!" Is
Me
-Doro#y
!" poem an#ology " de$cated to my parents, wi#%t #em, I w%ldn’t be & way I am 'ght now.
My Vigne(e God’s Gift. Dorothy. I am honoured to have this name and be his “gift”, as I am very religious. Dorothy came from Greek origins, with “do-‐ra” meaning “gifts” and “thea” meaning “god”. However my Chinese name denotes a very different yet meaningful message. The Cirst character reminds me not to forget my hometown. The second character means sunrise. It is sacred like a priceless painting. At Cirst, I hated my name. My legal name, why would I hate it? My Chinese name is Zhao Zixu (赵梓 旭). It was unusual, unpronounceable and uncommon. Due to the nature of the character “Xu”, which is more commonly used in boys, my name is so different. Other girls I know have names as lovely as Clowers. As I grew older, I learned to appreciate my name. I learned to love the fact that I am unique. However I am still glad to go by my English name at school. This way no one has trouble pronouncing it. “Zi” is a central character in my name; it means, “not to forget my hometown”. “Xu” means the sunrise, and character-‐wise, it is made up of the characters “nine” and “sun.” This refers to the myth of the nine suns in the sky. The story behind this myth is that the world had nine suns at one point and then there were droughts and lack of water, it was too hot. People thought of an idea to shoot down eight of the suns so they have one left. From that day on, the world had less droughts and more water. My parents chose this character because I was born in the morning. The sun was glistening through the windows of my mother’s room, bringing good spirits into my body. It was golden. My parents named me Dorothy in English because my Chinese nickname is “dou dou”. In the Chinese culture, many people have nicknames. “Dou dou” is the big dipper in the night sky. This name is bright like every single star in that constellation. My mother always told me that Dorothy was a very special name and was closest to “dou dou”. I love all of my names, I love the way they sound, I love the message they give. I do not have a middle name. In fact, no one does in China. In the Chinese culture, names are usually two to four characters long. Last names can be one to two characters long and the “name” can also be one to two characters long. I do not think I will have a middle name. Both my Chinese and English names Cit my personality nicely. They are perfect just the way it is.
F%nd
Poems
Dreams
I think this poem is a free form
because the rhymes don’t
-By Langston Hughes
really match. The pattern
Hold fast to dreams
goes like, a,b,c ,b,a,e,f,e. I like how the poet repeated this line twice, “
For if dreams die
Hold fast to dreams”. I think the poet did this because he wanted to remind us of the theme. The theme is “follow dream. The poet also tells you your dreams” because this poem constantly reminds people to follow your
what life is if you don’t follow your dream. He did this through a metaphor, “Life is a broken-winged bird” and “Life is a barren field”. I think the poet did this again to remind us of the theme, to follow your dreams other -wise your life is going to change a way you don’t want it to change.
Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.
Family Violet Creek Family is supposed to have your back, Family is supposed to know you, There are supposed to be no secrets with family, There are supposed to be no lies with family, Family is supposed to love each other unconditionally, Family is supposed to be there for you, There is supposed to be understanding in a family, There is supposed to be trust in a family, Family is supposed to be there for you, Family is supposed to understand.
I Cind this poem unique because the rhyming is weird, it is a,b,c,c,c,b,c,c,b,e. I like how the Cirst words of each line is structures in an a,a,b,b,a,a,b,b,a,a. The word “understand” is repeated twice, I think the poet wanted to remind us that families are understanding and that is the most important part about being so close with them. I think the poet made this poem structured this way so it is almost like a list of rules. The poem is parallelism because they all start with either “family is supposed” or “There are supposed”. I think the poet did this to make a rhythm to it and to make it catchy so the audience would enjoy reading it more. The theme of this poem would be “family is you life,” because this whole poem talks about a family and it’s trying to say that your family is your life, it is what makes you.
Happy Chinese Rabbit Year By Lee Zhao R eunion, cheer up together A joyful, cherishable moment B ring along all good wishes What really drew me into this poem is how the poet structured this poem. I absolutely love how she made the first letter of every line spell out rabbit at the end. This makes the poem more fun to read because it is put in such an interesting structure. Although this poem is a free form poem, the word choices are really good.I like how the poet wrote this poem from the start of a new years party; people get together, all the way to the end of the party; “In the last minute …”. The theme of this poem would be “enjoy being with your family for the New Years”. The poem has a really cheerful tone in it because it is about families getting together for the New Years. Everything that Chinese families do in the New Year into a few lines. I also feel that this has
B less you, my friend and your family I n the last minute of the old year T oast to health and prosperous future
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
Last night, while I lay thinking here, some Whatifs crawled inside my ear and pranced and partied all night long and sang their same old Whatif song: Whatif I'm dumb in school? Whatif they've closed the swimming pool? Whatif I get beat up? Whatif there's poison in my cup? Whatif I start to cry? Whatif I get sick and die? Whatif I flunk that test? Whatif green hair grows on my chest? Whatif nobody likes me? Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me? Whatif I don't grow taller? Whatif my head starts getting smaller? Whatif the fish won't bite? Whatif the wind tears up my kite? Whatif they start a war? Whatif my parents get divorced? Whatif the bus is late? Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight? Whatif I tear my pants? Whatif I never learn to dance? Everything seems well, and then the nighttime Whatifs strike again!
