Category: Grade 11

Poetry Project

“Sea Of Emotions” by Makayla Crenshaw

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the ease of catching fish distracts me from the troubles of the day

from the calmness of the sea to the swaying wind of the waters

fishing is there for when life is a bother

splish, splash, the water goes

how many fish will I catch no one knows

the day is tiring, trying to blend in with the crowd

society encourages me to be someone I’m not, 

not wanting to be weird and afraid to share my initial thoughts

I give into peer pressure too easily, 

trying to make decisions that will hurt my status or my spirit,

we tend to be scared to speak our opinions, scared to be illiterate

people are like snowflakes, every speck is different

the calmness of the sea swishes away my worries

a time when peer pressure doesn’t flood my thoughts

people are cruel critics, and a passive aggressive race

where everyone has to fit into social norms to fit in the right place

fishing is an activity where I can get away

where the feelings of calmness and swaying wind is where I stay

 

Composition:

People tend to give in to peer pressure and not want to do what they think is right to not stand out in the crowd. This poem called, “Sea of Emotions,” by Makayla Crenshaw, was inspired by “The Two Fishermen,” by Morley Callaghan. In the poem, Makayla Crenshaw uses alliteration, (“splish, splash, the water goes”), similes, oxymorons, imagery, rhyming, (“society encourages me to be someone I’m not, not wanting to be weird and afraid to share my initial thoughts”), and repetition. The type of poem she wrote is a Free Verse. It’s a poem that makes the reader feel hopeful because it can change one’s state of mind and encourages people to do be individuals. In the poem, Makayla writes about how easy it can be for people to just be bystanders; how the stresses of life can be lifted off someone by doing an activity they love. Just like the protagonist, Michael Foster, who also enjoyed fishing in the “Two Fishermen.” Michael Foster was a bystander as well and didn’t help his friend Smitty, the hangman, because Michael was too afraid to stand up for his friend in front of the town. He didn’t do the right thing, and in the end, he regretted his decisions because he lost his friend. The universality of the poem is that society doesn’t want to stand out from the crowd. They’re afraid that their actions will affect their status in society and how they are perceived by people.

 

Mini Composition of Last Ride:

The media is insensitive to people’s emotions, trying to capture reactions to other tragedies and stream them live; they are insensitive from putting these events online only for views. I liked reading the free verse poem, “Last Ride,” by Andrea Holtslander. The poem talks about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that happened in the 80s and describes the emotions of the people’s families losing their loved ones in the rocket. In the poem, Andrea Holtslander uses similes, (“rocket twist crazily through the sky like balloons whipped free from a child’s grasp”), metaphors, (“Having wrung all the tears from his audience the ringmaster can now turn to sports”), alliteration, descriptive imagery, satire, and an ironic understatement for the title of the poem, “Last Ride.” The theme of the “Last Ride” is life and death. Having the astronauts loved ones to witness their deaths similar to the book, “Fahrenheit 451”. The citizens in “Fahrenheit 451” had to witness people’s homes being burnt down and people get getting killed by the mechanic hound because they had books; society was also controlled by technology, having the media control how people think just like in today’s society. The Last Ride is also similar to this because the media is quick to change the way people think and feel during certain situations, changing the topic from talking about the space shuttle disaster to then talking about sports, being insensitive for the lives that have been lost. The media needs to be more comforting to victim’s families that have lost their lives instead of just focusing on the fact that talking about disasters that will bring their channel more views and money.