Divisions
Social Concern Poem
I know it's 8 o'clock
because I see the lights
swiftly dying,
going out down the street.
Always the same windows
of the lucky kids.
A tear sneaks into my mouth
salty on my tongue.
I know it is 8 o'clock
for Nanny has come to bid me a
goodnight on the part of mother and father.
My fingers run absently over the ruffles
on my large quilt and I stare and hold my breath.
Two eyes glare at me.
One look at the mop of hair and I know
She is not as good as me.
I feel the coldness of the dark set in
and I cling to a small watch I found
in the sewers.
The watch reminds me that some order is left
not as much as school classes had
or when I had a mother who supposedly loved me.
I never could have smelled her plan to desert me in her
violet perfume.
I don't even miss the goodnight kisses I go without.
I feel fluff under my head,
reminding me to turn away from the
filth in the streets.
Father says it is a crime we have to even live this
close to such vermin.
My stomach still feels satisfied as I watch
golden drapes frame an alley.
Now I am angry.
The drapes tear as they are forced shut.
I hear a yell of fury that the
Devil himself would have selfishly screamed.
Why does water fall from the sky when
I don't want it to?
I haven't eaten in a day or two even with my constant scouting in the streets.
Cracks of thunder,
Slaps of lightning threatening my shelter,
This place I call home,
reminding me that I'll never be safe.
I hear my own thoughts.
The Gods of the world must hate me.
In turn, I despise them.
They do not know me nor my life.
Nobody does,
In response the wind stammers against the window pane.
I laugh- "Is that all you have? You will never get me."
Something about the night calls.
Something in the world changes.
I get up and run.
I run through the broken wood.
I run like there are miles to go...
My eyebrows raise and stare hesitantly.
My feet move themselves.
My hands thrust the window outward...
Rain defeats me
Rain laughs at me.
Mimicking everyone else.
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Poetic Elements:
One of the poetic elements I used was allusion. Allusion is a reference to an outside fact, other source, etc. I used it when I describe the scream that the Devil could have made. I thought that a reference to such an infamous character would help me steer the tone of the poem to the final mood.
Another element I used was gustatory imagery which is representation through taste. I used it to describe the tears on her tongue because I thought that this is something most readers could relate to and be brought on her level of mood and also make the situation more realistic in the beginning.
I also used personification, onomatopoeia, and alliteration.
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Paragraph of Explanation:
This poem is about the divisions in society and people in Europe and even America. In the late 1800s and early 1900s especially society was based on wealth and often influence both negative and positive. There was little or no financial support to children that were not in orphanages. There was not room for every child in every city. Often parents openly displayed their distaste for the poor and "filthy" and children picked up these attitudes thinking that they were correct because they looked up to their parents. Particularly in Europe, there was also no real room for peasants to move up in society. I wrote this poem because I thought that this generation of teenagers and young children think that the times of class and society divisions was very long ago when it really might have been going on even in your grandparents' lifetimes.
because I see the lights
swiftly dying,
going out down the street.
Always the same windows
of the lucky kids.
A tear sneaks into my mouth
salty on my tongue.
I know it is 8 o'clock
for Nanny has come to bid me a
goodnight on the part of mother and father.
My fingers run absently over the ruffles
on my large quilt and I stare and hold my breath.
Two eyes glare at me.
One look at the mop of hair and I know
She is not as good as me.
I feel the coldness of the dark set in
and I cling to a small watch I found
in the sewers.
The watch reminds me that some order is left
not as much as school classes had
or when I had a mother who supposedly loved me.
I never could have smelled her plan to desert me in her
violet perfume.
I don't even miss the goodnight kisses I go without.
I feel fluff under my head,
reminding me to turn away from the
filth in the streets.
Father says it is a crime we have to even live this
close to such vermin.
My stomach still feels satisfied as I watch
golden drapes frame an alley.
Now I am angry.
The drapes tear as they are forced shut.
I hear a yell of fury that the
Devil himself would have selfishly screamed.
Why does water fall from the sky when
I don't want it to?
I haven't eaten in a day or two even with my constant scouting in the streets.
Cracks of thunder,
Slaps of lightning threatening my shelter,
This place I call home,
reminding me that I'll never be safe.
I hear my own thoughts.
The Gods of the world must hate me.
In turn, I despise them.
They do not know me nor my life.
Nobody does,
In response the wind stammers against the window pane.
I laugh- "Is that all you have? You will never get me."
Something about the night calls.
Something in the world changes.
I get up and run.
I run through the broken wood.
I run like there are miles to go...
My eyebrows raise and stare hesitantly.
My feet move themselves.
My hands thrust the window outward...
Rain defeats me
Rain laughs at me.
Mimicking everyone else.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poetic Elements:
One of the poetic elements I used was allusion. Allusion is a reference to an outside fact, other source, etc. I used it when I describe the scream that the Devil could have made. I thought that a reference to such an infamous character would help me steer the tone of the poem to the final mood.
Another element I used was gustatory imagery which is representation through taste. I used it to describe the tears on her tongue because I thought that this is something most readers could relate to and be brought on her level of mood and also make the situation more realistic in the beginning.
I also used personification, onomatopoeia, and alliteration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paragraph of Explanation:
This poem is about the divisions in society and people in Europe and even America. In the late 1800s and early 1900s especially society was based on wealth and often influence both negative and positive. There was little or no financial support to children that were not in orphanages. There was not room for every child in every city. Often parents openly displayed their distaste for the poor and "filthy" and children picked up these attitudes thinking that they were correct because they looked up to their parents. Particularly in Europe, there was also no real room for peasants to move up in society. I wrote this poem because I thought that this generation of teenagers and young children think that the times of class and society divisions was very long ago when it really might have been going on even in your grandparents' lifetimes.