I like how the poet wrote this in such an imaginative way where there are little bugs that are called “whatifs”. I like how the first four lines are about what the “whatifs” did in the persons ear, which is personification, how it said that the whatifs literally crawled into the persons ear. The poet did this because this is a poem for children and to make it funny. There was parallelism in this poem because the rest of the poem started with “Whatif” which was pretty funny because the bugs were called “whatifs”, I felt that this word meant two things; the name of the bug and what the word really means. The words rhyme in an AA BB structure. He is expressing all of the persons worries through rhyming. I also like how he says that the next night, the “Whatifs” come back and brings him more worries. This brings a concerned tone to the reader, which I think the poet did on purpose to lead us to the theme. The theme would be “sometimes worries take over you” because this person had so many worries that it continued the next night. This poem relates to so many people, not everyone may have those particular worries, but everyone has worries.
Calgary Dino’s Swim Team Cheer by the University Of Calgary Swim Club
red red red and gold, brave brave brave and bold. red and gold, brave and bold go Dinos go! go Dinos go!
This poem is catchy because it has rhythm in it which makes sense since this is a cheer. This cheer is said 3 times and each time you say it, it gets louder. We do this to get people energized and full of fun. The theme of this would be “motivation requires an exciting cheer,” which is why there is an exciting tone in this. The people who say it out loud feel the good luck brought to you by it. This helps the poem/cheer represent the swim team. There is repetition in this cheer to make people Cind it catchy and they can engage to it. “red red red” and “brave brave brave”.
W'(en
Poems
Music
By Doro#y Zhao
This is a concrete poem because the poem is in the shape of a music note. The poem starts on the left side of the music note, starting with “I love…” then ending on the right side. I made this poem of music a concrete poem because I think that music is a form of art. The poem itself is a free form with no rhymes in it. The theme would still be “music is my inspiration” because at times when you feel stressed, music will inspire you and keep you motivated. I feel that there is a calm tone in this poem because it is mainly focusing on listening to music when you are stressed. This helps the reader understand why music can help you.
Fear Dorothy Zhao Fear is when you are scared, A malignant spider as big as your hand, A scary 80 foot high cliff, A horror movie sending chills up your spine, But not everyone is scared, Because they choose not to, Fear is an option, Choose whether you want to be scared or not, Choose to be brave.
This poem is a free form because it has no rhymes or any other poetry “rule”. I put an alliteration sentence in the second-fourth line: “a malignant spider, a scary 80 foot high cliff, a horror movie sending chills up your spine,”. I did this to give out some examples of what people commonly fear. In the third line last line of this poem, I have a metaphor “fear is an option”, it is a metaphor because it is stating that something is the other, unlike a simile. I did this because I wanted to make people think that they shouldn’t choose to be scared. Instead of actually saying why you shouldn’t be scared, I wanted to make this straight up and tell people by using a metaphor. The theme for this poem can be “fear is an option,” I chose a line that is the most powerful for the theme because I feel that his whole poem is referring back to that line.
This poem is a free form but I tried to make it inter -‐esting by mak -‐ing each line colorful follow -‐ing the “ROY.G.BIV” order. I also made the lines spread By Doro#y Zhao out just like I was to paint a thick line of colors. The words represented the paint. I made the second last line a metaphor, I thought it was a good way to close off the poem. I already explained why painting is my life, now I just need to say it directly. There is a theme in this poem which is “painting is an indescribable feeling”. I chose a line from my poem to be the theme because it was the most deepest and powerful line in my poem. This helps the readers know how majestic painting can be. There is a relaxing tone to this poem because I usually paint relaxed, not when I’m in a crazy mood. I get inspired when I am more relaxed. I didn’t make this poem rhyme because
Painting
The Day I Was Born - Dorothy Zhao
First day of winter: My mom finally sees me, The very first time
This poem gives me a calm and relieved tone. I did this
because I think haiku’s should be calm. The Kigo (season word) in
this poem is winter. The Kireji (cutting word) is the colon. I put the colon in the beginning acting like a stop before I moved on to the
next two lines, which acts like one sentence. My haiku doesn’t
straight up tell you what’s going on, it actually gives a hint. I did
this so the readers can guess or find it obvious what I’m talking about. The theme for this poem is “what is better than a newborn
baby?” I think this fits for the theme because not everyone likes
winter, but when you have a newborn baby, you suddenly feel happy that it’s winter. This helps the readers enjoy life whether it is your least favorite season or not.
