Poetry in the News

here is the article that sparked my idea

Image result for gun voilence children"

source photo 1: https://www.thecut.com/2017/02/gun-violence-takes-a-brutal-psychological-toll-on-kids.html 

source photo 2: https://patch.com/new-york/farmingdale/king-suozzi-joining-planned-gun-violence-rally

 

 

The dice to my fate;

December 14th 2012

Terror flooded all I knew

Screams with no source

Wounds without reason

Feeling so much

But also so little

My mind was full 

But my heart was so brittle 

Only darkness was visible

The only thing holding back the screams

The helpless cries

The lost goodbyes

Were my own two hands 

Grasping my mouth

Holding back crumbs of what was left

The only hope being a prayer

It was all up to him

Like the rolling of a dice

4 was my number

“It better not land on 4”

To this day I still sit confused 

Of how our second amendment rights were so easily abused

So much power in a single finger

Contemplating a life as it lingers

Contemplating without thought

Action without contemplation 

The dice was rolled

Seconds passed as the dice settled 

Seconds that disguised themselves as years

A great abundance of anticipation flooded the room

The odds were up to him

The dice made its decision

And it chose 5

And unlike the 32 helps lives that were lost

I made it home to my family that night.

 

My poem audio:

My reflection audio:

My composition:

The poem that I connected to the most was Plastic Mask of Self-Unknown by Nick McDermott. This was the poem that I could relate the most to the novel Oryx and Crake. Many similar themes arose in this poem as in the novel. This poem is about the absence of individuality and humanities need to rescue and save what makes us who we are. The poem strongly connects individuality to the tangible, as does the novel. Individuality is seen as something that has substance, to be manipulated, designed, and sold. Where in reality individuality is strongly related to the intangible. Crakes whole motive was to design humans, counter acting what actually makes us humans, which are our flaws. when we take out these flaws we are left with a shell or “mask” of what once had meaning. This poem also illustrates humanities passive attitude toward societal issues with a satirical line “Smile, everything is fine”. Like in Oryx and Crake, all of society was passive to the obvious issues that were going on. Without Jimmy/Snowman as a character this refection on the loss of human connection because of things like scientific reductionism, the whole of society would have been left to believe everything is fine. We often try to mask what society thinks are flaws and imperfections, which results in false perceptions of what is natural and humane. Like in the novel Crake creates false and modified versions of humans that reflect nothing but an unhealthy outlook. Human connection lacks purpose and depth when boundaries are put up. In relation to the essay I wrote about the novel, this poem also relates strongest to that. Lack of imperfection creates barriers and therefore effecting human connection. Flaws are what bind and unite one another. Making perfection of the tangible a goal will not result in true happiness or solution.

 

Technologies Affect on Human Connection – Blog Log #3

here is the link to my article

In this article it breaks down the reasoning behind the widely observed societal changes that have came along with fast developing technology; ironically, written in form of an online article. This is a topic that I am deeply interested in, as we as a class just finished our Novel study unit, which we looked into a story that’s plot was based off of technology and a diminishing society because of it. The final assignment for this unit was an essay, which I chose to write about the disconnect and lack of human connection because of the increase of technology.

In this article the author begins with a personal story about a “dream” he had, as a hook for the reader; to then find out it wasn’t a dream after all, just our new reality, with a touch of intriguing irony. I enjoyed the authors flow of writing, since it takes a lot to get me investing in an article this original hook was something that was all to pull me in, making me want to know more. A strong topic throughout the article is that this disconnect, which is a result of the increase of the use of technology is becoming a new reality. It is becoming expected and seen as “normal”, and we are doing nothing about it. This article not only explores the obvious negatives that come along with technology, which is the lack of face to face connections, but also the positives. Technology and media have opened doors for research, creation of new jobs, and also making communication across the world as easy as a click of a button. The author looks into the quality of our relationships and posing the question, has technology created connections that are more surface level, lacking depth? When relating my own life to this article I can definitely tell the quality of relationships have diminished, when everyone living in one  home is drawn to technology before they actually interact with one another. Though it is talked about immensely and  society is aware of these negative changes, no specific action has been taken to repair human connection.

Pro Life vs Pro Choice? – blog log #2

here is my article 

This article was very investing to me because of how deep the author looks into the idea of pro life vs pro choice. This topic has always intrigued and connected to me because of my strong beliefs around pro choice. I believe that every woman should have 100% say for what happens to her body, whether that be about a child or not. The author uses strong references and examples, making connections to her own life and about how she states she was blessed when her son was born. The author made a connection to her son who has down syndrome. She connects her life to others lives, stating statistics about how many babies with Down syndrome are aborted by their mothers and not given a chance to live. Although the author relates this topic back to her own life, she stays far from opinion and stays neutral in her writing, maintaining unbiased views on a huge topic. This article makes me think of the abortion law in Alabama, connecting to the never ending list of strong opinions I see and read about on social media. In the end of the article, still maintaining an unbiased writing style, the author proves the wrong behind abortion, which made me think that maybe I don’t believe 100% in pro choice. With examples from her life and her son she depicts the wrong behind abortion, for example aborting based on gender, special needs, and mental illness. Ultimately this article changed my “black or white” view and nothing in between. It opened my eyes with the use of connections to someones real life and feelings.

Blog log #1

Link to my article 

In this article they touch on the highly talked about topic of vaping, its dangers, and the upsurge of the use of e-cigarrettes amongst teens today. As the use of traditional cigarettes decrease in the developing generations and as we sway towards a so called “healthier alternative” many new discussions are being brought to the table. Recently I have been over whelmed by two particle posts i have seen all over Instagram, relating to the topic of vaping. The long term effects are unknown since it is a newer “trend” especially amongst teens. From the beginning companies of e-cigaretts have targeted the younger generation, thats why we are just starting to the the long term effects of nicotine devices now. Both of the posts were anti vaping campaigns, coming from two individuals that have recently had their lungs collapse from the frequent use of these nicotine devices, with that resulting with them in the hospital with serious health concerns.

This article was super interesting to me because of the amount of friends and people I know who frequently vape, ignoring the health concerns and negative effects to your developing body. After seeing these posts on Instagram of people in hospital beds because of vaping I  have seen many of them trying to stop. But, I have heard from people in my friend group about how hard it is to stop if vaping is a regular for you and part of your daily routine. I like the style this article is written in, it is written in an expository style, sounding as an unopinionated passage. In this expository article to help it flow the author has given a clear topic, being “We Still Don’t Know How Safe Vaping Is” and including many details and real life facts in an order that is appealing to the reader, all relating back to the main topic.