They Said It Couldn't Be Done by Rick Walton

They said it couldn't be done.

They laughed when I said I would do it.

They said that it couldn't be done.

I rolled up my sleeves and went to it.

 

I struggled, I strove, I strained.

I fought at it day and night.

They said that it couldn't be done.

They were right.

Everyone's poems seem to be silly and simple tonight so i thought i would follow with a somewhat more serious poem. So i'm sure everyone has been told to never stop but instead keep trying again and again and again and again....but sometimes trying again just doesn't work. Sometime in life your going to run into a task that your just not going to be able to do, and thats what this poem is about. The character in the poem at first starts out by scoffing at the task he's set to do when everyone around him is telling him its impossible. But soon after much labor, he ends up finding out that the task was impossible and couldn't be done. Though it might not seem right to some people to quit, and  makes a interesting poem to end the last poetry response on, seeing its about failure, but i think its obvious that the moral of the poem here is that sometimes just say enough is enough and leave whatever your doing, especially when your not gonna complete it.

The Flood by Robert Frost

Blood has been harder to dam back than water.
Just when we think we have it impounded safe
Behind new barrier walls (and let it chafe!),
It breaks away in some new kind of slaughter.
We choose to say it is let loose by the devil;
But power of blood itself releases blood.
It goes by might of being such a flood
Held high at so unnatural a level.
It will have outlet, brave and not so brave.
weapons of war and implements of peace
Are but the points at which it finds release.
And now it is once more the tidal wave
That when it has swept by leaves summits stained.
Oh, blood will out. It cannot be contained.

This is quite an interesting poem because of its dark imagery and the meaning behind it, and it is because of all these reasons I like it a lot. The poem compares blood to several things. First Frost says that blood is something harder to dam back than water and is something released by the devil. From this, I believe it can be inferred that Frost is trying to compare the blood to war. Later in the poem, Frost says that the blood has the capabilities of being a flood in which using the inference, it can be understocked that Frost is trying to compare the flood to war spreading throughout the entire world. This idea is further backed up by the phrases , " The power of blood releases blood," and " weapons of war and implements of peace are but the points at which it finds releases," both of which describe war, as war only brings more war, and weapons and attempts at peace are more characteristics of it. In conclusion, the way Frost uses his diction to cleverly craft blood to be compared to a flood of war is really quite interesting and the lovely content makes the poem all the more better.

A Dream by Edgar Allen Poe

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed-
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream- that holy dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely spirit guiding.

What though that light, thro' storm and night,
So trembled from afar-
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth's day-star?


Seeing I have to use a serious poem, here it is and who other than Edgar Allen Poe would suit my personality.....like really guys are you surprised? In this poem about dreams, I believe there is a message to people who really look down upon themselves because of something they might have failed at in the past. In the first few lines, Poe describes the different types of dreams such a person might have, whether it be a dream like their everyday life and it doesn't make them any better or its a really awesome dream about who they want to be and they are heartbroken when they wake up. In the second paragraph, Poe states that what kind of life is not a dream if a person is constantly living and being blinded by the past instead of looking toward the light in the future, which is supported by Poe finishing the poem by saying " What could there be more purely bright in truth's day-star." In this statement, he concludes by saying the positive "light" exists any time whether it be in hardship or easy times, and because of that what is better in life than to live looking for the positive rather than the negatives of the past.

Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage the Elephant

I was walking down the street,
When out the corner of my eye
I saw a pretty little thing approaching me.
She said "I've never seen a man
Who looks so all alone,
Could you use a little company?

If you can pay the right price
Your evening will be nice,
And you can go and send me on my way."
I said "You're such a sweet young thing
Why you do this to yourself?"
She looked at me and this is what she said:

"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees.
I got bills to pay,
I got mouths to feed,
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back,
Though you know, I wish I could.
No there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good".

Not even fifteen minutes later
I'm still walking down the street,
When I saw a shadow of a man creep out of sight.
And then he sweeps up from behind
And puts a gun up to my head,
He made it clear he wasn't looking for a fight.

He said "Give me all you've got
I want your money not your life,
But if you try to make a move I won't think twice."
I go like "You can have my cash
But first you know I got to ask
What made you want to live this kind of life?"

