Notes--AmyY

Eating Poetry

BY MARK STRAND

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.

There is no happiness like mine.

I have been eating poetry.

The librarian does not believe what she sees.

Her eyes are sad

and she walks with her hands in her dress.

The poems are gone.

The light is dim.

The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.

Their eyeballs roll,

their blond legs burn like brush.

The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

She does not understand.

When I get on my knees and lick her hand,

she screams.

I am a new man.

I snarl at her and bark.

I romp with joy in the bookish dark.

Notes: Actually I do not really get this poem, but the title and the first sentence of this poem attract me. There are some anthropomorphism. I think this poem has a lot of dreaminess, a sense of what the author is imagining. But it leaves the reader wondering what the author is trying to say. The poem is written about the author himself, the librarian, a dog and the poem.

This poem has six stanzas, and each stanza has three lines. Those lines are really simple but hard to relate. I can only understand a sense of what author wants to express, but not the specific meaning. This whole poem is a story, can be seen slides by slides. It shows the poet really likes poems.

The Red Wheelbarrow

BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens

Notes: There are only four stanzas and four words for each stanza, which is really interesting and inventive. It describes a really clear and clean scene for readers. What attracts me most about this poem is that it has few paragraphs and few words, but it describes several scenes. I think the poetry with fewer words can give readers more space to imagine. This poem gives me the feeling that it's raining. The color contrast in the poem is also very attractive, leaving an impression on the reader's mind.

I, Too

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

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.

Notes: I think the poem is about the separation between African americans and whites. The poem says, "I sing songs about America, too." This means that not only are white americans, but African americans are citizens of the United States and should be treated equally. The first line of the second verse says "I am a black brother" -- meaning that he may be African-American, but he is still American. The third section shows what the future will look like, showing how quickly African americans will integrate into the rest of the country. Section four tells us that African americans are essentially good people.