Wash
down
Poetry
By: Zilah Harris
Table of Contents
1. Poetry Is
2. Rhyme
3. Repetition
4. Alliteration
5. Haiku
6. Simile
7. Extended Metaphor
8. Commentary
9. Imagery
10.
Free Verse
 5 Published Poems
 Biography of Favorite Poet
Welcome To My World of
Poetry…
Where the grass is blue and the sky is green, where the only thing
that is welcome to come pay a visit is happiness.
Poetry Is
Poetry is a way to feel.
When the numbness washes over
And you want to come alive again.
Poetry is the one last hand.
That grasps yours before you fall and says,
“I’ll be there to fix you up again.”
When the darkness begins to gather dust
And your mom’s arms seem to be closing up.
Don’t cry,
You’ll be okay,
Poetry will be there to
Save the day.
Giving Up
When someone asks
If I’m okay,
I turn to look the other way.
It feels like they’re pouring salt on my cuts
And I wonder if they all think I’m going nuts.
My mind is all jumbled,
My words come out mumbled.
Lyrics are my drug.
But the words cause the pain.
They tell me the truth,
The sad truth.
I may not be able to get back up again,
That I may have given up.
Why Can’t Daddy Hold Me?
The sound of explosions in my head.
Daddy lies still on the bed.
Mommy, I’m scared!
I need daddy to hold me.
Why can’t daddy hold me?
His hands are cold. My heart begins to fold.
Mommy, I want daddy!
Why won’t he move?
Why can’t daddy hold me?
She drags me away,
Even though I beg her to let me stay.
“We’ll make it through another day.” She continues to say.
But I can’t help but wonder
Why can’t daddy hold me?
To this day,
The pain hasn’t gone away.
But I now know,
That one day,
Daddy will be able to hold me…
The Edge
The wind whips across my cheeks,
Quiet whispers but I didn’t speak.
The bitter cold air nips at my skin
And somehow I love the bitter cold wind.
It keeps my heart beat on edge
As I inch closer towards the ledge.
If I die before I wake
I pray the lord my soul to take,
But it might be too late.
Madness has taken my fate!
Oh, what a night.
The stars decided not to shine so bright.
The moon has not yet awaked with light.
I hope everything will be alright…
I hope, I hope,
That I won’t die tonight.
Haiku
The wind whips past the sea.
Leaving a mist of despair and need.
Oh, how the world is so full of greed.
The Stars Align
Every now and then,
The stars align.
And, somewhere, a toddler’s smile gets a little brighter.
Flowers petals spread a little wider.
A mountain grows a little higher.
It’s as if the world suddenly became a little happier.
And it’s all because the stars of the universe aligned.
I Am Like a Book
I am like a book,
Judged by the cover before they’ve even read the title.
I come in different moods and colors.
I can tell a story like no other.
Sometimes I’m boring,
Sometimes I’m exciting.
Sometimes I feel old and worn out.
Sometimes I feel fresh and new.
I have many different stories to tell.
All with different lessons and whereabouts.
I am like a book.
A mystery on the inside and out.
Society’s Expectations
Society has expectations.
Society wants you to be yourself.
Just in their way.
This is obviously not okay.
Society has expectations.
Unrealistic and absurd.
A girl is supposed to be 5’10” and weigh 125 lbs.
What are we, Barbie’s?
Society has expectations.
We all do.
And we’ve learned to overcome the sometimes unexpected
reality.
Why can’t society?
Him.
His dark green eyes that shine when he smiles.
His sea deep dimples that compliment his cheeks.
His heart warming laugh that has saved lives.
Him.
His corny jokes that make him adorable.
His sensitive heart makes him human.
His love and kindness that makes him who he is.
Him.
Try
Trying.
They sometimes say that trying isn’t enough.
That you should’ve tried harder.
That you should’ve succeeded.
But to try is the greatest success,
Just knowing that you gave it your best.
With urgency but not with haste.
You put your heart to the test.
Though it may have been broken in the end.
Don’t give up on love,
It will come again.
Just try.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if I had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great.
And would suffice.
I chose this poem because it is by my favorite poet and it’s one of
my favorite poems. The meaning of this poem is to show the
meaning of the difference between fire and ice, the struggle of
choosing your fate.
Robert Frost
Afraid? Of whom am I
Afraid?
AFRAID? Of whom am I afraid?
Not death; for who is he?
The porter of my father’s lodge
As much abasheth me.
Of life? ‘T were odd I fear a thing
That comprehendeth me
In one or more existences
At Deity’s decree.
Of resurrection? Is the east
Afraid to trust the morn
With her fastidious forehead?
As soon impeach my crown!
I chose this poem because it reminds me of myself. The meaning
of this poem is to be truly fearless.
Emily Dickinson
A Connotation of Infinity
A connotation of infinity
Sharpens the temporal splendor of this night
When souls which have forgot frivolity
In lowliness, noting the fatal flight
Of worlds where to this earth’s a hurled dream
Down eager avenues of lifelessness
Consider for how much themselves shall gleam,
In the poised radiance of perpetualness.
When what’s in velvet beyond doomed thought
Is like a woman amorous to be known;
And man, whose here is always worse than naught,
Feels the tremendous yonder for his own—
On such a night the sea through her blind miles
Of crumbling silence seriously smiles.
I chose this poem because I absolutely adore E. E. Cummings.
The meaning of this poem is explaining the true meaning of
feeling pure bliss.
E. E. Cummings
Silentium Amoris
As often-times the too resplendent sun
Hurries the pallid and reluctant moon
Back to her somber cave, ere she hath won
A single ballad from the nightingale,
So doth thy Beauty make my lips to fail,
And all my sweetest singing out of tune.
And as at dawn across the level mead
Oh wings impetuous some wind will come,
And with its too harsh kisses break the reed
Which was its only instrument of song,
So my too stormy passions work me wrong,
And for excess of Love my Love is dumb.
But surely unto Thee mine eyes did show
Why I am silent, and my lute unstrung;
Else it were better we should part, and go,
Thou to some lips of sweeter melody,
And I to nurse the barren memory
Or unkissed kisses, and songs never sung.
This poem is very relatable! The meaning of it is to explain the life
of silent love.
Oscar Wilde
I Am Not Yours
I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.
You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.
Oh plunge me deep in love – put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind.
This poem is so… wow. I love it. The meaning of the poem is to
portray the wanting of someone’s love.
Sara Teasdale
The Biography of Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was born March 26, 1874. Robert was born in San Francisco,
California. His father’s name was William Prescott Frost Jr., a journalist, and his
mother’s name was Isabelle Moodie. Frost’s father was a teacher and later became the
editor a bulletin in San Francisco: San Francisco Evening Bulletin. William died May 5,
1885 and Frost’s family moved across the country to Lawrence, Massachusetts and
was then living with William Frost Sr., father to William Frost Jr. Robert graduated from
Lawrence High School in 1892. Frost grew up in the city and published his first poem in
his high school’s magazine. He attended Dartmouth College for two months, and was
accepted in the Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He returned home and worked various jobs;
delivering newspapers, helping his mother with teaching, and working in a factory. Frost
didn’t enjoy these jobs, though, he wanted to do poetry.
Robert sold his first poem, “My Butterfly. An Elegy”, for $15 in 1894 which is
worth $409 today. Frost attended Harvard University from 1897 to 1899 but left
voluntarily due to illness. He published his first book of poetry, A Boy’s Will, was
published in 1913. In 1924, Frost won the first of four Pulitzer Prizes for the book New
Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes.
Robert Lee Frost died January 29, 1963, he was 88 years old.