Compositions

             Journey

I was on a journey as strong wind blows,

Only I saw lovely clouds by heaven,

As I travel towards my glowing heaven.

Clearly I hear the sounds of croaking grow,

But I ignored the crows like water flow.

Ahead I went to the road to heaven,

A place I've known as the road to heaven.

Far but real: a destination that glows.

Along my way I've seen ferocious beasts

Hidden in the caves of a dark night forest.

I stood up tall and glanced towards the east.

The sun will shine again at break of dawn,

Lighting the work of the nature’s florist.

Here I stand: waiting for my festive feast.

Silverfish

Life is like a silverfish,

Slippery and fast.

Life is like a silverfish,

Hidden and small.

Life is like a silverfish mingling in dusts

Life is like a silverfish swigging on floors

A silverfish,

Digging its way out,

Peaks its head out

From its secret little hole

Observes the world

It marches towards its freedom ahead

Sounds of footsteps startle the peace

It panics, sprints, then still on the ground

Heart still beating

Heart still listening

Finally, it breaks the silence,

Speeding towards victory.

Because they know,

The existence of a hidden corner

Waiting for sunshine.

Future

I sit by the ocean

At the break of dawn.

Glancing ahead

Towards the sun.

Just above horizon,

Beginning of new start.

Cool wind blows

Seagull crows

I closed my eyes and dreamed a picture,

Bright, light, and warm.

A place of freedom,

Destination of peace.

Air with no pollution,

But with faint scents of nature.

Days with no cars,

Night with no sounds.

I dreamed a place,

In the future.

A place of happiness,

A place to live.

      Storm

 The wind blew fiercely

As a blade piercing skin

     Uncontrollable

      Sakura

      Blooming sakura

Beautiful with confidence

  Dancing with the wind

    Highlighter

A piece of highlighted text

A piece of highlighted memory

A piece of highlighted story

A piece of highlighted me

Drunker Who Likes To Smile

There once was a drunker who likes to smile

Who walk with smile for a mile

Sees a kid with dropping tears

Bended down and gave a beer

Here come the neighbours file in file

    Mouse

A mouse in a house

Built a lot of house

House inside a house

Just for a little mouse.

Rabbit With Good Habit

There once was a rabbit with good habit

Something useful for a rabbit

It’s hard to pull carrots by one

Get some friends and have some fun

A good old habit of the rabbit.

Goldfish in a Pot of Tea

A goldfish swimming in pot of tea

Swarming like a honey bee

Who did this to my tank

Ruined the treasures of my bank

It’s all for a bit of fee

Limericks by Edward Lear

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!'


There was an Old Person of Ischia,
Whose conduct grew friskier and friskier;
He dance hornpipes and jigs,
And ate thousands of figs,
That lively Old Person of Ischia.


There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, 'I'm afloat, I'm afloat!'
When they said, 'No! you ain't!'
He was ready to faint,
That unhappy Old Man in a boat.


There was a Young Lady of Hull,
Who was chased by a virulent bull;
But she seized on a spade,
And called out, 'Who's afraid?'
Which distracted that virulent bull.


There was an Old Person of Ems,
Who casually fell in the Thames;
And when he was found
They said he was drowned,
That unlucky Old Person of Ems.


There was an Old Man who said, 'Hush!
I perceive a young bird in this bush!'
When they said, 'Is it small?'
He replied, 'Not at all!
It is four times as big as the bush!'


There was a Young Lady of Russia,
Who screamed so that no one could hush her;
Her screams were extreme,
No one heard such a scream,
As was screamed by that lady of Russia.


There was an Old Person of Ewell,
Who chiefly subsisted on gruel;
But to make it more nice
He inserted some mice,
Which refreshed that Old Person of Ewell.


There was an old man in a tree,
Whose whiskers were lovely to see;
But the birds of the air,
Pluck'd them perfectly bare,
To make themselves nests on that tree.


Edward Lear

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas



Analysis:

Rhyme:
  stanza 1 to stanza 5 - aba
  stanza 6 - abaa

This poem is the author's views on aging and death. From the title, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" has already showed that he believes we should all fight until the end and not give in to death.

"Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The "dying of the light" in here is a metaphor to death. The word "rage" is not a pleasant word and this is likely to refer that the author belief in death; even though the journey might be painful but we need to do whatever it takes to stay alive.


"Though wise men at their end know dark is right,   4
Because their words had forked no lightning they   5
Do not go gentle into that good night."   6

The second stanza (above) says the wise men knew death is something that everyone has to go through at some point in life, but because they knew the end is dark, so their journey would not be gentle.


"Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The third stanza seems to describe the perspective of life from the "good" men. In the first line of the third stanza the poet used the words "crying how bright" and in the second line, the words "danced in a green bay". From these phrases, the "good" men seem satisfied of their current life, and are optimistic about the different things that happen.



"Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night."

This fourth stanza is describing people who waste their time and life when they were young. When they finally   realize the meaning of life, they are already on their journey into the "night".


"And you, my father, there on that sad height..."

When we finally get to the last stanza, we then realize that this poem is addressed to the poet's dying father. "There on that sad height" is a metaphor to a place near heaven (a stage near death).Throughout the poem, the poet's tone was heavy and strong, but in the second line of the last stanza, Thomas used the words "bless" and "I pray". Both of these words reflect a certain degree of passiveness, which contradicts with his main point, "do not go gentle into that good night".

Music I Heard With You

Music I Heard With You

Music I heard with you was more than music,
And bread I broke with you was more than bread;
Now that I am without you, all is desolate;
All that was once so beautiful is dead.

Your hands once touched this table and this silver,
And I have seen your fingers hold this glass.
These things do not remember you, beloved,
And yet your touch upon them will not pass.

For it was in my heart that you moved among them,
And blessed them with your hands and with your eyes;
And in my heart they will remember always,
—They knew you once, O beautiful and wise.

Conrad Potter Aiken


Analysis:

This is a quatrain poem with rhyming second and fourth lines in each stanza.

Music I Heard With You describes the memory of a person's love. Personally, this poem describes an aged person thinking about their deceased husband or wife.


"Now that I am without you, all is desolate;
All that was once so beautiful is dead."

He/She is now alone, thinking about their wonderful times together in the past.


Music I heard with you was more than music,
And bread I broke with you was more than bread;
...

Your hands once touched this table and this silver,
And I have seen your fingers hold this glass.

The lines above shows the details of their life in the past; listening to music together, sharing bread, and sitting together by the table. These activities may seem insignificant, but to the main character of this poem, they are sweet moments that could never come back again. This poem shows that if you love someone deeply, you will remember every detail of them even when they're gone. Memories will last a lifetime. 

The World Is Too Much With Us

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

William Wordsworth


Analysis:

"Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours..."

This sonnet addresses the importance of nature.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

 

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

And Mourners to and fro

Kept treading - treading - till it seemed

That Sense was breaking through -

And when they all were seated,

A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My mind was going numb -

And then I heard them lift a Box

And creak across my Soul

With those same Boots of Lead, again,

Then Space - began to toll,

As all the Heavens were a Bell,

And Being, but an Ear,

And I, and Silence, some strange Race,

Wrecked, solitary, here -

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,

And I dropped down, and down -

And hit a World, at every plunge,

And Finished knowing - then -

 

 

 

Emily Dickinson 

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I’ve known rivers:

I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Langston Hughes 



Analysis:

    From the title of this free verse, we can tell that it is written from the perspective of an African-American. 
    The first-person use of "I" is not necessarily Langston Hughes himself, but Africans as a whole. The river is a symbol of events that has happened as time passed by. Africa is believed to be the place where human species originated, so from a scientific perspective, Africans have existed longer than any other ethic groups. They were not respectfully treated by other races but were discriminated for a period of time. Rivers are ancient, so in this poem, the river is a representation of the history of Africans; their views and experiences.









 

Chicago

Chicago

Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:  5

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
     have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
     luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is
     true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is:
     On the faces of women and children I have seen the
     marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who
     sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
     and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
     so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.  10
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job,
     here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
     as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,  15
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
     white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
     man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
     never lost a battle,  20
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse,
     and under his ribs the heart of the people,

Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
     Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
     Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

Carl Sandburg


Analysis: 

This poem describes the development, life, and soul of the city Chicago. The free verse begins with, “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads...” ; a presentment of the common jobs of men in Chicago. The first stanza is a brief description of the city. “Stormy, husky, brawling”, we can already see that Chicago is a dirty and noisy city of industrialization.

           

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I

have seen your painted women under the gas lamps

luring the farm boys.  6

And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is

                        True I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.  7

            And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is:

                        On the faces of women and children I have seen the

                        marks of wanton hunger.  8

From the words above, we can tell that the author is not from Chicago but he probably has visited Chicago before (words in bold) and has heard and seen many social issues existing at that specific time; prostitution, crime, and hunger. Although there were uses of first person tense, but no opinions of the city were expressed in the first eight lines. Starting from the ninth line, there is a significant change in tone and beliefs. Sandburg says that there is no other city where people can sing proudly to be alive, and being satisfied of what they have. He opposed the “wicked, crooked, and brutal” image of Chicago, and described the spirit of the city and its people.

