Nefelibata by Ivy Waite

Nefelibata “Cloud Walker” Emma Shipton

CONTENTS Name Vignette..............................1 Original Poems..........................4-9

Unrealistic Expectations.................5 Never Ending Cycle........................6 Fall.....................................................7 Broken Promises..............................8 Breaking Free...................................9

Found Poems.........................12-17

Change............................................13 The Rose that Grew from Concrete..........................................14 The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee..15 The Road Not Taken.....................16 Barbie Doll......................................17

Connection to Me.......................19 Resources Used...........................21

To all of those who wander, may you find yourself in the things you least expect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.â&#x20AC;? -Albert Einstein

Name Vignette Why do we let something so simple dictate who we are? Truth be told I’ve never thought about my name until now. Emma. A four-letter word meaning whole and universal in the English language. But I see love, a connection that there once was between two people who also love me. Whole and universal, how can something so simple have such a large meaning? Whoever wrote the description of my name must have been insane. How can a thin, long legged, fiery person, such as myself be compared to something so large and significant? Emma like the stars and the moon, Emma like the universe. Princess, another attribute added to the list of expectations stapled to my name by my own mother. However I feel this is a characteristic others believe I live up to. The makeup, the clothes and the hair accessories are evidence of how I appear to strangers, but also friends, as a princess. Even though I’m not an enchanting princess, in the eyes of my family I am due to my bossy attitude and girly behavior. When I look in the mirror I see an ordinary teenage girl, not the beautiful mesmerizing princesses in old Disney movies. Even though I’m not named after a famous singer or royalty, I’m named after family, one of the most important things to me. My loving godmother but also my role model, Donna and my beautiful red haired grandmother, Jeanice. Although these are only my middle names, I wonder if I will also take on their personalities? As much as I love them, I am my own person and will not become a replica to lives that aren’t mine. My name is perfect, while at times I will hate it, I will never change it. Although I also enjoy the name Cassandra I’m glad my parents chose Emma instead. It’s not a childish name nor is it an old ladies name. It’s elegant but simple, like a princess. It’s common and universal like the signs on the side of a road. It’s the name that rolls off the tongue beautifully. It’s something I will grow into like a new pair of jeans. It’s me and that’s all it will ever be. Emma Donna Jeanice is the only person I will ever be.

Original Poems 4

Unrealistic Expectations Emma Shipton The perfect long blonde hair, sun kissed skin, blue eyes, legs for days… No matter what, expectations are always going to held over your head. No matter what we will always have the unrealistic presumptions of society, only it’s not just girls, it’s boys too. Everyone believes that no matter what girls have it the worst, but put yourself in a boy’s shoes. They have the expectation to look like the boys that pop-up on tumblr, nice toned bodies, beautiful hair, tall, tan skin… No matter what we will always have the unrealistic presumptions of society, only it’s not just girls, it’s boys too. These impractical ideas are the reason for our dying society. People anonymously hating on each other behind lit up screens, talking behind each other’s backs, making fun of that one girl in your science class because she stays in on Friday nights. But the word society, it’s just a word, a word that we made so at the end of the day we have something to blame for our demoralized souls. When it’s all said and done, we accuse the thing we are.

I used repetition in the first half of my poem, to create a reoccurring theme of the ‘unrealistic presumptions of society’. I use similes in different places throughout my poem as a comparison of like or as. The theme I was trying to get at in this poem was the idea of how we blame what we truly are, now matter what humans will always make up society and we will always blame what we are without realizing it, and it will go on and on until, we accept each other for the beautiful individuals we are.

Never Ending Cycle Emma Shipton

Losing you wasn’t a good or bad thing, I didn’t even feel it right away. You just left me there, lost under your wing. You left me abandoned on that Monday. Only I still think about how it went Broken, busted, bleeding pieces to mend, The blistered segments you didn’t prevent, and that one hand you didn’t even extend. But on days like today, I think of you And reminisce of the good times and bad. Just maybe I begin to miss you too… I’m then reminded to why I was mad. But it’s better you took another path I hope you’re happy with the aftermath

In my second stanza and 2nd line I use alliteration in my writing to make the context to get across the point of a hyperbole. I used metaphors in a few lines throughout my metaphor, an example of where I used a metaphor is ‘Broken, busted, bleeding pieces to mend,’ pieces can definitely be broken and busted, but bleeding is something that a piece of something cannot do. It’s not a living thing therefore it is a metaphor. Since this is a sonnet I use an abab, cdcd, efef, gg rhyming scheme. My poem also follows the pattern of using 10 syllables in each line. Then tone of this poem was supposed to angry, but it was something a little shy of that and by just reading through and not paying attention to the tone you would think I wrote it with sad thoughts on my mind.

