Writing Prompt

             One kind of coming of age experience is feeling loss. I've felt loss quite a few times growing up. One time when I was seven years old and in the second grade i was hit with some drastic news that would change my childhood. It was one day after school and my grandmother had come to pick me and my little sister Victoria up from school. She told me that my dog Tabu was very sick and she couldn't move. My grandparents had Tabu since she was a puppy [ also since i was born]. Tabu was a pitbull and I loved that dog more than anything in the world,  would do anything for her. When I got home later that day I recall walking into my hallway and seeing TabuI there on her blanket looking so....normal. So I called out to her and she didn't move, she usually came running to me, but this time she just sat there wagging her tail and whining. I walked over to her and she tried to jump up to give me kisses and she fell back against the wall. My grandmother later called the vet and they came to do a house call, they said that she  had a blood clot from her lower back all the way to her legs and she would never walk again. My family couldn't afford to get her one of the doggie wheelchairs for her and we couldn't see her in pain so we had no choice to put her down. But at the moment I didn't know that. My grandmother lied to me and told me that they gave her to this guy that lived next door and he was going to take her to go live with other dogs like her who would all have their own little wheelchairs and she would run and play, do normal dog stuff. But as time went on I kept nagging my grandma to let me go visit her and she broke the news to me that Tabu was dead and that she had died a long time ago. For weeks I couldn't bear to look at her or talk to her because it hurt so much that she could lie to me like that. But now that I'm older i understand that what she did was for the best and i probably would have done the same thing. Tabu will always be in my heart.
                                          -RIP TABU WE LOVE YOU-

Final Response To "My Papa's Waltz" By Theodore Rothke

                 

                                                     

        Before I begin my response I would just
like to re-post the poem again so that you may follow along with what I am
saying.(Or typing...Whatever you prefer but I'm posting it. Ok!)

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey
on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But



I hung on like death:

Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the

pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf;

My mother's

countenance

Could not

unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one

knuckle;

At every step

you missed

My right ear scraped a

buckle.

You beat time on my head

With a palm caked hard by dirt,

Then

waltzed

me off to bed

Still clinging to your shirt.

       
This is my response to the poem "My Papa's Waltz" which was posted
above. When I read this poem I felt that there were many ways to interpret this
poem, for example most people would like to view it as child abuse, I for one
do not. But! This is simply my own personal opinion about it. I have taken it
upon myself do do some research about the poem So that I know where other
people are coming from and how other people view the poem. I also wanted
to know more about the author to see if that could tell me more. Honestly this
poem is extremely intriguing to me because I can't seem to just automatically
figure it out like I do with most poems.

      
First things first before I come out with research and findings I would just
like to give my point of view on the poem and my observances because its only
fair to do so. The lines that say "The whiskey on your breath could make a
small boy dizzy"; "My right ear scraped a buckle", and "You
beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt, then waltzed me off to bed
still clinging to your shirt," clearly demonstrate where they would get
that inference of child abuse.

        The way that
I see this poem is that the dad had just come home from work because maybe he's
a construction worker. His wife cooked dinner and during dinner he had a few
drinks. After dinner the father went to the kitchen with his son and they
started to waltz the father counting the time of the steps on the child's head
"Dun dun dun-pause-dun dun dun" a classic and common waltz beat.
While the father is moving and their stomping during their waltz they're making
a mess in the Kitchen and the mother who had been working all day to clean the
house and had finally gotten the kitchen perfect was mad because they destroyed
it.  The way that I interpreted this poem was that there was no child
abuse therefore a few lines should not imply child abuse. But all people are
entitled to their opinions and I am not trying to 'brainwash' anyone just
simply stating my own point of view.

                  

         Aside from
that I also wrote a poem response to "My Papa's Waltz". This poem
is  from the Mother's point of view on
their waltz. The poem is called "Their Broken Waltz". The poem is
about how the mother was working hard all day and she cooked dinner. The house
was spotless and everything was in its place. They ate dinner, her husband
being a hard working field worker had a few drinks. The dad then took their son
to the kitchen and started dancing and made a mess.