He said "There ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees.
I got bills to pay,
I got mouths to feed,
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back,
Though you know, I wish I could.
No there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good".

Now a couple hours have passed
And I was sitting at my house,
The day was winding down and coming to an end.
So I turned on the TV
And flipped it over to the news,
And what I saw I almost couldn't comprehend.

I saw a preacher man in cuffs he'd taken money from the church,
He stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills.
But even still I can't say much
Because I know we're all the same,
oh yes we all seek out to satisfy those thrills

"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Money don't grow on trees.
We got bills to pay,
We got mouths to feed,
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know we can't slow down,
We can't hold back,
Though you know, we wish we could.
No there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good"

      Well if anyone has played borderlands then you probably know this song since it is the opening theme song, but for those who haven't heard it let us talk about why there "Ain't no Rest For the Wicked." In the song, the writer uses several analogies that describe people in society who we generally frown upon because of their actions on obtaining cash such as the prostitute from the first paragraph, the gun thief from the second, or the preacher from the third. After telling introducing each of the characters the song is followed up with the same chorus which pretty much says that there isn't no rest for wicked people and they cannot stop what they are doing because they still have bills to pay and mouths to feed. However, I believe the writer is trying to portray some deeper meaning in this as he explains why the so called "wicked people" do what they constantly rather than stopping and getting a normal job like the population would believe they should do. I believe the writer is trying to say that once a person makes a mistake in their life and choose a wicked act there is no turning back because in this society no matter if you paid your sentence, as long as there is a record the chances of leading a normal successful life is a lot harder to do, even if they realized their mistake and changed. Another thing the writer points out in the paragraph about the thieving preacher is when he says that everyone seeks out to satisfy the same thrills. I believe he is saying that in some aspects everyone who is supposable "good" isn't all that much more better than the "wicked" preacher because everyone has some greed and an evil side and probably has made some mistakes in their life caught or uncaught, minor or major.


Have a link to the song :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKtsdZs9LJo

Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse

change,
everything you are
and everything you were
your number has been called
fights, battles have begun
revenge will surely come
your hard times are ahead

best,
you've got to be the best
you've got to change the world
and you use this chance to be heard
your time is now

change,
everything you are
and everything you were
your number has been called
fights and battles have begun
revenge will surely come
your hard times are ahead

best,
you've got to be the best
you've got to change the world
and you use this chance to be heard
your time is now

don't,
let yourself down
don't let yourself go
your last chance has arrived

best,
you've got to be the best
you've got to change the world
and you use this chance to be heard
your time is now

I am 100% convinced we are analyzing a song just so I wouldn't do a Dr. Seuss poem ( I was sorely tempted but resisted temptation,) and just a forewarning, the grammar errors are probably going to be on a rampage in this response because I am extremely brain dead at the moment but here goes nothing. This song is an awesome song by an extremely awesome band known as Muse, and while my interpretation of the song in my zombie-like state is probably nothing like its supposed to be interpreted, I think its sorta close.....soooorta. I believe the lead singer, Matthew Bellamy, is trying to convey an idea that everyone has a chance to change the world but to do so requires a person to be at their best. I think this song really applies to soon to be and current college students, because every person has the potential to do a lot of great things in the world, but in order to great things Matt says, "your hard times are ahead; don't let yourself go; your last chance has arrived; you've got to be the best; you've got to change the world; and you use this chance to be heard" in which he means your gonna face hard times that you have to overcome without getting discouraged and you have to use your opportunities and be performing at your best if you plan on making your mark, else you'll just waste it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzCKrwOme2U&feature=related here is a link to the song so go listen to it while i sit here and ponder what i just wrote ><'' siiiigh

How did it get so late so soon?~ By Dr. Seuss

How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?



*drumroll* And here we start with yet another Dr. Seuss poem (I swear i'll run out soon) that deals with things getting late and once again applies to almost every person you know in this world because everybody procrastinates (or else i'm going to burn you( ^^).)In the poem Seuss talks about how time seems to be flying so fast, and the months are arriving much sooner than they should be. This can relate to almost everybody in the world because people have a tendency to slack off till the last minute. Countless times you have probably seen yourself waiting till the last minute to do a project, job, or assignment while freaking your head off during the process. Because of this human tendency to procrastinate, Seuss is trying to tell everyone to take notice at how quickly time flies, and things  that don't have to be done for a while are probably gonna be arriving sooner than you expect them to.