Fall Emma Shipton

Power to forget, smashed hearts, broken memories; Plummet like fall leaves

The kigo (season word) I used in my haiku was Fall, I used it to establish the time the story within my haiku took place during. The kireji (cutting word) was forget, this was where I separated the first half of my haiku from the second half (the separation of two ideas). I used a simile in the ending portion of my haiku to give a stronger representation of the broken memories and smashed hearts. I also used metaphors when I say ‘smashed hearts, broken memories;’ this line was meant to symbolize how broken the person/family truly is. It’s a metaphor because hearts can’t literally be smashed only metaphorically, and it’s the same with broken memories, you can always forget but you can’t break an inanimate object. 7

Broken Promises Emma Shipton

The tone I used throughout my poem definitely wasn’t upbeat or happy but it was more of a questioning tone, I say this because throughout the tone I directly asked a question or it was hidden underneath the actual text. I tried to demonstrate the theme of moving on, even if it’s hard. In the beginning I try to bring the message across that marriage isn’t something to take lightly, it’s a commitment you’re making to someone for the rest of your life. Then I go on to say that when couples divorce it leaves a mark that can’t be erased and no matter how hard we try, it’s difficult to move on.

How

can

a promise so big, possibly be formed into a small golden hoop? How can an inanimate object form a bond so closely between two people? These connections aren’t meant to be broken, but every now and then a kink is created. Sometimes these kinks are mended and sometimes they fall apart and crash to the ground like your mothers good china plates, and most of the time they break. If the kink was fixed, it will more often then not come back to haunt you, like old skeletons in a closet. A thing so significant thrown away like it was nothing at all, tearing apart families and building news ones. Sometimes for the better, other times for the worse. But the golden sphere that holds everything together stays in place, its doesn’t evaporate like the steam hovering over your cup of tea. It’s always there, a reminder of a love there once was between two people, a relationship that once existed and wouldn’t go down without a fight. But it did, it crashed, it burned, it was thrown down and there was nothing anyone could do to fix it. They built a loving home together, they created a family. But after the connection was broken everything followed. 8

Breaking Free Emma Shipton Putting up walls, blocking others out, shying away from people, running away from problems. Why do I do this to myself? Why can’t I just confront the things that scare me… or can I? Breaking my walls, letting others in, opening up to people, stepping forward to face my problems. The difference between fight or flight, is in one word. A word so simple, yet so intricate. Confidence. That word, holds all the answers.

The theme in this poem was originality, becoming a new person. In the first half of my poem, I talk about how I’m like a sealed box that can’t be opened. Then in the second half of my poem, I talk about how the protagonist has begun to open up, began to realize who they are, and start building confidence. The tone I used in the first stanza was more of a sad or gloomy tone. Then in the last sentence I like to say the light came through which transferred the tone to a happy or prettier image. The background images I feel helped reflect the tone. I used the same images but edited them differently to portray the different messages the stanzas told.

Found Poems 12

Change Ally Norris

The kiss of the leaves When they reach the snowless ground, And signify change

The kireji used in Norris’ poem was ‘ground,’ it divided the first half from the second half, another reason I believe this is the kireji is because the first two lines flow together as one and then there is a pause for the second portion of the poem. The kigo used was ‘leaves’ because it helps clarify to the reader that it’s not winter, the kigo links to the word snowless, letting the reader know that the poem takes place in fall. The tone I got throughout Norris’ poem wasn’t clear, when you read it you think of the change she refers to as a good thing, but after reading it once or twice, that change could also be a bad thing. In the end I decided the tone was happy, as though you are the person wanting change for the better. 13

The Rose that Grew from Concrete Tupac Shakur Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature’s law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping it’s dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.

To me this poem was symbolism for bullying and managing to strive through. At first I didn’t believe there was any symbolism but I made the connection between the rose being ‘the bullied’ and life was the bully. ‘Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.’ The rose strived to stay alive and keep positive no matter what life through at it. It learned to live through thick and thin. Another idea of symbolism I got from this poem was originality, nobody can tell that rose was to do, it grew from concrete proving so many theories wrong it is original. The rhythm of this poem flowed well and as I read it, it had a specific beat and specific points where the readers voice gets more powerful. It flowed well due to the placing of commas and other punctuation and word choices.