            Come and show me another city with lifted head singing

                        so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning

            Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning

as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

Bareheaded,

Shoveling,

Wrecking,  15

Planning,

Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with

                        white teeth,

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young

                        man laughs,

Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has

                        never lost a battle,  20

Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse,

                        and under his ribs the heart of the people,

           

Laughing!

The bold lines show that the people of Chicago are always positive, real, and ready for action. To the workers, they are proud of what they do and satisfied of what they receive in return. A simple life will bring people more pureness and kindness, less of complaints and enviousness. From the perspective of Carl Sandburg, Chicago is a purer and happier city than anywhere else.

           

The Caged Skylark

        The Caged Skylark

As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage,
    Man's mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells —
    That bird beyond the remembering his free fells;
This in drudgery, day-labouring-out life's age.
Though aloft on turf or perch or poor low stage
    Both sing sometímes the sweetest, sweetest spells,
    Yet both droop deadly sómetimes in their cells
Or wring their barriers in bursts of fear or rage.

Not that the sweet-fowl, song-fowl, needs no rest —
Why, hear him, hear him babble & drop down to his nest,
    But his own nest, wild nest, no prison.

Man's spirit will be flesh-bound, when found at best,
But uncumberèd: meadow-down is not distressed
    For a rainbow footing it nor he for his bónes rísen.


                Gerard Manley Hopkins


Analysis:

-sonnet [octave (abbaabba rhyme) and sestet (ccdccd rhyme)

Birds are meant to be free and so are humans. Hopkins described the hopelessness of a caged skylark, but the meaning of the poem describes a situation that everyone would face in a certain point of their life. There are times in our lives when reality forces us to comprise and go against our own will, but we can't stop fighting for ourselves. Who knows which day the cage is forgotten to be locked; if you never try, you'll never know. 

"But his own nest, wild nest, no prison." (second stanza)

 A skylark's nest in the wild may not be as luxury as a cage, but at least it is free, and that is more valuable than anything else.

The rhyming in this poem also created a suitable tempo and feel for this poem.


"Not that the sweet-fowl, song-fowl, needs no rest —

Why, hear him, hear him babble & drop down to his nest,
    But his own nest, wild nest, no prison."

In the beginning of this poem, Hopkins described how a skylark desire freedom. However, from the lines above, Hopkins also mentioned that it need a home. Having freedom doesn't mean you'll have a home and having a home doesn't mean you'll have freedom. What is the definition of home and freedom? I'm sure everyone's answer would be different. Hopkins's The Caged Skylark allow readers to think about life, happiness, and freedom from a deep and personal perspective.

Departure in the Dark

        Departure in the Dark

 Nothing so sharply reminds a man he is mortal
 As leaving a place
 In a winter morning's dark, the air on his face
 Unkind as the touch of sweating metal:
 Simple goodbyes to children or friends become
 A felon's numb
 Farewell, and love that was a warm, a meeting place–
 Love is the suicide's grave under the nettles.

 Gloomed and clemmed as if by an imminent ice-age
 Lies the dear world
 Of your street-strolling, field-faring. The senses, curled
 At the dead end of a shrinking passage,
 Care not if close the inveterate hunters creep,
 And memories sleep
 Like mammoths in lost caves. Drear, extinct is the world,
 And has no voice for consolation or presage.

 There is always something at such times of the passover,
 When the dazed heart
 Beats for it knows not what, whether you part
 From home or prison, acquaintance or lover–
 Something wrong with the time-table, something unreal
 In the scrambled meal
 And the bag ready packed by the door, as though the heart
 Has gone ahead, or is staying here forever.

 No doubt for the Israelites that early morning
 It was hard to be sure
 If home were prison or prison home: the desire
 Going forth meets the desire returning.
 This land, that had cut their pride down to the bone
 Was now their own
 By ancient deeds of sorrow. Beyond, there was nothing sure
 But a desert of freedom to quench their fugitive yearnings.

 At this blind hour the heart is informed of nature's
 Ruling that man
 Should be nowhere a more tenacious settler than
 Among wry thorns and ruins, yet nurture
 A seed of discontent in his ripest ease.
 There's a kind of release
 And a kind of torment in every goodbye for every man–
 And will be, even to the last of his dark departures.


 Cecil Day Lewis

This is Just to Say

This is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

William Carlos Williams

Analysis

Quatrain - Four-lined stanzas

This poem is written with a calm and casual voice that appears in daily life. It is a message to his wife or a close friend about what he did to the plums. From Willams's words, this does not sound like an apology note, but the last two lines,"so sweet" and "and so cold" could refer to his feeling of guilt when he ate those plums