THE BEST DAMN THAT COULD BE GIVEN AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT

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

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.

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.

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