My Imagination Dorothy Zhao
Imagine if you were left on a boat, With no one there and you are all alone, In your own zone where you are left to float, Ending in places left behind unknown, Over the crashing waves tumbling down, You are never scared of what’s coming up, Never worrying whether you will drown, Watching for things that are coming close-up, Now finally a place you desire, Better than everything you’ve ever seen, Suddenly you fly higher and higher, Towards a place where you have never been, This is my wild imaginative mind, Some may say it was a dream you designed.
This
poem is a sonnet following the Shakespearian form. This poem looks very long but as you read it you Cind it really short because it has this exciting tone in it which makes people want to read on to see what happens next . I did this not to make people bored and to follow the 10 syllables per line rule as well. The main theme of this poem is “your imagination can be really wild” because in my summary lines it mentions “this is my wild imaginative mind”. This poem really digs deeper into my imagination, I sometimes daydream a lot and certainly feel like I’m on a boat Cloating to unknown places. This poem has some rhythm in it because it rhymes, and to me rhymes always seem to have some rhythm in them. At the end, the couplet does sum up my poem and also symbolizes my imagination with a rhyme at the end of each line. Making sure that each line was 10 syllables and every second line rhymed was really hard. Sonnets surprisingly help me think of rhymes, I feel that this kind of format is what makes the reader engaged into the poem.
A small part of my anthology is about dreaming. The poems I have that represent that are: Dreams by Langton Hughes and My Imagination by Dorothy Zhao. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to dream and I had a wild imagination, which is why I’m creative. “This is my wild imaginative mind, some may say it’s a dream you designed.” Dreams are so important because a dream is what you want to do when you grow up, what you are meant to do. “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-‐winged bird.” I think imagination relates to dreams because you need imagination to create a dream. “Suddenly you Bly higher and higher, towards a place where you have never been.” Family and my Chinese Culture is a very important part of my life. The following poems in my anthology represented it really well: Family by Violet Creek, Happy Chinese Rabbit Year by Lee Zhao, The Day I Was Born by Dorothy Zhao. My family is what makes up my life. “Family is supposed to love each other unconditionally.” Without a family I wouldn’t have anyone to nurture me when I was a baby nor have anyone to teach me lessons as I grew up. “Family is supposed to have your back.” My Chinese culture is important in my life, it is like a religion; it represents you and makes you special from others. “Toast to health and a prosperous future.” A pretty big part of my anthology is about my hobbies. The poems that relate to them are: Calgary Dino’s Swim Team Cheer by the University of Calgary, Painting by Dorothy Zhao, Music by Dorothy Zhao. I have done swimming since I was 8 and it was a huge part of my life because swimming was something I was good at and loved. “brave brave brave and bold.” I painted ever since I was 7 years old and I was good at it and I appreciated the fact that I was artistic. “A place where I can be free.” Listening to music was always something I did whether I was stressed, bored or just needed some inspiration. I listen to music almost everyday! “It makes me feel alive.” Worries and feelings were a part of my life that came pretty often and everyone has worries and feelings, it isn’t something to be ashamed or embarrassed about. I had two poems that represented that : “Fear” by Dorothy Zhao “Whatif” by Shel Silverstein. I have realized throughout the years of my life that I just need to take time and Cigure out that there is a reason why people have worries or fears and slowly become braver. “Fear is an option.” I used to have so many worries in school, sports, decisions and more. In fact, I still do and everyone has worries and it’s totally normal. “Everything seems well, then at nighttime Whatifs strike again!”
