Assignment Overview 

This assignment is focused on developing topic analysis, creative generation, description, revision and editing skills in poetic form. Now that you have read a variety of poetic styles and learned about poetics and poetic devices, it is your turn to develop your own poetry and demonstrate your ability to discuss your work using poetic terminology and related course themes. Poems can be as long or as short as you like, though no single poem may exceed 2 pages. Each poem will take a different form and only one (1) can be a “found poem”. You will create five (5) poems and an analysis of your work (2-3 pages). The analysis is a brief exploration of your poetics and should speak to your process, as well as specific rhetorical choices.

My Poems 

The People Whom I Valued the Most

Six men, one woman, one child

Whose bravery shall ne’er be forgotten

Like an army of soldiers, fought in the wild

While sealing all their glory inside of a coffin

 

Samuel Allen, Eteazer Hawks, Oliver and Simeon Amsden

Adonijah Gillett, John Sadler, Eunice, and young Samuel Allen.

Their tears shall ne’er be erased

For strength, they lacked in the presence of their enemies

But with courage, they rode like a Pegasus in the sky

 

I do not understand it

I never did then and I have not now

For they fought with all their strength

Yet couldn’t save themselves from the enemy

 

My insides ache for they were family

A family of which I had none

Six men, one woman, one child

My heart continues to bleed for you.

 

A Choice: A response to Joyce A Joyce’s “The Black Canon: Reconstructing Black American Literary Criticism”

The way I write is my Choice

Why must I struggle to write like Another?

Time to let my creativity flow like the Nile

And remind my fellow Black writers that it is our Obligation

To serve and uplift our community through sanguinity and not Notoriety

 

What She Doesn’t Tell You

On lonely nights

Tears trickle down her rosy cheeks

Uncontrollably

On the happy days

Smiles form around her pink lips

Irresistibly

 

Every single day

She pretends life is perfect

Until she breaks down. Again.

 

Where I’m From

I am from a land of fertile soil

A place with hidden beauty and two seasons

With dust and cold to welcome me in the harmattan season

I am from a mansion graced with trees

(green leaves and fruits, a backyard with vines)

I am from a country on the heart of the equator

Whose people lie in suffering for the harm done by a corrupt government

 

I am from cooks and runners

From spicy, hot dishes to watery-mouth pastries

I am from life with nappy 4c hair and curls

With continuous questions about my accent

I am from family game days and movie nights

With loud screams from my nieces and nephews

 

I am from the pressure to be successful

And siblings who are goal-oriented and committed to hard work

I am from a home of peace and quiet

With funny emotional moments to grace your days

I am from a world of dance and books

To a world of high hopes and dreams

 

I am still from the land of the rising sun

In the heart of Biafra before Nigeria.

 

Common Sense

When you don’t expect it, it hurts the most

“Stupid” is their favorite word

Sending shivers to my bones

I begin to wonder how I created these problems for myself

“Inweghi common sense”

Their second favorite line

This time I try to cry but no tears form.

Finally, “we love you,” they say

But how on earth could I understand this love?

Repeatedly, I doubt myself

Consistently I label myself stupid

It’s always me

I am always the problem

But they forget that I am human, I feel deeply.

And every time they called me stupid

I contemplate being swallowed by the ground

But I can’t because I know there’s an undimmable light in me.

 

Analysis

Chidera Obi-Eyisi

FIQWS HA21

Poetic Project

28 October 2019

Words on Paper

            When tasked to put down thoughts on paper, many find it quite challenging to do so. I am not an exception. In fact, figuring out exactly what I wanted to say in my poems and how to phrase it was even more difficult than trying to find words that rhyme. Writing for me is a gateway to my thoughts and emotions; a chance to be innovative with words and the ideas in my head. In my poems, I express my creativity as I discuss loss, building my own canon, loneliness, and family.

My first poem, “The People Whom I Loved the Most” is an elegy to the valiant men and woman who lost their lives in “Bars Fight” by Lucy Terry. Utilizing a true rhyme in the first stanza, with the words “child” and “wild,” (1, 3) I was able to develop a pattern that the reader could easily follow and understand. When describing the men, I used a simile to compare them to soldiers in a battle to allow the readers to visualize the strength and valor these men possessed in the hands of their enemies. By listing the names of the men in the first line of the second stanza, I was able to create an image of the men who lost their lives in the minds of the reader. In the last stanza, I repeat the first line to remind my audience that these are the people who the poem is about and who Lucy Terry’s heart bleeds for. I use anaphora when repeating “six men, one woman, one child” (1, 14) to highlight that they are the focus of my poem. In this poem, I delve into Lucy Terry’s emotions at the time of this event and show how deeply she felt for the loss of these people.

