Writer's Portfolio: Poetry Assignment

Preface: Poetry has always been an interest of mine, and I feel this unit has rewarded me, as I've honed my tool belt of skills needed to craft a good poem. I always had the thought that poems must rhyme in order for them to be "good" and I consistently made sure every stanza followed a rhyme scheme. However, I slowly learned that this limited the depths of my creativity, to what extent did I want to go in my writing? What was the purpose I was trying to convey? With this final poetry assignment, I think I did an excellent job both in my Haiku and Free Verse. I received wonderful feedback from both Ms. Thorpe and various students in the class, and I think especially in my free verse I was essentially 'free' to write from my own heart; I let the words pour out and did not have to worry whether they rhymed or not. I had never written a Haiku before this course and was surprised at the simplicity, yet depth it conveyed. This unit really allowed me to understand that there are vast forms of poetry out there, and a writer does not necessarily need to conform to one. I think in the future, I would like to try different schemes as though I wrote with a purpose of 'a narrative poem' in mind, my free verse turned out drastically different. However, I think I excelled in utilizing anaphoric elements in both pieces.

                                                   Credit// Living Electro

1. Haiku

Death

Inky eyes, jet black-

Heaven’s indignant messenger.

Death, waits for no one.

    

2.   Free Verse

Palpitations of the heart

My heart

Beat swiftly

When you first entered the room. “Don’t,” I whispered -

But, still I dared to look at you,

You smiled

Oh no.

My heart

Beat quickly

The day you sat next to me,

I felt your gaze

It made it hard to breathe,

You made it hard to breathe.

My heart

Flooded with-

Joy. Why would you like me?

“I’m nothing special.”

“You’re special to me,”

Your lips left a lasting imprint.

My heart

Jolted, confused,

When you started to drift away,

Don’t go-

You promised we were infinite,

Promises are made to be broken.

My heart

Grieved, knowing

It was over,

With a shrug, you moved on

I shut my eyes. Longing to fade into nothingness,

I couldn’t.

My heart

Seethed with

Quiet rage, when she smiled,

A pretty smile. It made it hard to hate her,

God, I wished I could hate her.

My heart

Jumped when

You brushed past me, tingles rushing up my spine,

Did you want me?

What a disappointment.

You just needed to get someplace else, wherever she was-

Obviously.

My heart

Deflated to

The pit of my stomach. It was truly over.

But slowly, it inched back up.

I realized,

I didn’t need you. What a new feeling of –

Acceptance.

My heart

Now, feels for

The other girl

With the pretty smile– in tears,

Maybe I’ll go comfort her,

Heal a broken heart, like my own.