Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/4340671/amazing-okanagan-wildfire-pics/

 

Part A

Article that Inspired Me: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/australia/australia-fires-explainer-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

My Poem:

World on Fire

The beautiful starry night

Was once peaceful

Was once enchanting

And at one point

Could be seen with an unimaginable clarity

 

But now

There came a glare that lit the dark sky

There came a wind that was so powerful

There came a hiss and a cry.

It sits crouched

In the green dry grass

It soon moves quickly

And burns the land

 

It consumes with hunger

Engulfs all in its path with indifference

For all the life it is killing

Murdering

Sucking the existence out of.

And this glare

This wind

This hiss

This cry

It is forever imprinted in the minds of those

Who cross its path

 

Devouring animal habitats

Wiping out mother nature

Running scarcely for their lives

Their landscapes now black and bare.

 

Smoke blanketing the once crystal sky

High temperatures helping dry the land out,

Hard to inhale every breath

These are the only things insight

but hoping for fresh air

and new beginnings.

 

My Poem Audio:

Reflection Audio:

 

Part B:

When people try to break away from the societal norms of others, they end up being scared of standing out or worried they will be harmed for being different. A poem that is a good example of this is Ghost of a Chance by Adrienne Rich. Ghost of a Chance is an open free verse poem that is about a man who does not have a purpose in life and is trying to break away from the societal norms. During the poem when it talks about “the old consolations will get him at last”, the old consolations are his original way of thinking and how he has a different viewpoint on life. But the man is finding it difficult because “pulls it back blind into the triumphant sea”, this is a metaphor for how societal norms can have control over us and how there continues to be obstacles that get in the way of one accomplishing a goal. We should be able to be our own person without being worried to be different or stand out.

This poem has a few similarities to the novel Oryx and Crake; Jimmy and the man are very similar. Jimmy stands out in the novel because he is a words person and not a numbers person. Jimmy is trying to pursue a path that is different than the others, but he succumbs to the societal pressures. The poem and novel are good examples of showing the tangible vs. the intangible and understanding them both can help us out in life. As well as, both demonstrate how other opinions can stop one from achieving what they were destined to achieve.