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The Summer I was Sixteen by Geraldine Connolly
I remember this being one of the first few poems that we discussed in Lit class. I really liked it because it made me remember my "own summer when I was sixteen". That was the summer before I entered high school as a senior. It wasn't exactly like Geraldine's summer which she spent lazing around, having fun and just enjoying herself along with her friends. She didn't really worry about much and her biggest problems seemed to concern boys. This is pretty obvious when she mentions that "did not exist beyond the gaze of a boy".
My summer was made up of going to school to train with the Boosters (our school's cheerleading squad) and lots of trips to the mall. However, I was able to start that summer with a beach trip with my Booster friends and we did have a lot of fun. I think I could compare my trip to how Geraldine spent most of her summer. It definitely counts as one of the best moments I recall as a sixteen year old.
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On the eve of the execution by Jaime An Lim
My group was assigned to report on this poem during the second round of group reports. I really liked it because of how cleverly written it was. I have to admit though that I didn't understand it the first time I read it. Once I read it again though, I remember thinking "Ohhhhh, now I get it!". My group mates and I researched a bit regarding Andres Bonifacio's death so that we could understand the poem better and we learned more about the conflict between the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions, how Emilio Aguinaldo's name has been shrouded with doubt regarding Bonifacio's death and more.
What struck me though is how the author made Emilio Aguinaldo sound. After reading the poem, you want to believe him when he says that he ordered Bonifacio's execution for the good of the country. You want to believe it when he says that he believes that he was acting out of his great love for the country. You want to believe that it was a case of "the end justifies the means". There are times though that you could also question his sincerity in the poem. Personally, I still feel torn. I want to believe that Aguinaldo did this out of his supposedly good intentions but at the same time, I keep thinking that it's easy for him to say that he would have "asked for nothing less" had their "roles been reversed". This poem is brilliant. It is one of the few that I simply can't get out of my head.
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The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
"I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
I remember when I came to end of the poem and seeing these last two lines I started thinking "Ohhh, that's where that quote came from!". I've come across that certain snippet of the poem countless times and I've always liked it. It is embarrassing, on my part, to admit that I only learned this school year that those lines came from this poem by Robert Frost. When I read it again though, the whole thing felt complete.
I like the simple message that Frost was giving everyone which is summed up by those last two lines. Too often we choose to take the easier path because we're afraid of facing hardships or challenges. What we should remember is that by going through so much more when we're trying to achieve something, that's what makes everything worthwhile. By choosing the easier path (the one most people take), we are limiting ourselves and playing it too safe. If we went beyond our comfort zones and took the "road less traveled by", we would be opening ourselves up to numerous opportunities. Reading this poem reminded me to be confident and to challenge myself to take risks.
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Tonight I Can Write by Pablo Neruda
I am probably not the first girl to say this but - I love this poem. It's one of those poems that really stays with you once you hear it or read it. When we were listening to audios of different poems, I remember being so awestruck when the audio of this poem played even though it wasn't the first time I had heard it.
What I find so beautiful about this poem is Pablo Neruda's use of language. Technically though, I'm talking about the English translation so I have to give credit to the person who translated it. However, I've looked at the original, the English translation and the Tagalog translation and I still find them all beautiful. You can really hear how broken he feels. All throughout the poem, we glimpse how he both loves the woman and also is trying to forget her. He says "I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her." It emphasizes all the more how much he truly did. Oh and, I find the last two lines particularly haunting. Pablo Neruda couldn't have chosen a better end to this poem.
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If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
Since I'm talking about Pablo Neruda, I want to talk about another poem of his which I also love. Once again, I could not forget this poem (pun not intended) because of the strong emotion that he expressed. I could feel the bitterness he was trying to hide (or maybe he wasn't, I'm not really sure) especially in these lines:
"Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little."
and
"If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you."
I find it interesting that even though he mentions these lines in the middle of the poem, he chooses to end it with a stanza that is very hopeful. He tells the woman that if she feels that they are destined together, his passion and love will never be extinguished or forgotten. I think that Pablo was trying to "look out for himself". If the woman he loves didn't feel the same way, he would immediately start to let go and "stop loving little by little". He would have "already forgotten her". I think this poem talks about love but also how we should not be consumed by it. We should never forget to love ourselves as well.
❻ We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
My first thought when I came across this poem was "Why is it so short?". The second was "Why does the word 'we' always end each line?" Thankfully, after reading these poems, one of my questions was answered. I remember that my classmate, Pia, volunteered to read the poem and when she did, everything suddenly made sense.
The structure of the poem amused me so much and now, every time I see this poem, I cannot think of any other way to read it than how Gwendolyn wrote it. Another interesting thing about this poem is how even though it's pretty simple, the words could mean so many different things. I realized this when we were discussing it since most of us had different interpretations to "strike straight","sing sin", "thin gin" and "jazz june". This is one of the first poems that I really liked in Lit class.
❼ Sorting Laundry by Elisavietta Ritchie
I remember misinterpreting this poem the first time I read it. I thought that the persona was a widow and she was talking about past memories with her husband. Only during discussion did I realize that the persona was addressing her lover.
I like how she found a parallel between her life with her lover and sorting laundry. I think this is one of those poems wherein it seems easy to do but then it's actually difficult to write and pull it off. Oh and the last part was my favorite because I think that the whole poem was building up to that moment. Those last three lines certainly did not disappoint.
❽ The Hymn of a Fat Woman by Joyce Huff
My first memory of this poem is of my classmate, Jason, reading it in front of class. I remember laughing along with my seat mates because of how entertainingly he read it. Once we went through the poem again, I realized how much I liked it. I think it's one of the wittiest poems I've ever read and it also speaks of a rather important issue nowadays. Society lately has been obsessed with the idea of being this "perfect figure" and I think this poem captures perfectly how absurd that idea is. I could hear Joyce's voice (what I imagined it to be) while reading this poem and I could hear the sarcasm. It was funny, really. I think her main point was becoming one of those "rail-thin women" won't do us any good. It is an unhealthy obsession and it ends up hurting us or making us miserable when in fact, we should be enjoying everything life has to offer. Being healthy is definitely different from becoming anorexic, bulimic, and the like.
❾ If I Told Him by Gertrude Stein
I'm not really sure why I included this poem in my journal because it is the one poem which confused me beyond belief. The first time I encountered it was in audio form. Those familiar with this poem can just imagine how horrible that was.
Anyway, now that I think about it, maybe I do know why I included this poem in my journal. I think it's because it's the one poem etched in my memory solely because I did not understand it. I have a feeling that if I did, I might actually find it pretty brilliant.
❿ To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell
This was one of the poems that honestly disturbed me so much. I think it's because my initial interpretation was so far off from the actual meaning of the poem. This was the first poem that our group was tasked to report on. We all thought that it was a sweet poem with the persona declaring his love for the girl. It was only during discussion that Sir Exie made us realize how wrong we were. It is actually a poem about a guy trying to convince this girl to have sex with him. Vulgar, I know but there you go.
When you read it with that knowledge in mind, I think you would be both amused and bothered. Amused because of how the man presents his argument. To him "if they had but world enough and time", the woman's coyness "would be no crime" and they could spend all eternity taking their time and enjoying themselves. However, they do not have time that's why he believes that they should do the deed. On the other hand, you'd be bothered because of the words he uses when he talks to the girl (read poem to better understand). It makes you think, was that guy really that desperate to have this girl? I really don't know.
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