The Delight Song of Tsoai- Talee N. Scott Momaday I am a feather on the bright sky I am the blue horse that runs in the plain I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water I am the shadow that follows a child I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows I am an eagle playing with the wind I am a cluster of bright beads I am the farthest star I am the cold of the dawn I am the roaring of the rain I am the glitter on the crust of the snow I am the long track of the moon in the lake I am a flame of four colors I am a deer standing away in the dusk I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche I am an angle of geese in the winter sky I am the hunger of a young wolf I am the whole dream of these things You see, I am alive, I am alive I stand in a good relation to the earth I stand in good relation to the gods I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte You see, I am alive, I am alive.

I believe the poet chose to use parallelism to emphasize the message of originality and reflect his uniqueness coming across throughout the poem. An example of parallelism in this specific poem is right at the beginning she starts with I am…, I am…, I am…, and so on. Another element that the poet chose to use throughout the poem would be metaphors, he didn’t say I am like the hunger of a young wolf; he stated he was to exaggerate the point of him being himself. The other literary element I found in this poem would be repetition, ‘You see, I am alive, I am alive’, he used this sentence once at the beginning of a new concept then again at the end of the point. I personally think it was an interesting way to the end the poem, because it felt as though the poem was being ended softly instead of abruptly. 15

The Road Not Taken Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be on traveler, long I stood And look down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

The particular poem has a different rhyming scheme. Instead of aabb or abab, Frost chose to use the pattern of abaab. The theme of this poem was choosing between two different paths, and having it dictate where you go in life. Frost, himself ‘took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.’ The first time I read this poem I couldn’t find the tone, but after reading the piece a few more times, the tone I got off of the poem was more of a questioning tone (a blur) until the end when Frost presented ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.’ And this is when the tone changed upbeat and more clear.

Barbie Doll Marge Piercy This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy. Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs.

She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle. Her good nature wore out like a fan belt. So she cut of her nose and her legs and offered them up.

In the casket displayed on satin she l with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and whi nightie. Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said. Consummation at last To every woman a happy ending.

She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity. She went to and fro apologizing. Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.

This poem gives the strong image of societies expectations of perfection. Barbie Doll leads us through the life of a girl who wasn’t ‘perfect’; it starts with her birth and how she was a healthy baby girl. But then goes on to say when she started school she came to the realization that she wanted to change. The person she saw in the mirror scared her, she wanted to be perfect due to societies’ unrealistic standards. This poem has such a powerful message coming through, the realism the poet brought to her writing made you feel as though you were the girl. Along with the realism it brings in imagery and helps to paint a mental image of her struggle. The rhythm was choppy, constantly using commons making sure that the read takes a moment to breathe and rest. Breaking the sentence into different sections making it more like a list. I feel the rhythm reflected the flow of her life, rough and bumpy, until the end when she finally accepted herself for someone she’s not.

Connection to Me Throughout my anthology I cover the topics of Family, Societal Impacts and Individuality. Although I don’t remember it that well, when I was younger my parents went through a divorce and that’s where I link my poems Fall & Broken Promises. “A thing so significant thrown away like it was nothing at all, tearing apart families and building news one. Sometimes for the better other times, for the worse.” As the years past, both my parents began seeing others and building relationships, I also began growing further and further apart from my dad. That’s where I linked my poem Never Ending Cycle, this poem entails my love hate relationship with my dad. Societal Impacts are the other reoccurring theme I touch upon throughout my written and found poems. In Barbie Doll & Unrealistic Expectations, I believe the poems shows, how self conscious girls and boys are, but the weight that society puts on your shoulders to look similar to famous actors/singers. This poem specifically links to me because of how self-conscious I am and how I believe that I must portray the perfect features to be accepted. But every now and then it gets to me, making me feel like I don’t belong. “In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie. Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said.” One of these times the perfect image is going to hurt someone in the worst way possible. The next two poems I included (The Rose that Grew from Concrete & Breaking Free) have a different message, but still relate to society. They talk about breaking away from societies idea of perfection and becoming their own person. I related this two poems to me because breaking free is what I want to do, I don’t want to be self conscious anymore, I want to have the confidence to leave my house without makeup on. Individuality was the last theme I decided to portray throughout my anthology. Individuality is an important aspect to my life, I don’t want to be one of those people who follow the crowd and never break away. Although at times I do stick with the crowd, I can break away at anytime I please. To represent individuality I found the poems The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee, Change and The Road Not Taken. All of these poems gave me the idea of taking my own path and becoming the person I want to be and not following everyone else. They also put the image of creating myself, and building myself into how I want to be without any influence from those around me. The last aspect I got from these three poems was realizing who I am, now I haven’t totally figured it out but I’m on the path of becoming a person I want to be and deciding where it will take me in the future.

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