~Tossing A Ball......Tossing A Poem~

       In Catch, by Robert Francis, there is two meanings to the activity of catching. "Catching What?", you may ask. Well that is what I will be writing about. In this poem, the mental picture is planted of two boys playing catch. The first line of the poem tells us that this is no ordinary game of catch. It is about two boys or maybe poets who are throwing a poem back and forth. I imagine that they are the writing this poem together and trying to figure out what words work best and what phrases should go where. In Catch, there is the imagery of playing catch with a ball and playing catch with a poem. Lets take a closer look at the two.
       First let's look at the playing catch with a ball scenario. All the signs are there for us to assume that these two boys are playing with a ball. The poem says in reference to the toss, "Overhand, underhand, backhand, sleight of hand, every hand ( Francis, Catch, 636)." Who wouldn't say that they are tossing a ball here. The poem goes on to explain how they catch the "ball" and how they have to try hard to get it. Or could it be talking about an actual poem and using this outstanding imagery to show us how they write the poem?
       The boys, as the poem states, are tossing a poem. The very first line says, "Two boys uncoached are tossing a poem (Francis, Catch, 636)." The poem goes on with so many exquisite words to show how these two poets are trying to write this poem. They are tossing the poem back and forth between each other to figure out their next move in writing. The poem states that they tease with attitudes. In poetry you have to get the right tone and mood for the poem. They are toying with different attitudes the poem might have. This poem to me reflects the writing of poetry process.
       In conclusion, this wonderful poem called Catch, by Robert Francis tells of two boys who are tossing a poem back and forth. Francis delivers wonderful imagery to create the illusion of playing catch with a ball but in reality relating it to tossing a poem back and forth trying to figure out what works where. This poem is another example of how poetry can sound and be so simple yet be so beautiful and fun at the same time.

Works Cited

 Roberts, Edgar V. "Catch" Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 9th ed. New York:         Pearson. 636. Print

*Eletelephony*

Once there was an Elephant,

Who tried to use the telephant-

No! No! I mean an elephone

Who tried to use the telephone-

(Dear Me! I am not certain quite

That even now Ive got it right.)

Howe'er it was, he got his trunk

Entangled in the telephunk;

The more he tried to get it free,

The louder buzzed the telephee-

( I Fear I'd better drop the song

Of elephop and telephong! )

~Laura Richards

       I wish all poems could be this silly. This is a children's poem and I think its great!!! This is a simple little poem that brought me much joy. Crazy right? I love children and a great way to get them going is a wonderful poem like this. It is funny how something so simple can create such a fun image in your mind. A lot of poems create many images in your brain. That is one thing I love about poetry. No matter what the poem is about, the poet is in control of a great responsibility: creating a mental picture for the reader. 

       Some poems are sad or depressing. Not that these poems are bad or any less of a poem, they just create a different mental picture and the feelings that go along with it. The poet may have been feeling discouraged that day and just needed to write about it. Either way, a poem always creates a mental picture.

       Some poems are about love. These poems are the most often associated with poems if we are talking about subject matter. I mean come on lets face it, girls think it is absolutely fantastic if a guy reads them a poem. Even if he mispronounces every other word and is making a face while he reads it, poems have an affect. Lots of poems are centered around love. It could be the love for your spouse, your boyfriend/girlfriend, or my personal favorite, the love you have for your family. Are you beginning to get a picture of a love poem you have read?

       Lastly, some poems are just about FUN! These are my favorites. They create a sense of wonder and excitement when you read them. The mental picture I get when I read Eletelephony is an elephant all tangled up in phone chords :) See how fun that is! Poems no matter what they are about make you create a mental picture in your mind. They take you to a good place when you read them and that is what makes poetry so great!

