Eugene P. answered • 05/16/21
3 Literature Courses at NOVA and 3+ Literature Courses at GMU
"What Hope Gives" 6/27/15
This poem is published in Ursa Major Literary Magazine (Forest Park High School). Mrs. Dowling was the Creative Writing teacher at the time. It is published in the Kaleidoscope edition (2016) found in Lulu.com (Lulu publishing). I am so grateful for being published. At the time in high school, I didn't know the value of getting published. I thought it was just for show or for publicity. But it is so much more than that. It allows readers the opportunity to become advanced writers like the published authors themselves.
What love instills, loneliness kills.
What joy gathers, hatred severs.
What trust creates, sadness takes.
Constant, forever. Over and over.
And on this Earth, on this land,
Here you are, here you stand,
Forgotten, hated, crying.
A smile lost, a teardrop.
Yet, what hatred takes, love creates.
What sadness severs, joy gathers.
What loneliness kills, trust instills.
In this way, this time, this day,
No smile is lost, no tear dropped.
Things I would ask my students about include:
1.) What is the imagery? Figurative language? Rhyme scheme?
This imagery is more complex than typical nature poems or romance poems. This poem focuses on emotions themselves, which are psychological and inherent, rather than specific objects or love interests. The first stanza only completely rhymes in the first line (middle of line rhyme). The second line rhymes approximately (approximate rhyme). The third line has assonance (as the strong, uppercase 'A' sound is there). The second stanza has middle of line rhyme. "Land" and "stand" rhyme. "Sadness severs" is alliterative. There are images of teardrops, smiles, and the Earth. The juxtaposition of the land's stability and certainty as a solid form counters the feelings that the addressee of the narrator's enunciations feels (where the second person pronouns come in).
The final stanza has reversed the positioning of the verbs, and the verbs are on different lines when compared to the first stanza's positioning. Yet, the noun feelings are switched in the final stanza. So, it takes on a whole new set of meanings.
2.) What is the poet's purpose, and who are the poet's audiences (primary, secondary, etc.)?
The purpose is to show the colors of the rainbow as lenses for new ideas and perspectives. We need to change how we view emotions. Emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ, is just as important, if not more important, than IQ. It's shocking for me as a tutor to say that, but it's true; I believe that with all my soul. Additionally, with every negative emotion, there is a counterbalance to that: a positive emotion. Yin and yang as a concept represents this duality so well, I think. We enter the roller coaster of emotions throughout our adolescence and young adulthood. Yet, as we mature, we begin to master our emotions, controlling our feelings. Not being easily wooed or flirty by or with people we like is one aspect of this. Not being easily temperamental is another aspect of this. Frustration happens a lot when studying, especially when we don't know the right answers. I hope my answer will provide some clarity for your studying process.
I think the primary audience is anyone who has experienced trauma. This poem is a guide, a therapeutic guide. I've done plenty of therapy for my condition, and there's nothing wrong with that. We have to eliminate the stigma of mental health disorders. We are more than just our diagnoses and disorders; we are human with just as much love and hate as everyone else. The secondary audience could be loved ones of those who have experienced trauma. Support systems are important for every person, especially traumatized people. Your therapist, your nurse, your psychiatrist, your teachers, your classmates, your friends, your family members, etc. -- these comprise your support system.