Work Cited Vignette & Part D Pictures: Harris, Cindy “25 Free HD Flowers Wallpapers”. newevolutiondesigns.com. Cindy Harris. http://newevolutiondesigns.com/ 25-free-hd-flowers-wallpapers date accessed, October 8 2013
Title Page Picture:
JASK, “Lexington Cherry Blossom Festival.” www.jask.org. JASK, published n.d. http://www.jask.org/ cherryblossomfestival date accessed, October 7 2013
Found Poem: Dreams Poem from: Hughes, Langston. “Dreams.” poemhunter.com. Langston Hughes, Published Friday, January 03, 2003. http://poemhunter.com/poem/dreams-2/ date accessed, October 3 2013 Picture from: yattamigeru. “Birds Flying on the sky wallpaper.” yattamigeru.deviantart.com. yattamigeru, n.d. http:// yattamigeru.deviantart.com/art/Birds-‐Flying-‐on-‐the-‐sky-‐Wallpaper-‐1920x1080-‐HD-‐313139601 Date accessed October 3 2013 Happy Chinese Rabbit Year Poem from: Zhao, Lee. “Happy Chinese Rabbit Year.” poemhunter.com. Lee Zhao, Published Tuesday February 01 2011. http://poemhunter.com/poem/happy-chinese-rabbit-year/ date accessed, October 3 2013 Picture from: Quidores, Jyppe A. “Free Red Chinese New Year Background with Yellow Highlight.” creativitywindow.com. Jyppe A. Quidores,
Published December 20 2012. http://creativitywindow.com/2012/12/free-‐red-‐chinese-‐new-‐year-‐background date accessed, October 3 2013 What If Poem from: Silverstein, Shel. “Whatif.” gather.com. Gautami Tripathy, Published September 10 2006. http://www.gather.com/ viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976790627 date accessed October 3 2013 Picture from: Bostrom, Bjorn. “What if your pain was actually your greatest gift?” spinalsense.com. Bjorn Bostrom, Published February 1 2013http://spinalsense.com/blog/what-if-your-pain-was-your-greatest-gift date accessed October 3 2013 Family. Poem from: Creek, Violet. “Family”. poemhunter.com. Violet Creek, Published Thursday May 12 2011. http://www.poemhunter.com/ poem/family-‐141/ date accessed October 3 2013 Picture from: Monstermarketplace. “Family Word Art”. monstermarketplace.com. Monstermarketplace, published n.d. http:// www.monstermarketplace.com/personalized-wall-letters-and-name-plaques/family-word-art date accessed October 4 2013 AnyOldCraft. “Friends are family word art digi stamp freebie”. anyoldcraft.blogspot.ca. AnyOldCraft, Published Thursday May 2 2013. http://anyoldcraft.blogspot.ca/2013/05/friends-are-family-word-art-digi-stamp.html date accessed October 4 2013 Shannon’s Custom Creations. “Love Word Art”. shannonscustomcreations.net. Shannon’s Custom Creations, published n.d. http://www.shannonscustomcreations.net/homedecor.aspx date accessed October 4 2013
Calgary Dino’s Cheer Poem from: University Of Calgary Swim Club (no website, the team made it up) Picture from: Moll, David/University of Calgary. “Calgary Dino’s Pool”. swimswam.com. University of Calgary, published n.d. http:// swimswam.com/the-cis-swimming-championships-photo-vault/ date accessed October 4 2013
Written Poems: Fear Poem from: Dorothy Zhao Picture from: Sopp, Alistair. “Cliff diver snapped jumping 30m into sea in Cornwall, UK.” whatsonxiamen.com. What’s on Xiamen, published July 27 2010 http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/health1820.html date accessed October 4 2013 My Imagination Poem from: Dorothy Zhao Picture from: KIAC Internet Radio, “Shout!.”iacmusic.com. KIAC Internet Radio, published August 21 2012. http://www.iacmusic.com/ station.aspx?StationID=7483 date accessed October 4 2013
Winter Haiku Poem from: Dorothy Zhao Picture from: Telusers, “HD snowClake wallpapers 23107 HD wallpapers” telusers.com. Zackary_Telusers, published June 18 2013. http:// telusers.com/hd-‐snowClake-‐wallpapers-‐23107-‐hd-‐wallpapers.html date accessed October 4 2013 Music Poem from: Dorothy Zhao Picture from: Deviantart. “Grundge Music Frame.” deviantart.com. x-‐nerd, published August 31 2009. http://x-‐nerd.deviantart.com/art/ Grunge-‐Music-‐Frame-‐135459394 date accessed October 4 2013 Painting Poem from: Dorothy Zhao Picture from: Collins, Phil. “Too Broad a Brush.” philstudents.blogspot.ca. Phil Collins, published Sunday September 21 2008. http:// philstudents.blogspot.ca/2008/09/too-‐broad-‐brush.html date accessed October 4 2013 Burns, Lisa. “CMYK.” Im-‐burns1114-‐dc.blogspot.ca. Lisa Burns, published Friday November 9 2012. http://lm-‐burns1114-‐ dc.blogspot.ca/2012/11/what-‐is-‐design-‐for-‐print-‐colour-‐models.html date accessed October 4 2013
Getty Images. “wooden easel with blank canvas isolated on white.” istockphoto.com. tiler84, published June 05, 2008. http:// www.istockphoto.com/stock-‐photo-‐6425602-‐wooden-‐easel-‐with-‐blank-‐canvas-‐isolated-‐on-‐white.php date accessed October 4 2013