< Roses are Red, Violets are Blue >

       When I think of poetry the old faithful "roses are red" rhyme comes to mind. When I was younger I used to write poems a lot. It was just something I liked to do (but I certainly wasn't a pro at it by any means). My mom is an excellent poet by my standards :) and she is the one who got me to write a few. I was about 10 when I started writing. Most of them are about funny things and some I wrote about God. I always get tickled when I read back over them because the only thing that made them an actual poem was that the lines rhymed :). Sometimes they didn't even make sense :) I wrote A LOT of "roses are red" poems. When I think of poetry this always comes to mind. What is so great about the "roses are red" poem is that you can write it about anything: like..... "Roses are red, Violets are blue, you look like a monkey and I do too!" Ha ha, well I told you I was not a pro at this :). So I will leave the poetry writing to my mom.
       I also think of music when I think of poetry. Music is poetry and it always will be poetry.  It has the rhyme schemes that a poem does. Music is words put to sound and melody. Most poems are made into songs or the artist wrote a poem and decided to put some sound to it. I love music so therefore I love poetry. I think of poetry as a way to let your feelings shine through. It is a wonderful way to tell someone how much you care. When I think of poetry I think of Honesty. Poetry is writing down what is truly on your heart.

 

Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry.
Muriel Rukeyser

     

~~ Love Covers A Multitude Of Sins ~~

           Love and Forgiveness are themes that glisten through "The Parable of the Prodigal Son." This short story or "parable" was written down by Luke with the inspiration from God :). This is a parable straight from the Bible. In "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," we have have father with two sons. The younger son asks his father for his portion of their money. He goes out and wastes it all. He spends it all on nothing and things that are not good. After he is forced to eat with the pigs because he has no money to feed himself, he travels back to ask his father for forgiveness. His father not only lovingly forgives him, but he welcomes the son with the finest clothes and best meat that they have. I will be discussing the love and forgiveness the father had towards his son and the love and forgiveness God has for us. 
          In our story, the son does a disgraceful thing. He spends all of his money on ridiculous items. The parable states, "...and there wasted his substance with riotous living (Roberts 399)." The son totally disrespects his father and the money he gave him. When the son finally realized the huge mistake he made he goes back to his father for forgiveness. If our child behaved like this, people today would throw the child out or disown them possibly. The father in the parable does something different. He forgives the son unconditionally, and welcomes him home with open arms. It probably wasn't that the father was not disappointed with his son, but his love for his son conquered all the bad things he had done. The father not only forgave, but he gave his son the BEST that he had. "But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (Roberts 399)."
          That is exactly how Jesus is with us. He knew that we would sin and fail sometimes but he still went to the cross for you and me. Jesus loved us so very much that he gave His life so that we could be forgiven. It did not matter how many bad things we had done, His love for us conquered all! All that the father (in our story) and the Heavenly Father (God) care about is their children. God cared about us enough to send his only son to die for us so that we could be saved and forgiven. Not only did God give everything he had, but He gave us his very BEST, and that was Jesus!!!!
          In "The Parable of the Prodigal Son," by Luke (and God ), we have a son who sins and does some things the wrong way. When he comes back to beg his father for forgiveness, he finds his father welcoming him with love and forgiveness. When we come to Jesus we find love and forgiveness there also!

Works Cited

Roberts, Edgar V. "The Parable of the Prodigal Son." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 

          9th Ed. New York: Pearson. 2009. 399-400. Print

Staying For The Kids

       In our short story, "The Lady With the Dog," Gurov is leading two different lives. In class we discussed some reasons why that Gurov stayed with both his wife and Anna. We discussed the possibility of Gurov wanting some excitement in his life. We talked about him maybe wanting to prove to his wife that he was still in charge and still the man of the house. Also, we talked about the idea of Gurov staying because he had children. Gurov knew it wasn't right for children to have to grow up without a parent. This possibility spoke volumes to me because of my own personal experience.
       In my case, one of the reasons my mom stayed is because of my little brother and I. Our story is a tiny bit different than Gurov's because we had to leave.
       My dad abused a lot of things (such as drugs and alcohol). My brother and I were still in elementary school and middle school throughout this time. My mom knew my brother and I needed a dad. So we stayed in the situation. There were a few other reasons my mom stayed (one was knowing that the bible says divorce is not a good thing, but I know God does not intend for people to stay in a really bad and hurtful situation), but an important reason was my mom wanted her kids to grow up having a dad. Though he was not a good one, my mom kept hoping he would change.
       After much praying and a couple years down the road my mom got us out of that situation. My mom and dad were divorced.
       Today it is just my mom, my brother, and I. God truly has blessed our lives and He is always been good to us. Even if we had some pretty rough situations, God always kept us safe.
       In Gurov's day divorce was frowned upon and it still is today in some cases. Gurov might have stayed for the children just like my mom did. The important thing is she made a decision. Gurov did not make a decision and probably didn't until it was too late. Even still today people have many reasons why they stay together but I would definitely say that having children is a big factor. I would encourage Gurov to stay with his children from my perspective. I would encourage anyone to try to make things work out and not make divorce an option, if you can help it.
       I found "The Lady With the Dog" true to life and I wanted to share my thought with you guys :)

