Original Poem, "Life"

This is my first original poem that I wrote about a year ago. I was inspired to write it, because I would be constantly walking by myself and I would always catch my self suddenly looking to either direction as if something had abruptly moved. Nothing was ever there, so it got me thinking of abstract ideas and thoughts; eventually, I wrote down one of these thought processes and ended up with this poem.

“Life”

Jon Skovira

As I walk through a nameless place

What lifeless motion catches my eye?

Nothing, No one present

But jolting reflex causes my head to turn,

Suddenly.

Nothing, no one present

Life is prominent, even here

This nameless place abundant

With goals, dreams and future.

This place, is my own.

Not yet written, not yet thought.

What lifeless motion catches my eye?

The fractional thought of all that is mine.

Essay on Rumi's poem, "Who Makes These Changes?"

Rumi’s Use of Religion: The Indication of God

               The 13^th century Sufi mystic Rumi wrote many poems that express his spirituality and connection with God. In the poem, “Who Makes These Changes?” in Rumi’s book of collection of poem’s named, The Essential Rumi, a figure (presumably Rumi) states a series of instances that he/she has no control over. By questioning who is making these changes, one can assume that these actions are not controlled by the figure, but are rather in the hands of a higher power. Rumi being a religious figure, the reader can assume that this higher power is actually God. The significance of this statement is the connection that Rumi has with God and his poems.  This connection is evident in most of his poems, especially in “Changes”.

               One key dilemma that the reader faces in this poem is who the figure in this poem actually is.  One can safely assume that it is an unnamed person who Rumi writes about to use as an example. However, if one is familiar with Rumi and his work you can deduct that he places himself as the subject of many of his poems and “Changes” is no different.

               Rumi was a Sufi preacher, in which he traveled and spoke of his religion with his poems like “Changes”. Seeing that this poem could have originally been spoken and written later, the reader can safely place Rumi as the subject.

               Throughout the poem, the figure which I identify as Rumi, does multiple actions ending with a consequence, or an unwanted result.  Rumi writes, “I shoot an arrow right. It lands left”, this shows an action that seemingly Rumi has control over. (Rumi, 2-3). There are many assumptions one can make about who or what actually caused the arrow to land left; such as, gravity, strong winds, other natural elements, or a higher more spiritual power such as God.  

               One can safely assume that God is this higher power, because the title of the poem is not “What Makes These Changes?”, but it is “Who Makes These Changes?”. The question is directed to a person, rather than an object.  Another example of an unwanted reaction Rumi writes, “I dig pits to trap others and fall in” (Rumi, 8-9).  This could possibly have been just an accident, but correlating with the title it is clear that someone made Rumi fall in. With Sufism, along with essentially all religions, a key lesson that is taught is to treat other’s as you would like to be treated.  In this case, God is teaching Rumi this lesson. 

              To better understand Rumi and his deep connection to God, one must first understand a basic knowledge of what Rumi himself believes.   The Oxford Dictionary defines Sufism as “Islamic mysticism often referred to as the internalization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice. Sufis strive to constantly be aware of God's presence, stressing contemplation over action, spiritual development over legalism, and cultivation of the soul over social interaction”.  This definition provides insight to a key component of Sufism; the fact that Sufis are constantly trying to feel God’s presence in every action.

               With this information, one can clearly deduct that God is the one who is the reason behind these consequences and unwanted results.

                The Rumi poem “Who Makes These Changes?” questions the reasoning for the actions and the unwanted results. By questioning, Rumi gives up the possibility that he is in control of his actions. Rumi being a religious character one can safely assume with the information presented that God is the reason for these outcomes.

               Ultimately, this argument stretches beyond this poem. The information presented can not only be applied to “Who Makes These Changes”, but it also addresses background knowledge of both Rumi and his connection with his religion. This also shows how Rumi incorporates this religious connection to his literary works. With this information a reader will be given a foundation to successfully deduce a Rumi work.  

