Goldie+Robins

Goldie Robins' Poetry Page :) ENJOY!

1. An introductory quote from another poet about poetry

"Poetry is the silent voice that is heard everywhere inside of us..." - By: Unknown

2. Four original poems, including three formats we worked on in class

__ Ode: __ The idea of making wrong decisions So intellectual, does she even know what she is doing? Admiring her would be an understatement Extraordinarily smart, pretty and perfect Yet stupid and clumsy Nice but mean She won't what you think because she is she Loves not only herself but me Willing to help if in need or not Having her is what everyone needs Be jealous you don't have an amazing sister like me.

__ Sonnet: __ Hooray as the alarm contains a noise Return to the store and get more food now Reduce the size of the clothes for the boys Today it is raining so I say cow The is really random yet, really cool Oh, Goldie you are a girl to compare Winters not here anymore so go to pool You better not be bad or I will care My house is far way just like you are I have math next and I do not want it The next time I see you be in a bar I was just sleeping for a little bit Finally it is coming to the end So, now I do not have to break and bend

__ "Raised by" : __

I was raised by Eat everything I make Sit properly Chew with your mouth closed Kind of Parents Keep your hair short Take care of it its gonna be long Those clothes are too revealing Wear this You to skinny for that Or to big for this You look fine Type of family

Keep on going 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and then home Practice pitching Come watch football with me Okay lets watch baseball then basketball You run to slow Just keep working at it Type of father I will help you with this No, do that NO! I'm right! I'm the older one “I don't like you” and “you're annoying” “I love you” Type of sister

"Do your best" "Keep on trying" "It will be okay" "We will work on it" "It's fine, just breathe" Type of parents

Go to Hebrew school Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Bat mitzvah practice now Do USY, you will love it "Okay but remember it is Shabbat" "We can't it is a holiday" Type of family

"This will be fun" "Lets do this" "Make good choices" "Remember, I love you" Type of mother

I was raised by my family. <3

__ Poem of my choice: __

I am from jumping waves and having fun. I am from sand sticking; hard showers and loud dinner too late night board walk time I am from

I am from Julian being annoying and fighting all the time. I am from dinners at six-thirty and homework or T.V. after. I am from going to sleep late and waking up early. I am from quiet time to loud time. I am form

I am from catching the ball to throwing the pitch. I am from running to first and sliding in at home. I am from hearing the loud crack when the ball hits the bat. I am from

I am from Shabbat Services to holiday dinners from family celebrations to light the candles on Shabbos night that is where I am from.

I am from Colorado to San Francisco from skiing down the mountain to riding a cable car I am from

I am from Mom mom’s birthday cake to Bubbies chicken soup. I am from my Mom’s dippy eggs to my father’s grilled cheese. I am from

I am from the crack of the Liberty Bell to the steps of the Art Museum from shopping on Ninth Street to eating Tastykakes from cheering for the Phillies to rooting for the Eagles from looking at William Penn and walking on south street from going to school then walking home. That is really where I am from.

3. A statement about your own poetry I am not big on writing poetry. I am actually not big on writing in general. When I am writing poetry it is usually for school. I am not one to rhyme or have any rhyming schemes. I am more of a free writer. I like to get my point out by the end of my poem but it doesn’t always have to be in a creative way like a limerick or a haiku. Sometimes I think it is interesting to have some of my poem rhyme and some of it not. I guess it really depends on the mood I am in when writing and what the assignment is. If I am in a happy mood I may be writing a happy poem or if I am in a sad mood I might write a sad poem. I tend not to have a certain word choice or structure it can change by each poem I write.

4. Three poems from one poet of your choice on Poets.org Author: Langston Hughes

__ 1. __


 * DREAMS: **

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

__ 2. __


 * I,TOO: **

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

__ 3. __ ** LET AMERICA BE AMERICA AGAIN: **

Let it be the dream it used to be.

Let it be the pioneer on the plain

Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed–

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty

Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,

But opportunity is real, and life is free,

Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There’s never been equality for me,

Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?

And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,

I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.

I am the red man driven from the land,

I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek–

And finding only the same old stupid plan

Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,

Tangled in that ancient endless chain

Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!

Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!

Of work the men! Of take the pay!

Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.

I am the worker sold to the machine.

I am the Negro, servant to you all.

I am the people, humble, hungry, mean–

Hungry yet today despite the dream.

Beaten yet today–O, Pioneers!

I am the man who never got ahead,

The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream

In the Old World while still a serf of kings,

Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,

That even yet its mighty daring sings

In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned

That’s made America the land it has become.

O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas

In search of what I meant to be my home–

For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,

And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,

And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came

To build a “homeland of the free.”

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?

Surely not me? The millions on relief today?

The millions shot down when we strike?

The millions who have nothing for our pay?

For all the dreams we’ve dreamed

And all the songs we’ve sung

And all the hopes we’ve held

And all the flags we’ve hung,

The millions who have nothing for our pay–

Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

O, let America be America again–

The land that never has been yet–

And yet must be–the land where every man is free.

The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–

Who made America,

Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,

Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,

Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose–

The steel of freedom does not stain.

From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,

We must take back our land again,

America!

O, yes,

I say it plain,

America never was America to me,

And yet I swear this oath–

America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,

The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,

We, the people, must redeem

The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.

The mountains and the endless plain–

All, all the stretch of these great green states–

And make America again!

5. Close Reading Analysis of these three poems

1. In this poem Dreams, Langston Hughes (the author) uses repetition to stress certain parts of the poem. This poem is telling a short story along with a lesson. The lesson is stating what the readers should with their dreams and if they don’t what will happen. This makes this poem meaningful when reading it. By using the repetition in the poem it tells the point of the story. When reading something and certain words repeat that is what sticks into ones head the most. The first lines of both stanzas start with the same line. Some things in this poem that people may not notice is that the second and fourth line of both stanzas rhyme with each other. Langston Hughes also uses metaphors such as, "Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly". He is referring a bird that cannot fly to broken dreams. It all fits together.

2. Langston Hughes is comparing what people think America is to actual America. Saying how America is a beautiful place and to see how beautiful it is. Also how the people are beautiful and that is what makes their version of America beautiful. This poem has a powerful meaning because it shows what people think and the reality. This poem also has no rhyming or any type of rhyming scheme. This poem is filled with enjambments because one line flows to another and also goes with the following line. There are times where there are not enjambments because there are certain lines where it requires a pause. By the end of the poem the reality becomes the dream.

3. Let America be America Again is a poem written by, Langston Hughes. People who made this country who gave their blood, sweat, and tears are still not what they should be or where they are suppose to be. People who came for freedom and a better life but really it isn't a better life and it is still hard. They want American to be the America they dreamed of. They realize that is was never the America they dreamed of, and they want it to be that again. In this poem every so often there is a rhyme scheme with the lines. It kind of is a free for all but still flows and goes together. There are some enjambments and some have pauses. It is more of a powerful poem because it wants the reader to learn their experience and get a story out. It is also very emotional due to certain lines in the poem. Since there are some rhymes, pauses and enjambments the poem fits together well and flows nicely. In this poem Langston Hughes writes, “America was never America to me.” This goes back to what America really is and what people thought it was. This line occurs more then once and shows the reader that this line should stand out.