A journey through my identity with lots of poetry 17
Dedicated to the person who inspires me the most, Bryan
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Disclaimer This anthology has been created and published as part of a school project aimed at: encouraging young writers to explore their identity through literature, specifically poetry; allowing young writers to experiment with language; and providing the opportunity for youth to expand their understanding of the power of words through visualization. Students have worked hard to create a polished product, using a variety of tools such as Photoshop. There is a list at the end of this document that gives credit to all artists for their words or their images if the information was available. If your work is represented here but not credited, we apologize for the oversight. Please know we did not intend to slight you or claim your work solely as our own. We greatly appreciate your artistry and thank you for your inspiration!
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Paper lanterns emitting auras of light Shops and signs everywhere the eye can see The street crowded with people of all ages The scent of Dim sum cannot go unnoticed Markets full of food and spices Souvenir shops stocked with silk and spirits for strong stomachs Bakery’s amassed with Bao and Cake Take the wrong flight of stairs And you might just lose all your money In a simple game of Mahjong Crack! The firecrackers launch high in the sky The streets light up like the 4th of july When everyone comes and celebrates The start of a new year Watch in awe as the dragons dance Gather with your family and friends You may be the one receiving red envelopes With money inside, or be the one handing them out To your dearest friend or even your grandchild A trip you will1 never regret Is a trip down to Chinatown
ړຉྦྷ៧ This poem contains a simile, an alliteration, and an onomatapeia. In this I talk about souvenir shops, how vibrant it is during chinese new year, and emulate the sound of a firecracker. This poem tries to emit a imaginative mood, one where you imagine Chinatown as the place that it is with the bright lights and crowded streets. The tone is expressive, because for once I know what i’m talkig about This poem is all about my culture and heritage, half of family is chinese and with that I have been immersed in the culture of the chinese people. So in this poem I talk about some of the things I’ve seen as I have been enjoying the culture of one half of my family. One of the things no one can erase is their heritage, and I am proud of mine. 2
The Covey Appears Gliding through the Bright Blue Sky: Spring has heard our Calls
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This haiku contains the the kigo and the kireji, a seasonal word and a cutting word. I decided to avoid the use of any figurative language because it would just feel forced in a poem like this.
This poem is about my personality, and the winter blues I get. I think that the winter months are the months where I get the most down and springtime is my favorite season, with nice temperatures and it signifies the end of spring, What I am saying in my poem is that spring is coming back and with that so is all the beautiful nature and wildlife. For me its the same, spring is the return of my bright sideand is the set of months I4most enjoy out of all in the calendar year.
The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them 22
This poem starts off with a metaphor and extends on that with multiple different analogies. This comparison rich poem along wih the strong message makes me drawn towards this poem. I believe the metaphor is also an example of symbolism, because trust is not actually a thin sheet of glass, but it can sure break like one.
Trust is a shiny crystal sheet of glass Not something to take advantage of It’s not a little girl’s pig tailed doll That when her brother tears its head off, can be easily replace When you break someones trust You almost never get it back It is limited within a person And it’s something that isn’t missed Until it’s cracked Shattered Gone. 5
This poem talks about trust, something I value a lot. Its important that you never break someones trust, because that is the way you become alienated from those you hold deer. This, I think is applicable to me because the people I surround myself with are the people that I can trust, and the people that surround make up parts of my identity. In other words the trust I have in someone is the lifeline of our friendship, if it breaks, so does our relationship.
“I don't wanna be black, I don’t wanna be white, I just wanna be a man today I don't wanna be a Christian, Muslim, gay, straight, or bi, see you later, bye Not perceived by the things I believe or the color of my skin Or the fact I’m attracted to her, maybe him Or the fact I’m a single mother living all alone Looking for a man and a home to call my 6
I picked this song because its from the genre of music I listen to and is one of the songs <i knnow that spreads a powerful message so I decided to throw it on here. This song is all about accepting yourself, and accepting others. Not by the color of their skin but by their actions on a daily basis. With everything going on around the world people are scared to spread their message, but logic has done a great job of communicating to his audience of issues bigger then money with a target audience that is right inside his listening demographic. Overall, I think its very important to accept yourself and other people for who they are and everyone should be willing to fight for their equality. 7
Boredom.
It cannot be described or defined by words.
A state of mind that you can’t explain
Boredom doesn’t mean depressed, or apathetic
You can’t analogize the feeling of boredom
You just feel like you can’t take it anymore
You want to do something else
But sometimes you just can’t
You can’t escape real boredom
It’s like a plague, spreading around and hard to get rid of.
People say you can make something exciting
But sometimes you can’t
You can’t get rid of the feeling
The feeling that you want to be somewhere else
The solution to boredom is abstract
For some it doesn’t exist
For some, time passes by so slowly
If theres one thing nobody truly understands, it’s
Boredom.
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This poem has repitition and personification. I repeat the word boredom over and over again so it more resonates in your head and I personify it with the plague, because you can make other people bored when your bored.
This poem is really just talking about how boredom is a problem in my life, and its one of those things where I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop it from infesting me sometimes and just making my life hard. Now, I know that I have been gifted with a great life and you shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really be bored when others wish they had what you do, but yet still I just get bored sometimes against my will. This is a huge part of my personality and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thinkI can ever escape, its like one of those solar eclipse stories but in mine boredom chases me down forever.
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There is one man that will help every time
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When you need inspiration for a poem
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When you fail to make your poetry rhyme
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Your mind will beam once Mike Cho has spoken
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Its like he always has the solution
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To the hardest problems that you throw him
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His jokes provide you with resolution
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Hes the man you can bank on when life’s grim
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I could go on about how Mike’s the best
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But instead I’ll stray a bit off topic
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I want to go on a spiritual quest
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And live in a temple somewhere tropic
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With all of his help my poetry flows
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I quite like the guy 10 who’s known as Mike Cho
This poem has the ababcdcd etc. rhyme scheme contained in all sonnets. It also contains a hyperbole that exagerates mike and his problem solving, because he cannot solve if John F. Kennedyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assassination was a conspiracy or not  or a wide bundle of other things. And he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the solution to all my problems, but at times in sure seems like it There are also a couple times, where I start off a sentence with a word, and start another sentence with the same word in the next sentence, this is parralellism. A sonnet is a love poem, and you can love people without being intimate or anything, right?This poem explore the lighthearted side of me and while poetry should be written while contemplating deep thoughts there should also be some poetry that you can gain inspiration for and just write lightheartedly, this is an example of this where I just talk about Mike for a while. Its also good to surround yourself with supportive friends but remember not to 11 use condescendment on them to get your way.
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This poem is about respecting yourself and knowing when a relationship is toxic, It does not contain figurative language except for metaphorical thingys, that I am on the fence of if they are actually metaphors.
However, the meaning of this poem is to know when your being used as a tool and removing yourself from that situation, In life people have the entitlement to think that you are below them and its about freeing yourself from those type of people and developing the self consciousness to realize that you are being used. This is something I keep in mind of on a daily basis and believe that everyone should have the right to express themselves and not be under the thumb of others.
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Give thanks for your Family
Give thanks for your Water
Give thanks for your Body
Give thanks for the Earth
Give thanks for the Air
Give thanks for Others
Give thanks for Mind
Give thanks for Food
Give thanks for Life
Give thanks for Fire
Give thanks for Art
Whatever it is
for which you give thanks,
I beseech of us all:
just please show
14 and gratitude!
some respect
This is another poem that I think does a great job of representing my ethics. While it lacks the figurative language it conveys an overarching message that a lot of people should consider. Its taken me a while to realize how lucky I am to have hot meals, clean water and internet everyday.
“Things you take for granted someone else is praying for”
This poem is about thinking about all the gifts you have in life and about how you need to savor these gifts and not take them for granted. As someone who is living well it is important for me to realize that I am in a position where others aren’t and instead of taking these gifts for granted I need to make it my goal to give back in any possible way I can when I’m at 15 the age
“It all goes away. Eventually, everything goes away.”
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the worst kind of pain
Is the kind you feel in your soul
It slowly devours everything
and weighs you down
Until you can't move
It hurts more than any burn
any bruise
any scar
because it can't heal
no matter what you do
its always there inside you
but no one can see it
Frankly, this poem isnt very â&#x20AC;&#x153;poeticâ&#x20AC;?, but it was just the powerfullness and relatability that drew me to it. It didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t include many poetic elements either, it was just a poem I chose because it had a message that hits home for me.
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This poem talks about pain you can never get rid of, emotional pain that is always there. This is one of the few struggles I can truly relate to. Having someone who had a part in my life everyday gone was and still is the most painful experience of my life. I will never get over the grief I experienced during this time in my life, but I can say this is one the experiences that truely hardened me and made me who I am. Something about an experience like this allows you to cope to the hardest of troubles, something that helps me today
Calm and Chaos, The moment where the Ball is idle The moment where everyone is still The moment where the ball is the air The moment where you can here the contact of helmets Calm and Chaos, The moment of silence to appreciate The moment of peace and quiet The moment after The moment of loud and proud Its all part of the game
This poem is about one of my main hobbies and includes juxtaposition and parallelism. I compare calm and chaos and this poem is one extended juxtaposition contrasting moments of silence, and then moments of loud noises, moments of focus, and moments of chaos. Football is probably my favorite sport and one of my main hobbies so I have to represent my love for it somewhere in a poem about my identity, what better then to make it one of my poems. Theres really not more to it, this poem is just about 20 appreciating the game I love and the beautifulness of watching shoulders smash into helmets, now thats a bit weird, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m done now.
Bibliography https://genius.com/Logic-black-spiderman-lyrics https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/438678819945656897/ http://www.a2pwebdesign.com/poetrywits/poetrycontest/mook/ 2011/6-8_3.htm https://hellopoetry.com/poem/1092387/respect-and-gratitude/ https://me.me/i/the-worst-kind-of-pain-is-the-kind-youfeel-2422839
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