Poetry Project

                         TWO VOICE POEM ON SELMA MARCH

There’s no more segregation

in this state, so please let us

March                                                                                               

                                                                                                            Go home negros

                                                Why wont they just

leave

We would like to

March

Your safety is at risk, leave!

                                                Get out of our way!

We want to march!

and we want our

freedom!

                                                Why are you destroying

                                                What we believe in?

This is your last warning

…    

Ask me my name

That light is

awfully bright

Are you disturbed

by me? I feel that

you’re afraid

Do I have

any friends?

I want to see my

face Who am

I?

I scare you

What do I do?

Life is black and

white I hide in

the shadow of

my hoodie

Do I like myself?

I don’t know

me I am ashamed

I bow my head

As me my name

She brings out my emotions sad or pleased

The green grass changes me to a player

I love it all when I play I’m released

It’s like shedding a hard outer layer

She plays with my emotions everyday

This sport gives me joy and a team to love

She has produced chants like ole ole!

I would be forever thanking above

I always hope my team can win a game

I always wish they could win a title

I will never forget the day I came

She makes me work hard all the time

This is what I want to do in my life

If I can do this there will be no strife

   

            The poem “America” by Claude Mckay is about a man who loves something that

gives him stress. Claude Mckay describes America with harsh words in the first half of

the poem. Then he’ll go on to write how much he embodies it. In the end it’s a complex

confusing poem that provokes thinking.. America has different main ideas, word

choices, and literary devices.

            As mentioned above this poem can be seen from different points of view. The

poet Claude Mckay describes America as a country he loves but at the same time it’s a

love hate relationship. He mentions some negatives and positives of America. It seems

like America is the only place he’s able to call home.   

            Claude Mckay has a unique arsenal of word choice throughout his poem. He uses

deep words like “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness and sinks into my throat her

tiger’s tooth.” The poet uses such harsh words to describe how much pain America

causes him. The poet goes on to write how America gives him strength and how he loves

it.

            This entire poem is filled with many literary devices. Throughout the poem

Claude Mckay expresses his feelings metaphorically, for “stealing my breath of life, I

will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!” America is a nation not a

cultured hell, but the poet wants to explain his bittersweet feeling. He also uses similes

like “her vigor flows like tides into my blood”. Claude uses this simile to show how

America can give him strength.

     

         Unfortunately all over the world, everyday people are judged by how much money they have. The book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini shows how much the amount of money you have effects you. At the start of the book there are four main characters Baba, Ali, Hassan, and Amir. Ali and Hassan are sometimes thought of in negative ways and are treated differently because they are poor. Based on how much money you have it effects your impact on the people around you, how you are treated, and what you own.

    

Since Baba and Amir are wealthy they live in the mansion, while Ali and Hassan live in a mud hut. The author writes “I went past the rosebushes to Baba’s mansion, Hassan to the mud shack where he had been born, where he’d  live his entire life.” This illustrates that due to money issues Hassan and Ali live in huts therefore proving that the amount of money you have decides what you own.

    

Due to all the money Baba has he is able to do nice things for people with his money. In the book Baba builds an orphanage, “Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage, just off the main strip of Jadeh Maywand south of the Kabul River, with his own money.” This demonstrates that money can effect the impact you have on the people around.

            Being a poor Hazara, Hassan is often thought of in a negative way. One night Amir reads a story he wrote to Hassan. At the end of the story Amir gets mad at Hassan for questioning his story and thinks mean thoughts about Hassan. Amir thinks “what does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He’ll never be anything but a cook. How dare he critize you?” This portrays that based on how much money you have it can guide someone to think about you in a certain way.

            Money has too much power on people’s thinking about the person you are. Being a person that lives in New York people are judged everyday by how much money they have. If people see a homeless person they will think if they give that person money that homeless person will go off and buy drugs or alcohol therefore being judged based on how much money they have. I feel that any person who tends to always judge others based on how much money they have should be ashamed.

