Poetry Project
Poetry Reflection
My perspective on power has evolved throughout the course of this project by letting me discover my inner thoughts on power, not just what sounds poetic (said in the non-cheesiest way possible). Going through multiple revisions and peer critiques has changed my poem abundantly for the better. One of the struggles I had with this project was knowing what I wanted to write about, and whenever I would critique my poem it would always seem like it was missing something. I would look at the rubric, check off all the requirements, and still would feel a metaphorical hole in my poem (and then a real hole because sometimes I got frustrated). Finally I realized that when I was trying to emulate a palindromic poem, written by Jonathan Reed, I had compromised the message of my poem. When I got rid of trying to imitate anyone, I had so many more possibilities on what to write about. I took the time to reflect on how I felt about power, and put that into words. This way, I wasn’t copying someone else but merely organizing my thoughts onto paper, which is the best way to compose a powerful poem.
To get from first draft to final draft, many revisions were completed. Three main changes had the biggest influence on my poem: changing the format, changing the message, and including select poetic devices. In the beginning, my poem was in the forward/reverse, or palindromic, form. I was emulating a poem by Jonathan Reed in which I memorized for the class earlier in the year. Palindromic poems are very difficult to do well in order to achieve one perspective read normally, and the complete opposite perspective when read in reverse. Originally, I used the same format that Jonathan Reed used, but I was unable to make mine sound unique and completely separate from his, so I decided to change the form. Up until this point, the poem was about power and how powerless we can be when we think we don’t have power, when backwards it said otherwise. As said before, palindromic poems are a difficult format, and by using Jonathan Reed’s format, I was unable to create a poem that was solely mine. Jonathan Reed’s poem wrote, “I am part of a lost generation/and I refuse to believe that/I can change the world.” My first draft of my poem said, “I am part of a powerless life/and I refuse to believe that/I can have an influence in this world.” See the resemblance? My poem verged on plagiarism, which was the opposite point of this project. Once I changed the poem form to an epistle, it was like I had just freed myself from having my creativity tied down, which sparked the idea of writing about freeing myself from being tied down by power.
The second change I completed was altering the message. My first draft revolved around the idea that power and powerlessness are created through the idea that simply because you think you are powerless, you become powerless. In a sense, my poem advancements are a projection of how my perspective of power has evolved. I began talking about power and how powerlessness is only created through thinking you are powerless. ‘Fake it till you make it’ was the main message. I wrote, “I am part of a powerless life/and I refuse to believe that/I can have an influence in this world.” This quote supports what I stated above about being powerless because of your mindset. In my final version of my poem I wrote, “I tried to make peace with You, I gave You Your chance/It’s over now.” Through these lines you can see that my perspective on power has changed and evolved into a more aggressive approach towards this idea of power. Throughout the remainder of my poem drafts, I learned to hate this idea of power, because it’s so controlling. Without having gone through this process, my perspective on power would still be muddled. In the end, I personified power so I can break up with it. Power was only powerful because we gave it the power to believe that, but if you take that false sense of security away, you take power away as well.
For my third major change I made to my poem, I exaggerated the personification used so it appeared as if ‘power’ were an actual person I was breaking up with. In my first draft, I wrote, “I understand this may be a shock, but/“Anyone can be powerful.”/Is a lie, and/“Power is past down in generation.” Notice how I don’t explain my reasoning, I just simply force this opinion on the readers which is not an effective way to communicate a message to an audience. My final draft read, “I’m tired of you walking around like you own the world/hypnotizing the population in your favor.” This is a great example of how human-like I’ve written power to be. You can see in my final draft how I’ve clarified my perspective of power, making it easier for the audience to relate to my perspective. This change was important because it made a stronger connection to power for the audience than before. Now that they see how power can be personified, they are able to relate to how I am metaphorically breaking up with it.
In conclusion, by altering my poem format to an epistle, or letter form, I wrote a breakup letter to power. Through doing this I was able to personify power, and by doing that I was able to help the audience see how I see power, which aided in clarifying my message. The point here is this: every step I took to get to my final draft was very important and played key roles in shaping my own perspective on power. Without this process, my perspective would be a much weaker one, having little effect on the audience. This project was no easy mountain to climb (especially with a broken leg), but through climbing this, I was able to strengthen the muscles of the mind and demonstrate my perspective effectively to others.
