all 4 english writing work

Faith Bibby

Reflection

This poem summarizes the funeral of my friend from my church’s youth group that I went to this summer. By focusing on the purple casket, I knew I would be able to create vivid imagery for readers. What inspired me to write about this was the vivid memories I have from that day. Using these memories, I knew I could incorporate concrete images and use a truthful voice. My major goal for this poem was not to make readers feel depressed, but to give readers a glimpse of what emotions are felt when losing someone. I want a main takeaway for readers to be that they should appreciate those in their life more, as we never know when someone’s last day could be.

The first strategy I used when writing my poem is the use of imagery. Imagery is visually descriptive or figurative language. I use concrete imagery in the second line of my poem when I state, “Purple, the color of the casket that now covered you like a disguise.” Concrete imagery is important to the sophistication of a poem because it allows readers to form images of what is happening in their minds instead of being left wondering about vague details. Concrete imagery can be seen in the poem “What Came to Me” by Jane Kenyon. In this poem, Kenyon is describing finding the gravy boat of a passed away loved one. When she states, “with a hard, brown drop of gravy still on the porcelain lip.”, readers are able to picture this scene concretely in their minds. This poem is effective in getting readers to picture the scene in their mind due to the concrete imagery used. I hope that by my use of concrete imagery, readers are able to develop their own picture of what is happening in my poem. 

The second strategy I used when writing my poem is the use of similes. A simile is a type of figurative language that directly compares two things using “like” or “as” in the comparison. An example of a simile occurs in my poem when I state, “The warm tears rolling down my face like a hurricane.” In the poem “Eating Together” by Li-Young Lee, a simile is used when Lee states, “Then he lay down to sleep like a snow-covered road winding through pines older than him”. What I get from this use of simile is lying down to sleep and a snow-covered road winding through old pines are alike because they both exemplify a sense of tranquility. Figurative language like similes allows readers to compare what is happening in the poem to the simile. Lee’s poem does a great job of this. Figurative language allows the reader to experience more feeling and emotion when reading the poem, while also allowing the reader to be less confused about the event taking place. I hope readers will experience strong feelings and emotions and have images clarified because of the language I use in my poem.

The third strategy I used when writing my poem is the use of alliteration. Alliteration is the use of the same sound or letter at the start of words that are next to or close to each other. Alliteration can be seen in my poem when I state, “Heaven, hell, the pastor preached as hope hardly was in reach”. In the poem “Kinky” by Denise Duhamel, alliteration can be seen when Duhamel states, “like one of those nodding novelty dolls”. The use of alliteration is effective in “Kinky” because readers are able to better envision the dolls due to this language. I interpret “Kinky” to mean that sometimes in relationships, we try to change each other so that the other person becomes what we desire. I hope by using alliteration in my poem, the sound quality of my poem will be increased and the repetition will make it memorable and enjoyable to read.

Once I had an idea of what I wanted to write about, it was not difficult to start the poem. However, I did get stuck in the middle of writing it and it took me a while to get ideas flowing again. The most rewarding part was reading the poem when I finished the rough draft because I was able to see all my hard work come together. My favorite part of writing was coming up with what I wanted to write the poem about. The most challenging and difficult part was figuring out what specific images to use and what literary and rhetorical devices to use to describe those images. 

The Purple Casket

Pain, piercing through the church walls, landing on your purple casket.

Purple, the color of the casket that now covered you like a disguise.

The warm tears rolling down my face like a hurricane

Heaven, hell, the pastor preached as hope hardly was in reach.

Hope is a daydream of 

The future, gone from the universe for you.

As the pallbearers grabbed you and carried you 

Out of the sanctuary and into the warm sunlight

Down the road to the old cemetery, into the grass and under the blue tent.

Sweltering, the heat was that day

Attacking, the mosquitos did

Though there was nothing but empty skeletons to feed on. 

Empty, the feeling inside as we knew you would not rise.

Holding my friend, as you went down

Down so far, you were gone from sight, but not so far that the pain said goodnight.