“A Choice” takes the form of an acrostic poem, in response to Joyce A. Joyce’s critical essay on “The Black Canon.” Joyce’s essay emphasizes the importance of being genuine and creative in one’s works, especially in the works of African American writers. By spelling out the word CANON, I am emphasizing that this is the subject of my poem and the idea that I want my readers to focus on. I am describing how my style of writing is my choice and essentially how I choose to express myself. This is evident when I write “why must I struggle to write to like another?” (2) This brings back Joyce’s belief that Black creative writers should not be swayed into the mainstream style of writing. The tone of this poem is formal as I utilize a strong lexicon to show the reader the importance of being unique. The words “sanguinity” and “notoriety” (5) help the readers remember we can only rise by lifting others. When I write “time to let my creativity flow like the Nile,” (3) I am using a simile to compare my creativity to the river Nile to show that there are no bounds to my imagination because it is my job to speak my truth in the purest form.

The third poem, “What She Doesn’t Tell You” is a 3-stanza-haiku that tells the story of a lonely girl. In this poem, I break down the life of the young girl into moments: lonely days, happy days and every day. While writing this poem, I thought about events happening in my life and how easy it was for me to put on the façade when dealing with people. I focused on my emotions and how those bad days made me feel. I utilized a true rhyme to create a pattern that the reader could easily understand with the words “uncontrollably” and “irresistibly” (3, 6). I used powerful imagery when describing how “tears trickle down her rosy cheeks/ Uncontrollably” (2-3). The word “trickle” allows the reader to picture a slow, steady flow of tears on her cheeks as she probably cries herself to sleep at night. In addition, when I mention that “she pretends life is perfect/ Until she breaks down. Again” (8-9). I am suggesting that her daily switch from delighted to unhappy is an endless cycle because everything is perfect until she breaks down again and tears trickle down uncontrollably.

In the fourth poem, “Where I’m From,” I focus on how my roots and family background will continue to remain who I am. In this free verse poem, I start by describing my country, Nigeria. The line “I am from a country on the heart of the equator” (5) is a direct reference to Nigeria’s placement on earth which indicates its tropical seasons and atmosphere. I describe my country beautifully while including the fact that most of the country’s problems are as a result of the corrupt government. In the second and third stanzas, I go ahead to describe my family and what it has been like growing up after relocating to the U.S. I indicate that I still get “continuous questions about my accent” which shows how much Nigeria remains a part of me (11). I used an oxymoron to contradict the atmosphere in my home by using the words “funny” and “emotional” together (17). I end by saying that my heart truly lies in the heart of Biafra which reinforces the idea that I adore my homeland and where I’m from.

My last poem “Common Sense” is a lyrical poem that exposes my true feelings about the family pressure and the need to always do the right thing. I consider this to be one of my favorites because of the way I incorporated my dialect, Igbo into it. I used to word “inweghi” which means “you don’t have” to highlight the fact that this is a common phrase used to describe me in my home (5). I underline how being labeled stupid makes me feel which makes this poem very emotional. There are several moments of self-reflection in this poem as I try to figure out what my issue is and “how I created these problems for myself” (4). Constantly, their words pierce me because each time I end up feeling horrible about myself because I made a mistake. When writing this poem, I tried to recall all the times I had made a heartbreaking mistake that led to the name-calling. I found myself constantly in doubt and unhappy because I could not understand their definition of love. When I personify being “swallowed by the ground,” it signifies a point where I couldn’t take it anymore because I felt I couldn’t act right in front of them. My hurt takes a turn in the last line when I realize that change is a slow process and I must keep reminding myself that “there is an undimmable light in me” that will allow me to overcome my self-doubt (17). This turning point in my poem is a self-reminder that my identity is not based on how others define me but how I choose to define myself. Every day to me is an opportunity for self-growth and positivity. I have now seized this opportunity to continuously better myself and seek validation from myself alone.

To sum it up, the words we put down on paper are just building blocks to the house we are we really trying to build. Like a runner, I have chosen to never give up on my daily life battles until I reach the finish line. In my five poems, there are little pieces of myself that I poured out in words and putting down those words on paper have allowed me to discover a new aspect of my writing career that I am willing to improve on. I have always been a great writer but to become excellent, I need continuous practice and this project has been a great opportunity for me to rediscover who I am.