Poetry Reflection

     Before starting this unit, I didn't like reading or writing poetry at all. Now that this unit has passed, I think differently of poetry. The importance that poetry has in my life is that I can express myself with it. I can put a lot of emotions in my poems that I can't normally put in a story. I like it because it is very detailed but not long. I can write my true feelings in my poems. I believe that poetry does belong to everyone. Not just because almost everyone has access to it, but because anyone and everyone can express their feeling with poetry. So many poets have expressed their feelings and their thought in poems. Meaning that everyone can write poetry and show their true feelings in it.

     The life and experiences of a poet affect the poem they create a lot. It affects the poem because there is a lot of feelings in a poem, and those feelings come from the poet. In a lot of poems there is different emotions sadness, happiness, excitement, terror, and the list goes on. I believe that one can't truly write about something without experiencing it. For example, Edgar Allan Poe went through so much in his life. In all of his work you can see he clearly went through something.

     A spine poem is a poem made out of book titles, where you only see the spine of the book. Even though this type of poetry is short there is a lot of meaning within. Just like there is more meaning in the title of a book than we think. My spine poem sounds like its just about a person's journey, but its not. In the poem "Wanna Be a Fish" it talks about how someone wants to become a fish. The poem is shaped like a fish. The poem being in the shape of fish gives emphasizes that a certain person wants to be a fish. I think that when the poem has a picture in the background or is shaped like something, it emphasizes what the poem is saying. If its telling a story it will make you think you are in the poem. It all varies though on how people interpret it.

"The Girl"

"The One Who Was Wronged"

Life was going just fine

You were nothing more than a toddler

Knowing nothing about life

Being clueless like a bird is about flying

In your head, politics and laws disappeared in thin air

But who could blame you

Sixteen months old, when everything happened

Stealing and sabotaging land

killing three people

with one-hundred and fifteen others,

is what the officers told your family,

while looking at you

They had no choice

You were three at the time

You just sat there as they put cuffs on his bare wrists

Not knowing what is happening,

or who they are,

or even why they are taking your father.

You were nothing but an innocent boy

and him an innocent man

You were grateful he was out

but it turned out they still wanted you

“Who would keep a three year old boy in jail for life?"

Is the question everyone asked

Not just your family but the public too

Everyone was on your side,

but they still threw you in jail

All you heard was "Click",

as the cell door closed in front of you

You touched the cold metal bars

and moved around.

Seeing where you had to sleep

and be the whole day.

Outside, your father was on the run.

Escaping cops from one side to the other,

a dog running away from his treat.

He has been running for a year and a half

Your family is still worried,

not just for you but your father too.

It turned out they were wrong.

The Files told your family

that they mistook you for a sixteen year old boy.

They said they apologized

but they yet are still looking for your father.

Your family didn't care what they said.

You were still in jail

and him on the run.

They didn’t care about you in jail

Unlike Ten did about his Rose

They played you wrong

and that’s all.

Inspired by: "Egypt: Officials claim mistaken identity after toddler sentenced to life"

Bio Poem

Janelle

Intelligent, self-conscious, caring, and scared

A character in Nikki Grime's story

Lover of her friends, her studies, and who she is

Who notices her fears, herself, and other people

Who feels afraid, ashamed, and fat

Who learns to love her own self and not worry what others say
Who used to think she wasn't good enough but now loves everything about herself
Major character in "Bronx Masquerade"
A book that teaches you that everyone is different in various ways