To get from first draft to final draft, many revisions were completed. Three main changes had the biggest influence on my poem: changing the format, changing the message, and including select poetic devices. In the beginning, my poem was in the forward/reverse, or palindromic, form. I was emulating a poem by Jonathan Reed in which I memorized for the class earlier in the year. Palindromic poems are very difficult to do well in order to achieve one perspective read normally, and the complete opposite perspective when read in reverse. Originally, I used the same format that Jonathan Reed used, but I was unable to make mine sound unique and completely separate from his, so I decided to change the form. Up until this point, the poem was about power and how powerless we can be when we think we don’t have power, when backwards it said otherwise. As said before, palindromic poems are a difficult format, and by using Jonathan Reed’s format, I was unable to create a poem that was solely mine. Jonathan Reed’s poem wrote, “I am part of a lost generation/and I refuse to believe that/I can change the world.” My first draft of my poem said, “I am part of a powerless life/and I refuse to believe that/I can have an influence in this world.” See the resemblance? My poem verged on plagiarism, which was the opposite point of this project. Once I changed the poem form to an epistle, it was like I had just freed myself from having my creativity tied down, which sparked the idea of writing about freeing myself from being tied down by power.
The second change I completed was altering the message. My first draft revolved around the idea that power and powerlessness are created through the idea that simply because you think you are powerless, you become powerless. In a sense, my poem advancements are a projection of how my perspective of power has evolved. I began talking about power and how powerlessness is only created through thinking you are powerless. ‘Fake it till you make it’ was the main message. I wrote, “I am part of a powerless life/and I refuse to believe that/I can have an influence in this world.” This quote supports what I stated above about being powerless because of your mindset. In my final version of my poem I wrote, “I tried to make peace with You, I gave You Your chance/It’s over now.” Through these lines you can see that my perspective on power has changed and evolved into a more aggressive approach towards this idea of power. Throughout the remainder of my poem drafts, I learned to hate this idea of power, because it’s so controlling. Without having gone through this process, my perspective on power would still be muddled. In the end, I personified power so I can break up with it. Power was only powerful because we gave it the power to believe that, but if you take that false sense of security away, you take power away as well.
For my third major change I made to my poem, I exaggerated the personification used so it appeared as if ‘power’ were an actual person I was breaking up with. In my first draft, I wrote, “I understand this may be a shock, but/“Anyone can be powerful.”/Is a lie, and/“Power is past down in generation.” Notice how I don’t explain my reasoning, I just simply force this opinion on the readers which is not an effective way to communicate a message to an audience. My final draft read, “I’m tired of you walking around like you own the world/hypnotizing the population in your favor.” This is a great example of how human-like I’ve written power to be. You can see in my final draft how I’ve clarified my perspective of power, making it easier for the audience to relate to my perspective. This change was important because it made a stronger connection to power for the audience than before. Now that they see how power can be personified, they are able to relate to how I am metaphorically breaking up with it.
In conclusion, by altering my poem format to an epistle, or letter form, I wrote a breakup letter to power. Through doing this I was able to personify power, and by doing that I was able to help the audience see how I see power, which aided in clarifying my message. The point here is this: every step I took to get to my final draft was very important and played key roles in shaping my own perspective on power. Without this process, my perspective would be a much weaker one, having little effect on the audience. This project was no easy mountain to climb (especially with a broken leg), but through climbing this, I was able to strengthen the muscles of the mind and demonstrate my perspective effectively to others.
The Breakup
Dear Power,
It’s a love-hate relationship we share.
The problem being I happen to love You,
and You happen to hate me.
It’s not You, it’s me.
I tried to make peace with You.
I gave You Your chance.
It’s over now.
I’m tired of You walking around like You own the world
Hypnotizing the population in Your favor
I refuse to fall into Your trap
I refuse to chase after You anymore
I refuse to let You hold all my worth
You will reign over me no longer.
You have this nasty stigma that everyone wants You
Like You’re food or shelter
But in reality,
You’re just a word.
An idea
A thought blowing through the wind
Just to dissipate in a matter of seconds.
From now on I will not look up to You
I will not try to hog You from others
I will not put You at the top of the pyramid
You will not be the light at the end of the tunnel
The four leaf clover
The thorn-less rose
You see,
This love-hate relationship has changed
Forever in remission
You will no longer control me.
Sincerely and regretfully Yours,
Hannah Langford
It’s a love-hate relationship we share.
The problem being I happen to love You,
and You happen to hate me.
It’s not You, it’s me.
I tried to make peace with You.
I gave You Your chance.
It’s over now.
I’m tired of You walking around like You own the world
Hypnotizing the population in Your favor
I refuse to fall into Your trap
I refuse to chase after You anymore
I refuse to let You hold all my worth
You will reign over me no longer.
You have this nasty stigma that everyone wants You
Like You’re food or shelter
But in reality,
You’re just a word.
An idea
A thought blowing through the wind
Just to dissipate in a matter of seconds.
From now on I will not look up to You
I will not try to hog You from others
I will not put You at the top of the pyramid
You will not be the light at the end of the tunnel
The four leaf clover
The thorn-less rose
You see,
This love-hate relationship has changed
Forever in remission
You will no longer control me.
Sincerely and regretfully Yours,
Hannah Langford
Due to technical difficulties, the clip of my presentation at the Poetry Exhibition was not recorded. Below is a verbal clip you may download and listen to.
verbal_poem_final.mp3 | |
File Size: | 1256 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |