Jenn+Wright

=="If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold  that no fire  can ever warm me, I know it is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know this is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?" -Emily Dickinson ==

__**Poetry by Jenn Wright** __

My poems are always about things I am familiar with. That is always my philosophy when it comes to poetry. I believe that it will be most authentic and inspiring when it is focused on something I know about. Normally, I feel inclined to write in rhyme schemes. Some feel that it is constricting, but it helps me focus my thoughts. When I think of rhymes it forces me to manipulate the words. I am a story teller, so I always feel comfortable with paragraphs. When I am writing poetry and do not include rhyming, I feel like it looks and sounds like the makings of a paragraph. For example in my Ode, the topic of Halloween stuck because I thought of the rhyming words "treat" and "eat". The idea of feeling too old for Halloween was something that I encountered this past year, so I felt like it would be fresh and creative. I like using enjambments instead of complete thoughts. It is rare for my poetry to ever include a period for a similar reason. I feel like the poem is one complete thought instead of many put together.

__**An Ode to Halloween** __

A Trick or a Treat but we don't really mean just give me a treat or I'll walk away whining

To save or to eat is the unlimited question while I trod up and down walks, house after house

My costume intact for about 30 minutes <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">until I get sick of the mask, hat or feathers

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Candy piled and stacked <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I'm already home about 9 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">sorting through my mounds of candy deciding what to keep

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">That was the routine <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">for the majority of my youth <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">year after year the excitement ensued

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">But now I'm sixteen <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">and halloween has changed <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">no longer am I "so cute and creative", just assumed trouble

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I can stay out late <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">and heck I can still wear a costume <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">but the ultimate question now is, how to get candy?

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Simple solution so great, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">find a kid to escort, till 9 walk around <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Now mischief and costumes can happen, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">and candy for me is still abound

__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Roxanne** __

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">There once was a girl who was called Roxanne <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">attempting conversation with her crush <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">this occurrence, how her story began <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">her problem was she knew not when to hush <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">she resented her foot-in-mouth attack <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">when she did not know what to say him <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">he looked at her puzzled,and she had to backtrack <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">sadly he probably thought she was just dim <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Roxanne had tried to conceal her issue <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">up until she was picked for the big team <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">they brought the news, she asked for a tissue <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">she could now accomplish a newer dream <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">she learned that her flexible foot was wanted <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">with an Olympic gymnast team she flaunted

__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**I Was Raised By....** __

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I was raised by <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">early to bed <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">early to rise <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">quick to work <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">quicker back home <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Everyday dinner <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">sit at the table <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">share your day <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">cleanup <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">together <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">go about your business <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Every night chores <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">work on the laundry <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">load the dishwasher <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">get it done <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">together <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">All the time laughs <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">distract from the stress <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">makes jokes on each other <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">pout, then makeup <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">togther <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Always warm <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">turn up the heat <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">be sure to shower <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">get your homework done! <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">by myself <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Every year vacation <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">one week at the shore <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">ride bikes with Dad <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">eat one or two fancy dinners <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">together <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Always working hard <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">go to work everyday <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">bring home what we need <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">provide <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">together <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Every time you showed me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">doesn't matter if you're <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">blue purple of green <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">treat me, I'll treat you <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">all the same <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Some nights work late <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">don't worry <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I'll cook <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">don't worry <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I'll clean up <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"I wasn't' worried, knew you would." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Every single time <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Call when you get there." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Be aware of your surroundings." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"Be home for dinner, you know." <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">together <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kind of parents

__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**My Right Ear** __

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">My Right Ear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">hears but <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">ONLY <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the right thing <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">hears from a little me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">dressed in white <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">from a little me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">donning a head of circular light <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">a little me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">that guides the real me to the correct choice <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">living on my shoulder <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the Right Ear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">hears only what is wants to hear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ignore the other ear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">actually you should fear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">is what my Right tells me of my Left Ear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">My Left Ear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">hears but <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">ONLY <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the wrong thing <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">hears from a little me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">dressed in red <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">from a little me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">with horns upon my head <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">a little me <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">that guides the real me to the wrong choice <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">living on my shoulder <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">encouraging me to be an indulger <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Left Ear <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">hears only when I do not adhere <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">to my other ear who is "mature, intelligent" <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">but "naive and callow" <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">is how "I" wallow <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">when the real me follows along <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">but not for long, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I'll give in to myself myself on the next wrong

__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 120%;">**Kay Ryan** __

__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Repetition** __

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Trying to walk <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the same way <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">to the same store <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">takes high-wire <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">balance: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">each step <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">not exactly <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">as before <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">risks chasms <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">of flatness. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">One stumble <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">alone and <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">nothing <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">happens. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Few are <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the willing <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">and fewer <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the champions.

