Can poetry matter?

                Poetry is something we learn at a young age through the teachers in our public schools. I remember the first time I learned what a haiku was and that moment was magical, a journey into a new world of writing, a new world besides short stories, a new perspective on how words can be put together beautifully. I understand Dana Giola’s perspective on how poetry is put on the second shelf, the back burner, etc. The pop culture of poetry may have slowly faded into a subculture by being more of a topic taught in English class or the occupation of a dreamer. I agree with the motion to an extent because song is poetry or lyrics are poetry just another form of poetry that is meshed with the sound of instruments to create music. I agree with Giola about how poetry is specialized and how it is only recognized by other poetry buffs. For some the idea of poetry is only found in love stories or deaths, but in Hollywood’s movies poems are (re)introduced into the modern arts. Poetry is almost a trend because it was a general tendency, movement, or direction toward what was popular.

Sonnet

A            I look into those magnificent eyes

B            They seem to tell me a grand story

A            Filled with both the truth and  the lies

B            But mostly packed with your glory

C            Your lips can tell a story themselves

D            They send a smile always my direction

C            Time will come when we are by ourselves 

D            Until then I can show you my affection

E            Let us travel to a far away land

F            We can create wondrous stories together

E            Holding one another hand in hand

F            Nothing will stop us, not even the weather

G           The time will come for our life to begin 

G           My love grows for you deep from within

Sestina

Off into the world; it opens the entrance.
This town is but a wasteful desert.
Travel like Alice, down, down, down,
Until reaching where our feet refuse.
Carry me away, with the wind!
Life comes, but way too frequent.

Ahh! The disasters are but frequent.
All is closed, even the entrance.
Words of the wise travel by wind,
Tales of the majestic lie in the desert.
We will all stay put, and refuse!
This cruel world will never keep down.

How did we come so far down?
Normality is so common and frequent.
Why did we ever think to refuse?
Life is but one gigantic entrance
Here lies an endless, dry, deceitful, desert.
We are leaves, mobile by the wind.

Lightless, free, inevitable, wind,
Never shall life put me down.
My feet ache from sand of the desert.
This happens much to frequent.
Here lies the wondrous entrance,
But it’s much too easy refuse.

Never! Never! We shall not refuse.
I belong to the unrestricted wind.
Where stands this so called entrance?
The rabbit voyaged deep down.
Swirling, dancing, exploring, frequent,
Please don’t leave me to the desert.

At no time will I desert,
Or ever give a reason to refuse,
Don’t be so fast and frequent.
Storms start by the wind.
Let’s go down! Let us drive down!
Discovered, I have unearthed the entrance.

An Ode to a Keyboard

Black and white keys

Stretch across the top

This keyboard.

Such magnificence

It brings

When the keys 

Are stroked.

Granted I know

Very little

About how to

Use it.

The songs of

“Hey Jude”

And “Let it be”

Are almost

All I know.

My fingers feel

As though they dance

Across a field

Of colorless steps.

Such delight,

When I touch

The right notes.

Such agony,

When the wrong

Key is played.

Someday I will

Learn more about it.

Till then its

Striking music

Will keep me going.

"A&P" versus "Orientation"

   "A&P" by John Updike and "Orientation" by Daniel Orozco are two stories about a workplace, yet  they have many different views. When it comes to the manager or supervisor of the workplace "Orientation" give a vague description while "A&P" is a little more informative. In Orozco's short story, it states "This is Matthew Payne's office. He is our Unit Manager, and his door is always closed (pg.48)." The short six sentence paragraph that contains this is all about the manager, but does not give the reader the real feel for who the manager is, how he acts, and what type of manager he is. Now in Updike's short story the manager also has a brief part in the story, but you can get a sense of him and his actions as a manager. For example of his personality, in the story it says "Lengel's pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesn't miss that much (pg. 601)." Lengel also seem to be pretty strict in his rules for the business.An good illustration of this is, "Girls, I don't want to argue with you. After this come in with your shoulders covered. It's our policy (pg 602)."
   When comparing both stories they have pros and cons to the jobs. For example of a pro in "Orientation" the author states, "We also have a generous vacation and sick leave policy. We have and excellent disability insurance plan....We are all members of Costco (pg.47)." A con could be "Feel free to ask questions. Ask too many questions, however, and you may be let go (pg.46)." In Updike's short story the pro, for the narrator, could be the three girls who catch his eye and become his "eye candy". The con could be the uptight manager, Lengal.
  One last comparison between the two stories is that in Orozco's short story states that the narrator has a job that seems to interact more with customers and in Updike's story the narrator interacts more with the supposed new worker. In "Orientation" the narrator speaks in second person. A sample of this is, "If you prefer Cremora of half-in-half to CoffeMate, there is a special pool... You are allowed to the coffee pool of your choice (pg. 48)." Throughout the whole story it is about explaining the office life to "you". On the other hand, you have "A&P" where the narrator speaks in first person and the story is based around I, the narrator; "I look straight up this aisle to the meat counter... I watched them all the way (pg. 600)."
  

