakening her body. It does not seem like she is referring to her own death.  In the end of the poem she explains how “death” has made her infertile. Death took away the possibility of having more children.  Sutphen refers to death as “he” in her poem. The masculine pronoun changes the way the reader feels about death. She could have referred to death as it or her but she chose to call death he and him.  She says “as if he could burrow in and make himself my mother”. It seems like she is mocking death. Since she decides death is male he could not emulate her mother and it is ridiculous for him to make the decision to end her fertility.

               The poem “A Bird in a County Clare” portrays an awkward bird who hops down from a ledge. His interest is not captured by anything magnificent; instead he notices a missing branch and leaf. In the poem it is not what is there that is important but what is absent. The bird bows his head acknowledging the loss. Sutphen seems to understand the bird in this moment and says “For the first time I wondered what song he might have song, in what bare ruined choir.”

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

2 Chainz 1 Unicorn 

"2 Chainz" they chant from crowds now far and wide (consonance)
On stage he stood and rhymed for all his fans 
The men all hate, the women bump and grind (slant rhyme)
On stage he looks and peers into the stands
For what he seeks he only knows as love
But nowhere could he find a worthy dame 
Until one day from on his stage above 
He saw a horn and heard it call his name 
"2 chainz," the voice spoke softly in his ear
how could he hear her voice over the crowd
A magical creature she was its clear
Just then she reared and shown her figure proud 
2 Chainz, the unicorn and he had met
He hung 2 chains around her mane and left (internal rhyme)


Monday, September 9, 2013

running fast
reaching a foreign destination
yet nothing changes
mental walls remain unaffected by physical location
traveling further my limbs feel heavy
my body exhausted 
my mind continues to race
no matter where I go
I can not escape myself