One thing that I found was really interesting, it was a
website.   :

< http://www.mrbauld.com/exrthkwtz.html >



       The website showed all the voices
and tones for each verse and occasionally a single line alone. I found all of
this interesting because during my search I found it hard to get a straight
answer out of any website. It was hard to find any good research on this poem.
Most websites when I tried to do research on the reason behind the poem only
gave me voices/tones for different parts of the poem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their Broken Waltz

Their Waltz...

Their mess.

Pots , pans

Broken plates Spoons, forks, knives

All over MY kitchen floor

They waltz around like idiots

Leaving a messy trail behind them

they're not the ones to clean it up so

they continue thinking no one minds them

Their waltz their mess

they think its funny

they waltz upstairs

leaving me to the

mess

But before they go

I give them a look

They better know that I'm upset

now is not the time to make a

mess the house was clean again and

at its best.

        One thing
that I would like to do is refer back to Kamillah's Blog(class 810)post about
the poem My Papa's Waltz. She wrote, "When you're a little kid,
life's your personal amusement park; A fairy tale almost. Its full of
rides, face painting, good food and everything you love. When you're a kid, you
love the tricks and secrets of this 'amusement park' called life. Nothing in
life is bad or wrong-when you're a kid at least. But as you mature into a
teen, life's less like an amusement park and begins to lose it's fairy tale
sparkle. The poem 'My Papa's Waltz' by Theodore Rothke is a prime example of
finding fun or childish ways in a dark and not so friendly situation." I really liked her choice of
words and her analogy to the poem. Although we don't see eye to eye on where
this poem's interpretation I still love her choice of words. 

      

           One thing
that I have to say that I've learned about doing a response like this is that
you MUST MUST MUST see all sides of the story. I went out and looked at
different points of view and ripped up the poem this way and that and came to
my own conclusion. Now its your turn so have fun with it!



[Sorry about how posts are coming out working on fixing them... having computer problems.]

Romeo+Juliet The movie!

           
                     I recently just finished watching the movie Romeo+Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes and John Leguizamo.  The movie was a modern version of the original Romeo and Juliet, the lines were altered to make more sense of the Shakespearean speech.  I thought that the movie didn't make any sense at all when I first started to watch it, but then as the movie progressed it got really good and easy to understand. 
          
                  When I watched the movie some of the things that I noticed were that when they did the scene of the street fights it took place at a gas station and they used guns instead of swords.  I also noticed that during the movie that Merqutio was gay, I'm not sure of this but that is how he was portrayed to me. 
             
                   I thought that the whole Romeo and Juliet story was amazing but also crazy at the same time because all of this took place in the time lapse of three whole days.
                 
                   Day one was when he met Juliet at the Capulet party, which in this modern movie is portrayed as a costume party.  One thing that I noticed about the Capulet party was that compared to the older original version of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet didn't stand out because everyone was wearing costumes and dressed all crazy.  Another thing that I noticed was that Juliet was dressed up as an Angel and Tybalt was dressed as a Devil for the costume party.  Another thing about day one was that Romeo proposed to Juliet and she said yes.
                
                   Day two was when Romeo and Juliet went to the Friar and they got married and Juliet was promised to Lord Paris. 
                     
               Day three is when Tybalt gets into a fight with Romeo, Merqutio jumps in and gets killed, Romeo kills Tybalt, Romeo is banished, Juliet takes a sleeping potion, Romeo buys poison when he finds out Juliet is "Dead", Romeo goes to see Juliet one last time, Romeo takes the poison, Juliet wakes up and yells at Romeo, Juliet shoots herself in the head, and they both die. 
          I thought that this movie was great and that it was definitely worth watching.  I thought that the characters were well written and that the way the director put a twist on the original movie was pretty cool as well.   I would definitely  recommend this book to anyone who likes to watch heart warming ,tragically romantic, comedy movies.

Revised Reading response to "My Papa's Waltz" (Draft in progress)

             Before I begin my response I would just like to re-post the poem again so that you may follow along with what I am saying.(Or typing...Whatever you prefer but I'm posting it. Ok!)