Sappho: Poem #1

Sappho is desperately asking the Greek goddess Aphrodite yet again to grant her wish to find love and partnership, as well as mend her repeatedly broken heart; and Aphrodite is so fed up with Sappho asking for this wish constantly that she directly grants this wish without much care or accuracy. One key piece of evidence of this is, "O blessed one, smiled in your deathless face and asked what (now again) I have suffered and why (now again) I am calling out" (15,16). Here, Sappho is asking what and why she is suffering yet again, which shows that this is not the first time she has made a similar plea. Another key piece of evidence is "Whom should I persuade (now again)" (18). In this line, Aphrodite seems to be sarcastically and nonchalantly answering Sappho's plea. Further evidence comes in the second to last stanza, "If she does not love, soon she will love even unwilling" (23,24). Aphrodite does not give a pronoun in her answer, offering a wide variety of questions. Whom will she find love with? This lack of pronoun offers evidence that maybe Aphrodite was fed up with Sappho and granted the wish to the one she was pursuing, rather than Sappho herself.

Dissection of "Prayer to the Gods of the Night"

               After dissecting the poem, Prayer to the Gods of the Night, I was able to find many figurative devices that help the author convey the emotion and feel of the text to connect the reader to the moment written. Being that it is my first time actually dissecting a poem I may have missed some figurative devices.

              Imagery is used in the first four lines. The description puts the reader into that moment of the time.  The line “the night is veiled” is a metonymy, because to veil something is to cover it. The night covers the land in darkness.  The line “a sleepless client” is a synecdoche, because the “client” is a “client” of the gods of the day. Another figurative device I found was in the line “the father of the poor, the judge” where the judge is a symbol as doing for the poor what a father would do for his children, such as protection; which a judge helps to provide. Another form of symbolism is the representations in nature that represent the gods of the night; such as, “Irra the valiant, the Goat, the Bison”.  Finally, I saw that the last two lines of the text are an example of semantic parallelism. The lines “Established the truth in the ritual omen; in the offered lamb establish the truth” are using different words to say the same idea to portray an intensified end to the moment of the text.

             The poem utilizes the technique to compare by using the previously mentioned figurative devices. These devices help compare the town sleeping and day becoming night to help set up the “voice of the lone wayfarer” desperately try and connect with the gods of the day who are now leaving the land.

             The poem also catalogues the lines and the different moments that are happening simultaneously throughout the poem by organizing these moments so the lines match up. The lines match up to put focus on the significance of each set of lines. For example, while the gods have “gone into the quiet of the sky” the judge “has gone into his”. At that same moment the “lone wayfarer” is calling to the Shamash or Ishtar.

             The poem states and varies through semantic parallelism. Throughout the poem the author uses different words to say a similar statement, which thus provides an intensified statement. An example of semantic parallelism is in the first four lines all say how day has turned into night using different words.

               A brief explanation of this poem is that it starts out by stating the different actions of a town go through that show the day has come to an end such as, “the gates of the town are closed….doorbolts are fastened”.  I feel that this part of the poem reaches out to the mortal feeling of the town as a whole by stating normal human behavior.

               The poem then turns to the actions of the immortal that “have gone into the quiet of the sky”. This is ironic because the next sets of lines tell of a traveler praying to the gods who have just left.  This is an empty cry, because the gods the traveler calls for have “gone into sleeping”.  

               After this, the “gods of the night come forth”. Judging from what the god’s symbols in nature were, I felt that the traveler was shouting out for protection from the night. The traveler prays to the gods for protection, but they, as well as the judge who I viewed as a symbol of mortal protection, are all asleep. 

               The traveler then turns to the gods of the night. I had the sense that the gods of the night were the ones that wanted the offering of the lamb. The gods of the night seemed to be more “vicious” with such symbols as a viper or a dragon, which would want such an offering to establish “the truth” about the traveler’s future.

"Praise Song for the Day"

   Personally I believe that object of praise in this poem is love.  Ms. Alexander references events of the past that have gotten us to where we are as a group today, such as “who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges” and so on. I feel these references of the past are meant to be loved. To love those who came before us and to love the opportunity we have been given to make the future bright. The poem does not need to describe in depthly this love, because this poem is an occasional poem. The poem is not meant for any one moment, but rather a mulititude of moments of happiness and joy. These moments are often times special occasions such as a graduation or a wedding, in this case it was the inauguration.  Ms. Alexander in her interview with Stephen Colbert mentioned gradutations, promotions, any joyous occasion. 

Introduction

This blog is for my World Poetry Class in SUNY Fredonia. My name is Jon Skovira and I am a History and Social Studies Adolescent Education major. My goal is too put at least one analysis of each of the poems that are covered throughout the course. Through this, I hope to learn more about Ancient Poetry by expressing my own thoughts and collaborating them with the thoughts of my peers.