Process Over Product ( "Luck")

          Did Scoresby really get tested on his knowledge or just what he could remember to write down at that moment in time?
          Thank goodness he could remember right? Isn't that also our struggle? When we take a test we study and try to remember that information to be able to physically write it down. When we were reading "Luck", I had a thought. It sparked in my memory when Mrs. Watson was talking about tests and what they really show. Now I know that tests are just a part of being in school and they are a necessity. But what if we were tested on the process and not the product? What if we were tested not on how much information we could remember to write down but how we applied this knowledge and used it throughout the semester?What if we were tested on how well we applied the short stories or how well we can see important things to be brought out in the story (our presentations help with this)? The process is just as important as the final product. Does anyone agree?
          As all these questions were popping up in my mind, I remembered something that my chorus teacher had always told us when we were getting ready to gear up for a singing festival or a competition. The judges at these competitions are really critical of your choir. They look for small details that a normal audience would not catch. They see all the little imperfections in our final product (our performance), and they count off many points.  But what they do not see is all the successes and right notes that we have hit on our way to getting there. My teacher would always say "wouldn't it be great if the judges could see how far we have come and the right things we did in our process." What he meant was that he wished the judges could give us some credit in the process and for all of the times we did get the imperfections right. But unfortunately, all the judges got and wanted to see was the final, "up to bat" product.That is just how we are tested today. The only way we could prove our knowledge as a choir was to sing it right at that particular moment in time. The only way that tests allow us to prove our knowledge is if we can write the information down at that "right now" moment in time. 
          What if Scoresby was tested on his process instead of the product (the test)? He might not have done so well. Dont you think? He was tested in a way that everyone is tested, but he just happened to be lucky enough to ace it.What if we could be tested on the process and not the product?
       I had this thought and wanted to share it. I know that tests are a concrete way to prove knowledge, it seems, but I wanted to see what you guys thought about process over product.

Sweeney Overload

This week we watched Sweeney Todd. This isn't the first time I have encountered Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies.  Back in High School at Fred T. Foard, I was in Chorus. My Chorus teacher was a Broadway fanatic. If you guys don't know, Sweeney Todd is also a Broadway Play. So you can guess what we did in my chorus class. My teacher loves the Sweeney play, so it was a requirement for us to watch. Now the Broadway play isn't bloody at all except for some red lighting they use to symbolize blood. It is pretty interesting to watch  the play.
So you guys know the creepy music that plays throughout the whole movie, well its on lyric sheets for a chorus group to sing. Yeah, you guessed it, we had to sing the medley of Sweeney Todd. It is much creepier to sing about a demon barber that to watch him on TV. We actually had to mean what we were singing too. Just to fill you in here is some of what we had to sing. Some of the Lyrics: "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, his skin was pale and his eye was odd,"............... "Swing your razor wide ,Sweeney, Hold it to the sky."
Yeah doesn't  that sound pleasant to sing about. It was really hard to sing that at our concert but we did it.  I seen some of the faces in the audience and I know they were like "What?!" But I know there were others that thought "Awesome!"
Now I have seen Sweeney again in English class and I would say its an overload. But Mr. Todd is a very popular man so I was bound to run into him again :)