 

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But

I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the
pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's
countenance
Could not
unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one
knuckle;
At every step
you missed
My right ear scraped a
buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then
waltzed
me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

            This is my response to the poem "My Papa's Waltz" which was posted above. When I read this poem I felt that there were many ways to interpret this poem, for example most people would like to view it as child abuse, I for one do not. But! This is simply my own personal opinion about it. I have taken it upon myself do do some research about the poem So that I know where other people are coming from and how other people view the poem. I also wanted to know more about the author to see if that could tell me more. Honestly this poem is extremely intrigueing to me because I can't seem to just automaticly figure it out like I do with most poems.

           First things first before I come out with research and findings I would just like to give my point of view on the poem and my observances because its only fair to do so.The lines that say "The wiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy"; "My right ear scraped a buckle", and "You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt, then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt," clearly demonstrate where they would get that inferance. But the way that I see it, like my poems point of view is that the father works hard. He had just come home from work because maybe hes a construction worker, his wife cooked dinner and during dinner he had a few drinks. After dinner the father went to the kitchen with his son and they started to waltz the father counting the time of the steps on the child's head "Dun dun dun-pause-dun dun dun" a classic waltz beat. While the father is moving and their stomping they're making a mess in the Kitchen and the mother who had been working all day to clean the house and had finally gotten the kitchen perfect was mad because they destroyed it.  The way that I interpreted this poem was that there was no child abuse therefore a few lines should not imply child abuse. But all people are entitled to their
opinions and I am not tryng to 'brainwash' anyone just simply stating my own point of view.

                  

I also wrote a poem response to "My Papa's Waltz" from the Mother's point of view. The poem is called "Their Broken Waltz".

 

Their Broken Waltz

 

Their Waltz...Their mess.Pots,pansBroken
platesSpoons, forks, knivesAll over MY kitchen
floorThey waltz around like idiotsLeaving a
messy trail behind themthey're not the ones to clean it upso
they continue thinking no one minds themTheir waltz their mess
they think its funnythey waltz upstairs leaving me to the
messBut before they goI give them a lookThey
better knowthat I'm upsetnow is not the time to makea
messthe house was clean again and
at its best.

One thing that I found was really interesting, it was a website.   :
< http://www.mrbauld.com/exrthkwtz.html >

I would hope that you take it upon yourself to click the link.The website showed all the voices and tones for each verse and ocasionally a single line alone. I found all of this interesting because during my search I found it hard to get a straight answer out of any website.

 

Reading Response to "The complete Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi!

         














                                            I recently just finished reading the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi,I think that the book was definitely worth my time to read it. The book put a twist on history which I really liked, this book was like an animated auto-biography about a little girl named Marjane who grew up during the war in Iran. This was the war that started a revolution and forced women and children to wear hooded scarfs.
                          The book was about Satarpis unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. This was a country that was plagued by political upheaval, their views were very limited and the only way that they could get their point across was by doing demonstrations. Millions of people were killed for either being a communist or for speaking out against the Shah.                     The Shah were the original people who claimed Iran and called it Iran and made it their own land. They didn't have a president like we do in Iran they had dictators so no one really had a say in anything that was done to the laws or what they would see politically in the news, at home, or on their own t.vs. Iran was rich which in turn made it "invite attacks" because of its oil.Oil was the reason for Iran's new found source of wealth and everybody wanted to get their hands on it. So new invasions started happening from the west, from Great Britain in particular. Great Britain wielded a strong influence on the Iranian Economy. They were bombed constantly.                                                               Marjane Satrapi grew up reading the political views that were "Forbidden" in a sense, her uncle Anoosh was a communist and he was executed along with millions of others for his political views. Her grandfather and her uncle stood up for what they beleived in. Eventually Marjane goes through an epic journey of discovering who she is and where she wants to be.                      She struggles with everyday life as we know it trying to fit in not being arrested and executed. She was forced to hide her true personality in her house in her room, her room seemed to me like it was the only place that she could be free. None the less she still spoke her mind when it came to class she was expelled once for insulting a Nun who had before hand insulted her and her religion.                                           I would reccomend this book to any and all who love to read animated tales, Auto-biographys, and a little bit of history mixed all together. I really did learn alot from this book, this book honestly has alot to teach and I still have alot to learn. This book is the kind of book that you never want to put down its that addicting [trust me] .

