Reading Response

Chapter one of Writing Poetry helped my see the difference between poesy, prosy, and poetry. I noticed I have fallen in the trap of being both too poesy and too prosy. In many of my poems I use vague language like dream, love, and universe, which can confuse the reader because what they think of when they see or hear the word dream can be completely different from what I think. It helped me realize, with the help of the class discussion, that I need to use defamiliarization more to challenge myself and language.

The Number (Random Impulse #4)

Eating out with friends,
A cute waiter walks up.
Flirting throughout the meal,
But now it is time to leave.
Napkin in front of me,
Pen in my hand.
Just write the ten digits,
But do I have the courage?

Junkyard quotes

* "Don't wipe that on me. Lick it off." -Heather
She sprayed some WarHeads sour spray in my mouth, but it got on my chin.

* "Don't get around people who own Sunggies. They are psycho." -Amiracle
She thinks Sunggies are stupid, and says they are just backwards bathrobes.

* "Dude, you got FOUR plates of food? You should weigh 500 pounds, not 100! I hate you!" -Me
"Actually, I weigh 107 and I am losing wieght. I can't gain weight. But don't hate me, hate Mother Nature." -Amiracle

* "What is a Public Chair? How is Public Chair an officer position? Aren't all chairs public?" -Chase
"Um, Chase, I am Publicity Chair. It says it right on the window." -Me
"Oh!!!! I thought it said Public Chair." -Chase

* "I like your nose ring." -Amiracle
"Well, thank you darling." -Uncle
*We walk away*
"Uncle called me darling. I feel special." -Amiracle
"Well, Jackson winked at me.....three times." -Me
"I hate you!" -Amiracle

Mist (Random Impulse #3)

The time when the sky
Met the ground arrived.
The mist and fog left a
Cool, wet feeling on my skin.
It helped to mask the white
Trails left on pink cheeks.

The graves donned names of
People I never knew, but cramped
Between two granite slabs was
One I have known for years. The
Name that shared a link with mine,
That came to life for me.

Through the bells and conductor
Of the trolley, a voice was speaking
My name. I saw an image saunter
Through the cemetery, but no soggy
footprints proceeded him. He called my
Name in a harsh baritone I have heard before.

He smiled the fat of smiles as
He passed by, his opaque body
Slightly showing through hill
Ridden clouds. Just as suddenly as
He appeared, he was gone. All
Was still as I turned and walked away.

That Day (Random Impulse #2)

Here I am, standing in the same spot as before,
Exactly 47 steps from the trail.
This is the spot where everything changed.
The tree is still there, laying on the ground,
As is the hole from where you crawled away.

Who would have known, when you left that day,
That our family's lives would be changed forever.
You were visiting the same place as always,
But that day was different.

That day, a little over nine years,
When your accident happened.
I wouldn't have believed it,
If I hadn't known you personally.

The story I am remebering now,
How fake it seems, as you shout my name.
I turn and run towards you and grab your hand.
That day, when all seemed lost, Daddy, you lived.

Small Town Girl (Random Impulse #1)

I'm just a small town girl in a big old world,
Trying to live my dream.
They all say it's not easy,
But it's all inside of me.

Everytime I look around,
They try to tear me down,
But one day everyone will see,
Me get out of this town.

As I walk the streets,
People stop and stare.
This whole town knows
That I don't really care.

*This what written after a fight with my family. I told them what major I had declared and that my plan was to get out of Georgia. They did not take it well, and told me I could never make a career out of my major.*

Junkyard Quotes

"Did you pee on the table?" -Amiracle Carter
"Yes, I was so excited to meet y'all I just wizzed on the table." -Jerad Anderson
"Thank you. We appreciate that." -Me
At a 100 Monkeys concert over the break, my friend Amiracle and I were meeting the band, and in front of Jerad was a a puddle of water. It was funny how he just joined in the joke with us.

"Why did you order lettuce on your burger if you were just going to take it off?" -Me
"Because I don't like the taste of lettuce, but I wanted the essence of the lettuce on my burger." -Amiracle
Amiracle saying this made me laugh because she was quoting one of our favorite television shows,
Gilmore Girls, and she knew I would be the only person in the room to understand her statement.

"Look at that pretty bright star. Wait, why is that star moving and flashing? Oh, never mind. That is a
plane." -Heather Harper
It made me crack up that my friend Heather could not tell the difference between a star and an airplane.
How can you not see the difference?

"Why are you out of Lay's chips, milk, and eggs? I need them tonight." -customer at Kroger
"Probably because the trucks can't get here because there is ice on the road. We are out of everything."
-Me
"Right, blame the ice for not getting trucks." -customer
This happened last week at work. The customer could not understand that the trucks really could not get
to Kroger because of the ice on the road. He thought I was making it up.

"Look, I'm a chicken. Gobble, gobble." -Caitlin Shackleford
"Dude, that's a turkey." -Hannah Gilland
This is what happened at the church lock-in and we are all sleep deprived.