The Snow Man

The Snow Man was a nice poem that reminded me of how much I want it to snow! The poem reminded me so much of the beauty there is when it snows. When it snows it is so peaceful… no tracks…just soft, sparkly, and the best part is how quiet it is when it snows. I think the first line of the poem describes winter and people perfectly. “One must have a mind of winter,” this shows that not everyone likes winter and maybe it is because they don’t see the beauty in it or just don’t understand it. I talk about it with my friends sometimes (mostly lately because I want it to snow so badly! :) ), and I tell them how I want it to snow and they grown and whine about how much they hate being cold and how they can’t drive; they don’t have the right mind of winter. I talk about how snow brings back memories and I think of being cozy in my house watching movies, sipping hot chocolate, and watching the snow fall; I have an winter mind. The line “And have been cold for a long time,” represents that to have a winter mind you have to have experience with winter and understand winter for the good that comes with it. When the poet describes winter as misery and describes what he sees as misery it is clear that he knows he doesn't have a winter mind. Especially in the tone, it is very evident that the poet is not so happy when it comes to winter because of the words he uses like misery, nothing, rough, etc; he doesn't use happy language. At the end of the day, this poem reminds me that not everyone can have a winter mind, but having one would defiantly be a good thing for a person who lives in Colorado. :)

The Secret

The Secret was a very cool poem! I liked it a lot, and it wasn’t a dark sad poem for once... : ) It was a poem about the search for the secret of life. The poet describes the search for the secret of life as something that happens all through out life and that makes such perfect sense to me. This describes it all, “I love them for finding what I can’t find, and for loving me for the line I wrote, and for forgetting it so that a thousand times, till death finds them, they may discover it again (…)” This part just really showed how everyone is in different stages of their life, and they either haven’t figured out the secret of life, have or are in the process of rediscovering the secret. Life is always changing and it makes sense that a person rediscovers the secret of life many many times all throughout life because people will lose themselves or get caught up in life and forget that secret. But, they always come back and figure out life… remembering that secret. Even the poet is at that stage in her life, for she wrote the secret to life and she doesn’t even remember it. She is maybe a little lost in her life at the time, but she is okay with it knowing one day she will get back to that time in her life where she will remember the secret. At the end of the day, I think it’s interesting that life always has its ways of bringing a person back to center and remembering that important secret in life…which is maybe just never lose who you are in the chaos of life…

Those Winter Sundays

“Those winter Sundays” was a simple poem, that had great description that really set a perfect visual. I pictured a cozy log cabin in the woods in the winter with snow placed all around in a peaceful silence. I could picture it being still dark out and achy, old, hard working father quietly getting out of bed in the cold house to make a fire to warm up the equally achy house. Sunday was the fathers only day off, but technically it was still a work day that didn't consist of working at the job where he worked with his hands all day, but it was the day the father worked for his family. One line in particular stood out, “No one ever thanked him.” The poem gave the feeling that the father didn't mind not being thanked for all the things he did because it was what a father did… no thanks were ever needed. The father did what he needed to do to keep his family going. The last lines summed everything up and had the most meaning, “What did I know, what did I know of love’s austere and lonely offices?” The last lines just mean that the poet didn't know then, but he knows now after looking back that the love a person has for their family is sometimes hard and uncompromising because these things have to be done to keep a family together no matter if a person is appreciated or not. This poem really reminded me that I should thank my parents more often because I know they will do things for our family no matter what, but a thank you more often might make things a little bit easier.

Still Memory

I loved this poem for so many reasons, but one of the top reasons why is because I could relate to it so well; I love those vivid happy memories. In Still Memory the memory isn’t one that most would recall as happy, but I think for the poet the simplest memories are happy ones to her. Toward the end, I assume that this quote means that her parents are no longer with her, “My parents are not yet born each into a small urn of ash,” so anything that brings back the times with her parents is happy. These memories seem so real for the poet, and it is like time has stopped and I think that’s where she gets the title from. She describes the scene so vividly with the notches made to see how tall she was, her father coming home from work and the smell he had of crude oil and solvent, and her mother in the kitchen making dinner. The last stanza really sums everything up, “My ten-year-old hand reaches for a pen to record it all as would become long habit.” To me this just represents how the author became a poet. From when she was ten she looked at these memories as something to always remember. I came to think of this because of this specific phrase in that stanza: “(…) a pen to record it all as would become long habit.” That just shows how she looked at these memories as something special, and she thought that these memories were special enough to continue to record them in her own way and make it a habit, ultimately showing how it became her career. At the end of the day, this poem was pretty straight-forward, but it is one of those poems that makes you stop and think of your own special memories… : )

Soccer Analogy

High school and soccer are like one in the same. In high school a little success is key, like in soccer. Nobody goes to a soccer game saying “I am not going to try. I am just going to lose,” or else they will lose. In order to have that want and drive there needs to be something that pushes a team− the want to succeed. The same goes for a person going to school. If a student chose not to try then they won’t succeed. In both soccer and high school all it takes is a little effort and drive to reach a little success and something to be proud of. After a person has decided they want to succeed that is when everything starts to fall into place to lead them on that path to success.

Soccer is a sport that takes dedication. As the years go on, everyone in the league gets better and the bar is set higher. It takes dedication to keep up with the rising level of play and really reach where a person wants to be. The same goes for high school, the more a person dedicates themselves to school and is consistently becoming a better student, the better a student will become. Guaranteed.

As a defender in soccer, I am required to be a very patient player in order to help my team succeed and for me to pull my own weight. In soccer a player can’t be impatient or they could let their whole team down. A player has to persevere and get the job done. With patients and perseverance comes success. In high school, as the years go by high school gets less and less interesting and most students’ just want to give up and just glide through everything. But, if a student isn’t patient they could risk letting down all their family and friends and that’s why they have to persevere through the boring stuff and get through it and succeed.

In high school, there is an ultimate reward, and that is when a student reaches the final goal− graduation and finally finding out who they really are through all the years of hard work and struggles. The same goes for soccer, there is a final overall goal that all urn for in the end, and that is that a player gets to play the game they love with their friends and have the time of their life growing and becoming who they are through the years.

At the end of the day, soccer and high school go hand in hand, high school is just another game that everybody tries to win, and everyone has to be patient, dedicated, persevere, and remember the end result− that through it all a person can find who they truly are just like soccer.

The Pigeons and the Girls

The poem The Pigeons and the Girls brought back memories for me. I think that’s why I enjoyed the poem as much as I did. In the first stanza, the last three lines, “Above traffic, those two pigeons, they raised with a single motion their heads toward the light.” To me this represents those days where you are just soaking up the sun, in deep thought, and just enjoying life altogether. The part “above traffic” is what made me think about them being in deep thought, and the birds being in a calm peaceful place without anything bothering them. The next part, about the girls, is what really brought on the memories for me, “Still she held the other by the hand, for the other was thin, she limped, a thigh or hip bone was not working right. The girl led this other one along−” This is like a memory from my own head. My grandma was very sick, and I used to spend much of my time with her just soaking up the sun and her love. I would help her out into the back yard, and we would sit on her swing and talk or sometimes just think and enjoy our time together, like those to ladies at the pool. Those are the best days, and those are the days to remember. But like the poem says towards the end, these things don’t last forever so enjoy them while you can… eventually everyone has to take the sheet off and go back to reality and leave the peace and serenity sometime. At the end of the day, I really liked this poem because it brings me back to some great memories, it makes me want to just stay under the sheet in peace and remember the best days…