Poetry response to My Papa's Waltz

Their Waltz...Their mess.
Pots,pans
Broken plates
Spoons, forks, knives
All over
MY kitchen floor
They waltz around like
idiots
Leaving a messy trail behind them
they're not the ones to clean it up
so they continue thinking no one minds them
Their waltz their mess they think its funny
they waltz upstairs
leaving me to the mess
But before they go
I give them a look
They better know
that I'm upset
now is not the time to make
a mess
the house was clean again and
at its best.
           I wrote this poem from the mothers point of view because many people interpreted it that the little boy in "My Papa's Waltz" was being abused. I can completely understand why and where they would get that infrence from. Here is the original poem. :

 

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But
I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's
countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step
you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed
me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

               The lines that say "The wiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy"; "My right ear scraped a buckle", and "You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt, then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt," clearly demonstrate where they would get that inferance. But the way that I see it, like my poems point of view is that the father works hard. He had just come home from work because maybe hes a construction worker, his wife cooked dinner and during dinner he had a few drinks. After dinner the father went to the kitchen with his son and they started to waltz the father counting the time of the steps on the child's head "Dun dun dun-pause-dun dun dun" a classic waltz beat. While the father is moving and their stomping they're making a mess in the kitchen and the mother who had been working all day to clean the house and had finally gotten the kitchen perfect was mad because they destroyed it.  The way that I interpreted this poem was that there was no child abuse therefore a few lines should not imply child abuse. But all people are entitled to their opinions...

Poem Response to the poem in Class "Please Don't take my Air Jordans" by Reg. E. Gaines

That Kid

That kid...
That kid he scary
That kid think he cool
That kid ain't got no real friends
its just about looks

Deep down I knows that
somewhere
he good

He don't mean what he do
he don't really got no choice
his mommas on the run
his papa's beatin' on him

That kid
He hurt
He hurt real bad

That kid...
he shot me
That kid...
He took my shoes

That kid...
he done kill'd me
That kid...
He don't care
cuz..
NOW he needs a
new jacket
to wear

I wrote my poem from the eyes of the kid that had gotten shot. I interpreted it as the kid who had gotten shot went to the same school as the kid who shot him. Basically this kid is telling how he sees the other kid and how he thinks hes acting. [kinda confusing i know]

Wishing You were here [ Important incedent Poem ]

I cry
myself
to sleep
every night

"Why?" I ask...
why did you have
to go so soon.

You were always
there for me
when I
needed you

Friends for eternity...
Where did
you
go?

I just wish
you were here
Instead of
Up there

I wish it could
be me
and not you
who had
to go.

I miss you.
I.
Wish.
You.
Were.
Here.

My poem Response to Waiting for you by Susane Colsanti

Waiting for you  by Me

Anticipation is all I feel.
I wait for your eyes to
lock with mine
and see
how I really feel.

You're my other half
I don't know how
I could ever live without
you.

This is
Now.

Back then...
All I could do
was search
for something
real
When what
I wanted...
what I needed
Was infront of me all along

You are my
Best Friend.
You are my
Hero.

You always
Made me laugh.
You always
Put a smile on my face.

I was always
waiting for the
right guy to come
around
but...
Really you
were right here
all along

I never thought
That I could love you
Really love you
Untill...
that night

It was prom.
You asked me to dance.
I said yes.

Then we left
and
We went to
our usual
Hangout
spot.

You played our song
and we
danced under the
Moonlight

That was the night
when everything
put itself together again

The waiting was over
and...
I fell in love.
With you.
All.
Over.
Again.

Poem Response to the poem in Class "What is poetry"

What is poetry?  written by...ME!

Poetry is Life
Every living thing
It depends on how you interpret it

Poetry comes from the
Smallest of things...
The smallest pebble...
Or.
The Smallest seashell
found along
the beach's shore
A single sunset.
Or .
A light's glow.

Poetry is your mind.
Whatever you create.
It's yours to enjoy.

Poetry is..
 A Dream.
Anything.
You.
Decide.

Poetry is you.
You are poetry.

Poetry is your
personality.
Your personal
way of
Expressing
Yourself.

Poetry is a release.
It is a mental release.
Take all of your
Problems and
Let them flow away
Onto a paper.
Your poem.

Poetry is a toy.
You can play
with it!
Be creative.
There are
No rules.
No bindings.
No restrictions.

Poetry.
Is.
Life changing.