"A&P'

In the story “A&P” by John Updike is written in a very masculine tone. The narrator is Sammy, a supposed 19 year-old boy who is a clerk at a local supermarket, or for Lewiston locals an A&B.  When he describes the girls in the supermarket he describes them in great detail from a man’s point of view. For example, “She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it.” When the narrator described the girls he mainly describes and focuses more on their bodies rather than faces and personalities, granted they are in bathing suits and revealing a lot of skin. The girls in the story play a role of being the antagonist. They make the cashier almost stop in his tracks and keep his focus on them. Throughout the whole story the narrator seems to play hide-and-seek with the girls. When the leader of the girls is confronted by the manager about needing to wear more clothes when entering the store she just blushes and makes and excuse. After the purchase, Sammy quits and his job runs after the girls or “his” girls, but they are gone. In a man’s point of view this is what women do, they are supposedly simple, beautiful, and keep men chasing them.If the roles are switched this is what women believe men do.

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

Status update: Summer in a beautiful home. This should be good for me, I hope. 

Status update: John seems to be gone for too long with his work. I miss him.

Status update: Better get off before Jamie or John sees.

Status update: This room isn't as bad as I thought. The bars are quite weird, but this wallpaper is just driving me crazy.

Status update: The fourth was fun. Family made me very tired, more than usual. I hope this nervousness ends soon.

Status update: I miss working and writing. How is not doing either making me better. I feel as though its making me worse.

Status update: Someone please come to my house and tear this wallpaper off. I can't handle it anymore.

Status update: Jamie gave me some space today. I really enjoy when she does. It makes me feel like I'm not controlled by everyone.

Status update: They're coming from the walls. The women are alive. The wallpaper  is  creating them. Someone help.

Status update: Oh my. John just fainted.

Meme:
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-sprint-us&hl=en-US&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=djk5UurED7OMyAHgn4HIDg&q=Im+crazy+meme&oq=Im+crazy+meme&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.3...16686.16686.0.16978.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c.1.26.mobile-gws-serp..1.0.0.qmz8TS1gODo#biv=i%7C96%3Bd%7CfF0UU8KHiZQiHM%3A

Article:
http://m.wikihow.com/Overcome-Nervousness

"Orientation"

Never keep your wallet inside your pocket at the venue because you’ll lose it no matter what. If you think you’re going to keep good care of it, you wrong. Trust me. Last year Kyle lost his and the year before Taylor, otherwise known as Tank, lost his. Those two are the best of friends. They have known each other since the first grade, so a long time. If you do bring your wallet, or anything else, inside give it to someone with a backpack. I will have one so will Bobby, the blonde one, and Donny, the tall one. 

 Over there are the bathrooms, to the left are women’s and to the right are men’s. Always make sure to wash your hands after doing the business. Everyone is here is most likely dripping in sweat and dirty in some way or another. Don’t be afraid if people talk to you in there because a lot of people will be on some sort of drug or super excited and just ready to chat your ear off. Another note, never accept anything from someone you do not know. The water fountains are also located over on the building. Make sure to drink lots of water or else you could get heat stroke. Trust me. Refill the water bottles after every show if there is time. Keep track of yours. If you don’t want to carry yours, give it to someone with a backpack. Lacie has a fanny pack, but I don’t think that will carry much. She is the sweet one and is married to Tyler, the tattooed one. Tyler and Tank are brothers who are cousins with Donny, Joey, the other tall one that looks like Donny, and Nikki. Those three are brothers and sister. Nikki is dating Mitchel whose brother is Nich and cousins with bobby. The rest of us are just family friends. Never cross anyone or it won’t be pretty.

The stages are sporadic on the venue and weaved around them are booths filled with band gear.  Be somewhat early to the shows and never stand right in the center of the crowd. That is where most of the mosh pits start. Unless you are willing to sacrifice your body, stay away from there. It will get pretty gnarly in the pit with arms and legs flailing all around. The best spot in the crowd is up front by the bar and right next to the stage. You may start towards the back but as the concert starts just elbow and push till you get to the bar. Then grab ahold and don’t let go or you will lose the spot. Trust me. In between the shows stick with the group and if you do venture off go with someone, not everyone has a cell phone with them and we don’t want to lose anyone. If you need anything ask questions. Just stay with us and the results will be a Warp Tour experience you’ll never forget.  

"A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Grotesque by definition is odd or unnatural in shape, appearance, or character; fantastically ugly or absurd; bizarre. In the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, you could consider his short story is to be a southern grotesque

.

The characters in the story give a great background to the southern feel. The grandmother who is described to have a “leathery, thin face…brown eyes,” talks quite a lot, who is racist, and who is dressed so that “ in case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady,” which in the end it becomes very ironic. She almost annoys you when reading. Another great character who plays a large role in the story is the misfit who is an older man with hair starting to gray and “silver-rimmed spectacles that gave him a scholarly look.” He is talked about early on in the story which makes it very satirical that the family meets him in the end. After the family is killed you cannot help but despise him for doing this to a helpless family, yet the family wasn’t the “perfect family”. The rest are not as described in detail. What we do know is the mother barely speaks, the father is grumpy, and the children are wild and very mouthy.

The plot on the other hand is what really makes the story grotesque. First you have a simple country family from good ol’ Georgia who just happens to be on a trip, when only the worst is yet to come. When reading the family gets into a car accident, in which no one dies, you cannot help but feel sympathy for them, despite how much they irritate the reader. The real twist of the story is soon after the wreck, the car that in a cheerful story would have been their savior turns out to be the misfit and his gang, who ends up murdering all of them. This is what I condsider to make the story very grotesque.