Authors Note

             Many people think they can't accomplish their goals in life because they don't have enough courage and confidence because of where they may come from. There are so many gifted people out there that are not being seen by the world because of their lack of dedication and hard work to achieve what they want.  One of the problems of why people are not staying focused is because they may have so many obstacles keeping them from following their dreams. I feel that it would be so much better if those that had dreams and goals were not judged by others just because of where they're from or what they looked like. In a biography about Jay-Z from Rolling Stone the author explains about the not so nice place of where he came from. Jay-Z grew up in the Marcy housing projects, and his father walked out on his mother as a little boy. He then made his money on the streets by selling crack. After, Jay-Z started doing what he does best and rapped one of his very first verses with rapper Jaz-O and from there it got better and better for Jay-Z. Also another man that can be a mentor for this statement is president Barack Obama. Obama didn't have a relationship with his father as a child because his father was attending Harvard at the time, then when Obama was two his parents got divorced. Obama didn't really have much of an experience with his mother because at the age of ten he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents. Although Barack's childhood wasn't the best he still was able  to accomplish amazing things like Harvard, governor, and the first black president. My research has led to my moral which is, it doesn't matter where you came from if you work hard you can still get to where you want. Most of my research is about famous people, so it is easy to get information about them. With their information in my head I was able to come up with a lesson.

           I feel that many people can relate to this issue including me. I want to grow up to be a professional soccer player and play on a great team but where I'm from creates hurdles blocking my dream. In the soccer world all the great teams and players are in Europe, and as for the United States our league is not considered to be any where near the same level of greatness as European leagues. American players rarely get bought by European teams, but I truly do believe that if I work hard I can be a soccer player. In my illustrations I have chosen that the rabbit comes from unfortunate surroundings. As the story goes on different animals start making fun of the rabbit as well as some who help him. The most important illustration is the dish he makes that everybody loves.

          I hope my picture book can give people hope and something to believe in and work toward. I want to encourage people to help each others dreams . I suggest that for all the people who believe that where they're from limits them and defines who they are should forget that and do what it takes to get to where you want to be. I also suggest that people should support each others dreams. 

Critical Thinking Question: How does this text deal with individuals and groups? Are the people acting alone and in competition with one another, or does the text help us imagine people working together?

“A long walk to water” by Linda Sue Park definitely shows the relationship

between individuals and groups. Throughout the book one of the main characters, Salva goes through times when he is alone because he was left behind by multiple groups. After reading a good chunk of the book it is clear to see that A long walk to water shows how people may work together or abandon each other.

An example in the book that demonstrates how groups of people of which you don’t know too well can be so helpful is on page 9. After walking around by himself for hours he finally sees people he knows, “Salva wandered around until he heard the words ‘Loun-Ariik! The village of Loun-Ariik, here!’ Relief flooded through him. That was his village! He hurried toward the sound of the voice. A dozen or so people stood in a loose group at the side of the road. Salva scanned their faces. There was no one from his family. He recognized a few people a women with a baby, two men, a teenage girl-but no one he knew well. Still, it was comforting to see them.” This scene shows how helpful it can be to be with a group even though you don’t quite know them. If I was in Salva’s situation I would too be very happy to see people that I’ve seen in my neighborhood.  

The author continues to illustrate what it is like to be in a group when the old woman tells Salva she will be leaving him on page 18. “On the fourth day, the old woman told him that she was leaving. ‘you  have seen that the pond is only a puddle now. Winter is coming, and the dry season. And this fighting.’ She nodded her head in the direction of the noise. ‘I will go to a different village near water. You cannot stay with me any longer.’ Salva stared at her as panic rose inside him. Why can’t I go with her? The woman spoke again before he could ask aloud. ‘The soldiers will leave me alone, an old woman on her own. It would be more dangerous for me to travel with you.” This is a great example of the different perspectives on being in a group. Again I agree with Salva’s feelings, being a male myself I would find it frustrating that I could be a target in a war because of my gender.

As the book goes on Salva finds a new group, yet again being with other people helped when a person had aided Salva and the rest of the group on page 24. “Buksa stopped abruptly in front of a very large tree. ‘yes!’ he said. ‘now go call the others!’ By now Salva had caught the feeling excitement. ‘But what shall I tell them?’ ‘The bird. The one I was listening to. He led me right here’. Buksa’s smile was even bigger now. ‘You see that?’ He pointed up at the branches of the tree. ‘Beehive. A fine, large one.’ ‘Honey! This night, we feast!” This portrays the advantages of being in a group. Salva must be delighted that Buksa found food and that he has the help of his group to survive during the war.

When Salva and his group along with his uncle are walking through villages with no money looking for food, being in a group comes to the rescue again shown on page 47. “None of the travelers had money or anything of value to trade, so they had to beg for food. The exception was uncle: The fishermen gave him food without having to be asked. Salva could not tell if this was because Uncle seemed to be the leader of the group or because they were afraid of his gun.” This again suggests that this book shows how it is like to be in a group. Salva must also be joyous that being in a group got him food again. I also have the same question as Salva, why did the villagers give Uncle their food?