The Waiting Place by Dr. Seuss

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.


Guess what? This weeks response is something new........*drumroll* DR. SEUSS!!!! Anyways, once again Dr. Seuss takes the poetry response spotlight for the third week in a row, with another interesting poem that can relate to several people in the world, the people who wait and wait and wait and wait....you get the picture. I'm sure all of you have at least once encountered a person who has a bunch of great ideas that "could" lead to a bunch of great things, but the problem is they never do; and it is this issue Dr. Seuss addresses in this poem. In every line, he states a different scenario of waiting, and I believe he is urging the readers to quit sitting around waiting uselessly for something new and exciting to happen; but rather, get out into the world and try something. If you fail then oh well, at least you tried and gained some experience from your attempt, but if you succeed at something then who knows how far in life it might take you.

I Love My Job by Dr. Seuss

I love my job, I love the pay.
I love it more and more each day.
I love my boss; he/she is the best.
I love his boss and all the rest.
I love my office and its location.
I hate to have to go on vacation.
I love my furniture, drab and gray,
And the paper that piles up every day.
I love my chair in my padded cell.
There's nothing else I love so well.
I love to work among my peers.
I love their leers and jeers and sneers.
I love my computer and its software;
I hug it often though it don't care.
I love each program and every file,
I try to understand once in a while.
I'm happy to be here, I am, I am;
I'm the happiest slave of my Uncle Sam.
I love this work; I love these chores.
I love the meetings with deadly bores.
I love my job-I'll say it again.
I even love these friendly men,
These men who've come to visit today
In lovely white coats to take me away

I love my life, I love my school, I love my friends, I love Eli.....wait what...oh yeah poetry response. This weeks poem is once again from Dr. Seuss; however, it is a special poem because this is one of his lost poems. This poem focuses on how Dr. Seuss seems to love everything in his life, whether it be his job, the jeers of his co-workers, the taxes he pays to Uncle Sam, or even the people coming to take him away to the funny farm, he loves them all, and from this us readers can learn a little lesson. Quite often you hear people complaining about every aspect of life. Maybe their job is bad or boring, maybe their mother is making them work around the house, maybe their life just plain sucks, but the one thing these kinds of people have in common is the fact that they all focus on the bad of their life rather than the good. I believe in this poem Dr. Seuss is trying to tell people to quit looking and focusing on what is bad in your life, but rather, look the the good things and find a way to see everything positively. Besides if you do that then the people in white coats will come get you and who doesn't want that :D?

From Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss

Judging by my past poems, you all probably knew it was just a matter of time before I finally posted a poem by Dr. Seuss, and here it is. I really like this poem for reasons other than it being written by Seuss (Honest) because the poem can really apply to a lot of people including myself sometimes. The poem points out how every person has to make their own decisions which is sometimes hard for some of us indecisive freaks of nature; however, more in depthly, the poem focuses on the uniqueness of every individual person as Seuss ends the poem by saying, "You are the guy (or girl) who'll decide where to go." Another reason I chose this poem, other than liking it because its Seuss and i'm indecisive, was because it can apply to graduating seniors as each senior and only that senior eventually has to make his/her choice of which direction (college and career) to choose and pursue, and hopefully, it will be the right one.

Crocodile by Lewis Carroll

OW doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

 

How cheerfully he seems to grin!

How neatly spread his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!

This is a little fun sized poem of insanity that you all know I love which is why it is worthy of blogging week 3's post. The "Crocodile" by Lewis Carroll tells the story of how an apparently shiny crocodile (big surprise there) gets his food one day, and despite the poems childish nature, the moral behind it can be applied to everyone any day. The crocodile is described by having and a shining tail and a golden scales complete with a very cheerful grin. All of these things, as we see by the end of the poem, are used to entice little fishes to come to his happy open mouth and become gobbled up. This poem relates to people in the real world who seem all nice and warm to you on the outside, but on the inside, they are devious and usually have some higher motive to benefit themselves. I believe Carroll is trying to warn his readers about these kinds of people, and how you should actually see if your "Friends" are true friends or rather just people benefiting often you. Hence this poem makes a great children's story for the morals :D

The Jumblies by Edward Lear

I
They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
In a Sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,
In a Sieve they went to sea!
And when the Sieve turned round and round,
And every one cried, 'You'll all be drowned!'
They called aloud, 'Our Sieve ain't big,
But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig!

Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

II

They sailed away in a Sieve, they did,
In a Sieve they sailed so fast,
With only a beautiful pea-green veil
Tied with a riband by way of a sail,
To a small tobacco-pipe mast;
And every one said, who saw them go,
'O won't they be soon upset, you know!
For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long,
And happen what may, it's extremely wrong
In a Sieve to sail so fast!'

Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

III

The water it soon came in, it did,
The water it soon came in;
So to keep them dry, they wrapped their feet
In a pinky paper all folded neat,
And they fastened it down with a pin.
And they passed the night in a crockery-jar,
And each of them said, 'How wise we are!
Though the sky be dark, and the voyage be long,
Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong,
While round in our Sieve we spin!'

Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

IV

And all night long they sailed away;
And when the sun went down,
They whistled and warbled a moony song
To the echoing sound of a coppery gong,
In the shade of the mountains brown.
'O Timballo! How happy we are,
When we live in a Sieve and a crockery-jar,
And all night long in the moonlight pale,
We sail away with a pea-green sail,
In the shade of the mountains brown!'

Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

V

They sailed to the Western Sea, they did,
To a land all covered with trees,
And they bought an Owl, and a useful Cart,
And a pound of Rice, and a Cranberry Tart,
And a hive of silvery Bees.
And they bought a Pig, and some green Jack-daws,
And a lovely Monkey with lollipop paws,
And forty bottles of Ring-Bo-Ree,
And no end of Stilton Cheese.

Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

VI

And in twenty years they all came back,
In twenty years or more,
And every one said, 'How tall they've grown!
For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone,
And the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
And they drank their health, and gave them a feast
Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast;
And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'

Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Continuing the traditions of my postings the weirder poems of society here is this week's insanity as I now present 

to you the Jumblies. I'm pretty sure by know you know the Jumblies are things described by, "Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve." But you are probably wondering what makes these intriguing little critters so worthy of a response, and the answer is that they have a classic little lesson behind them. The first two paragraphs show how the general population was looking down upon the Jumblies and their journey by saying things such as "You'll be drowned" or "O won't they be soon upset, you know"; however, the Jumblies did not back down and continued their journey saying, "Our Sieve ain't big, But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig!" The third paragraph consists of showing the hardships the Jumblies had to endure, but continue they did and by the fourth paragraph we see the lovely land of trees and wierd yummy things like lollipop paws (no comment) they are able to find. In the fifth paragraph, twenty years have passed before the Jumblies return back to their homeland, and they are greeted with praise and partying for their accomplishments as the population now sees the Jumblies weren't so stupid after all. So now that I have rambled on for who knows how many lines, I think it times i presetn the moral of the story in a nut shell: If you have a dream don't let people try to stray you away from it but rather continue forward. But if you do continue you are going to have to endure some hardships to achieve your goal, but if you can endure these hardships the reward can be great and the people who looked down on you will soon see your greatness.    

.......Yay for child parables........the Jumblies still rock though :D

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carrol

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. "And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" He chortled in his joy. 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. This is a very interesting poem because of the style that Carroll uses to write it, and I am probably gonna need some leeway on the grade because the poem really doesn't make too much sense. Nevertheless here goes nothing. Jabberwocky has been one of my favorite poems ever since I saw it back in middle school, and its style has been a foundation for my poems and similarities ever since. Jabberwocky really shows how a poem doesn't have to be composed of real words, have some deep hidden  meaning, or even be capable of being analyzed to become a really good poem. This poem, like the rest of Carroll's works is debated whether is was written under the influence of  "stuff" or simply by a crazy imagination; however, Jabberwocky, nevertheless, is a perfect  work comprised of rhymes and words combined from two or more words to form a new cool meaning which in turn gives the poem a humorous flow that can be enjoyed by anyone.

Warning

Considering my insane personality, this blog is probably not gonna be the safest place to visit, and hopefully I'll have scared Mrs. Coleman away so that I get 100 on every response cause shes too scared to look :D Welcome to Insanity.