"Repetition" by Kay Ryan talks about doing things we are practiced in and them being difficult. This poem is especially inviting because of its originality. Normally poems are about how scary doing new things are, whereas this one goes an entirely new direction. The poet's intention makes this poem unique in idea and offers a distinct insight on repeating actions in life. It is admirable to think of one trying something new, but instead the author discusses the difficulty in duplicating endeavors. "Each step not exactly as before" is indicative of this meaning. Though she states it is the walk "to the same store", and one is familiar with it, makes it nearly impossible or requires "high wire balance" to repeat the identical steps as before. One of the most interesting lines is "chasms of flatness". A chasm is a crack in the ground. This could mean a crack in the normal goings-on of life. Each step one takes could potentially disrupt the order. But she then goes on to talk about that if you stumble, no one is there and nothing happens. The ending wraps the idea up perfectly. She says that few are willing to try, in some cases could be staying true to themselves in emotion or repeating the same daily actions over and over. This could be taken for a literal or figurative meaning, either way the authors refers to them as champions. One thing left to ponder, is whether the poet was intending that being the champion is good or bad.

__<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Carrying a Ladder** __

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">We are always <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">really carrying <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">a ladder, but it’s <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">invisible. We <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">only know <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">something’s <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the matter: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">something precious <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">crashes; easy doors <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">prove impassable. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Or, in the body, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">there’s too much <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">swing or off- <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">center gravity. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">And, in the mind, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">a drunken capacity, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">access to out-of-range <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">apples. As though <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">one had a way to climb <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">out of the damage <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">and apology. Kay Ryan's poem "Carrying a Ladder" personifies a ladder within all of us. The use of the metaphor with the ladder and the tone creates simplicity. This technique offers effortless understanding of a normally complicated idea about the power of autonomy. It is easy to see a ladder in the mind and the poet bridges the gap between an everyday object and a complex emotion. This metaphor is the basis of the whole poem. She writes that people possess an invisible ladder within themselves. That ladder is accessible when something happens. Whether it’s when we can't accomplish easy things, something inside us is just not right, or when we cannot gain the knowledge we need, we have the ladder to save us. As for the knowledge not gained, Ryan uses the image of an apple. It can be seen almost as a token of free will. Situations can be changed. Good or bad is irrelevant; we have the power to undo them.

The language of the poem adds to the enticing nature of it. All of the words are simple in meaning but are put into a way that make them attractive. "Easy doors prove impassable" is a good example. Using the recognizable words "easy" and "doors" with the word "impassable" make the sentence much more regal in meaning. Though no rhyme scheme is detectable, the line enjambments add emphasis on particular words. Writing "really carrying" and putting "invisible" on its own line are purposeful. Finally, the tone of the poem is especially important. The poet seems to have written this in a way that makes it reflective or amenable in some ways. Her grasp on the fact that this is a part of life and that the ladder is accessible if taken advantage makes for a thought-provoking poem. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> __<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">**Things Shouldn't Be So Hard** __

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">A life should leave <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">deep tracks: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">ruts where she <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">went out and back <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">to get the mail <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">or move the hose <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">around the yard; <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">where she used to <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">stand before the sink, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">a worn-out place; <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">beneath her hand <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the china knobs <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">rubbed down to <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">white pastilles; <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the switch she <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">used to feel for <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">in the dark <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">almost erased. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Her things should <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">keep her marks. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The passage <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">of a life should show; <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">it should abrade. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">And when life stops, <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">a certain space— <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">however small — <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">should be left scarred <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> by the grand and <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">damaging parade. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Things shouldn't <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">be so hard. This poem by Kay Ryan titled "Things Shouldn't Be So Hard" gives life to what is left behind //after// life. This poem gives the reader a melancholy feeling about space one occupies and what happens to it after death. The first line of the poem sums up what the whole poem is about. "A life should leave deep tracks:" is what Ryan attempts to convey throughout. On the next line she uses the word rut which makes the reader think of a groove carved into the ground where she walked and lived. The next part gives the reader an idea of what kind of person this woman may have been. She is said to do things around the house, especially doing the dishes. "The china knobs rubbed down to white pastilles" shows significance of a hard worked life. China is finely crafted ceramic and they are described as being rubbed down to the constancy of a small candy. Next, the poet expresses a feeling similar to dissatisfaction at the idea that there isn't a space left after death. Her use of the word "should" indicates her belief that this woman and other's lives and works should manifest themselves after their human life ceases. Ryan's wording in "should be left scarred by the grand and damaging parade" is very rich in context. She compares life to a parade grand and damaging. This is insightful comparing life to a parade being grand in stature and important but leaves an awful mess and crowds of people.