Megan Married Herself

Megan Married Herself

By Caroline Bird

She arrived at the country mansion in a silver limousine.

She’d sent out invitations and everything:

her name written twice with “&” in the middle,

the calligraphy of coupling.

She strode down the aisle to “At Last” by Etta James,

faced the celebrant like a keen soldier reporting for duty,

her voice shaky yet sure. I do. I do.

“You may now kiss the mirror.” Applause. Confetti.

Every single one of the hundred and forty guests

deemed the service “unimprovable.”

Especially the vows. So “from the heart.”

Her wedding gown was ivory; pointedly off-white,

“After all, we’ve shared a bed for thirty-two years,”

she quipped in her first speech,

“I’m hardly virginal if you know what I mean.”

(No one knew exactly what she meant.)

Not a soul questioned their devotion.

You only had to look at them. Hand cupped in hand.

Smiling out of the same eyes. You could sense

their secret language, bone-deep, blended blood.

Toasts were frequent, tearful. One guest

eyed his wife — hovering harmlessly at the bar — and

imagined what his life might’ve been if

he’d responded, years ago, to that offer in his head:

“I’m the only one who will ever truly understand you.

Marry me, Derek. I love you. Marry me.”

At the time, he hadn’t taken his proposal seriously.

He recharged his champagne flute, watched

the newlywed cut her five-tiered cake, both hands

on the knife. “Is it too late for us to try?” Derek whispered

to no one, as the bride glided herself onto the dance floor,

taking turns first to lead then follow.

I chose this poem because I really liked how it showed that you do not need anyone to be happy or to get married. The poem really showed that you have the ability to love yourself and that you are your best friend. The person (Megan) has a deep connection with herself and who she is, and she believes that you do not need another person to express love. The reason why I really liked this is because many people in our society currently believe that they need another person in their life to have love but actually you can find love within  yourself and I loved that idea. To some people may think that the person in the poem might have in "issue/problem" because it is out of the usual but to me, when i read the poem I did not really think that it was weird, I actually found it interesting.

the things you did

you were not wrong for leaving

you were wrong for coming back

and thinking

you could have me

when it was convenient 

and leave when it was not

- Rupi Kaur

I chose this poem from Milk and Honey because even though it is short, it explains  an ongoing cycle of emotional abuse I went through for about a year. A cycle that many people in this generation face. We trap ourselves in these abusive relationships whether they be physical, emotional, or mental and wonder what we did wrong to deserve it. The girl I was with broke my heart 4 separate times. Every time after the other I knew what was to come. I knew she would leave for a few weeks and then come back, and then again in about two months. The cycle of here and there hurt more than the determination of the relationship itself because when it was over, it was finally over. The poem says exactly that; it was okay for the person to finally leave, but what was not okay was leaving and coming back, leaving and coming back. That is what does the real damage.

I love you

I Love You

Related Poem Content Details

BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX

I love your lips when they’re wet with wine 

And red with a wild desire; 

I love your eyes when the lovelight lies 

Lit with a passionate fire. 

I love your arms when the warm white flesh 

Touches mine in a fond embrace; 

I love your hair when the strands enmesh 

Your kisses against my face. 

Not for me the cold, calm kiss 

Of a virgin’s bloodless love; 

Not for me the saint’s white bliss, 

Nor the heart of a spotless dove. 

But give me the love that so freely gives 

And laughs at the whole world’s blame, 

With your body so young and warm in my arms, 

It sets my poor heart aflame. 

So kiss me sweet with your warm wet mouth, 

Still fragrant with ruby wine, 

And say with a fervor born of the South 

That your body and soul are mine. 

Clasp me close in your warm young arms, 

While the pale stars shine above, 

And we’ll live our whole young lives away 

In the joys of a living love. 

The title of this poem jumped out at me simply because the title is a phrase everyone has heard at some point on their life, whether coming from a significant other or a family member. I chose this poem because I am a romantic at heart and I thought the sappiness of the poem was cute. I liked how the poet was listing off things they loved about the reader. I also chose this poem because I liked how descriptive it was. I felt like I could really picture everything the poet loved about the reader. I could feel the emotion that the poet wants to convey and love the way it was written.

If you were coming in the fall

If you were coming in the fall
By Emily Dickinson

If you were coming in the fall,  
I íd brush the summer by  
With half a smile and half a spurn,  
As housewives do a fly.  
   
If I could see you in a year,          
I íd wind the months in balls,  
And put them each in separate drawers,  
Until their time befalls.  
   
If only centuries delayed,  
I íd count them on my hand,         
Subtracting till my fingers dropped  
Into Van Diemenís land.  
   
If certain, when this life was out,  
That yours and mine should be,  
I íd toss it yonder like a rind,         
And taste eternity.  
   
But now, all ignorant of the length  
Of timeís uncertain wing,  
It goads me, like the goblin bee,  
That will not state its sting.

I chose the poem "If you were coming in the fall" by Emily Dickinson.

the poem is about someone who's significant other has passed away.

One big thing I liked about this poem was the way she talked about

time passing. I noticed a lot of Emily Dickinson's poems were related

to nature which I found interesting. I liked how even though the

content of the poem is dark, the wording and tone has a happier

vibe to it.

The Quiet World

The Quiet World

Related Poem Content Details

BY JEFFREY MCDANIEL

In an effort to get people to look 

into each other’s eyes more, 

and also to appease the mutes, 

the government has decided 

to allot each person exactly one hundred   

and sixty-seven words, per day. 

When the phone rings, I put it to my ear   

without saying hello. In the restaurant   

I point at chicken noodle soup. 

I am adjusting well to the new way. 

Late at night, I call my long distance lover,   

proudly say I only used fifty-nine today.   

I saved the rest for you. 

When she doesn’t respond, 

I know she’s used up all her words,   

so I slowly whisper I love you 

thirty-two and a third times. 

After that, we just sit on the line   

and listen to each other breathe.

I chose this poem because I loved the idea of only having a certain amount of words you could speak everyday. I can't imagine that, but I find it so romantic that the poet saves all his words for the women he loves. He doesn't care that she didn't try to save her words for him, only repeats "i love you" over and over until he has no words left. I also find it very sad that the two lovers are long distance, so they aren't able to see each other- they have to rely on conversation over the phone. This is nearly impossible when they only have a certain amount of words, but their love stays strong. I thinking that is terribly romantic, and teaches me a little bit about what true love is. When you truly love someone, all that matters is if you're together. Whether they're right next to you, or you're listening to them silently breathe over the phone, as long as you know the other person is there, you will be content. 

Death of love and Nature

Neutral Tones

Related Poem Content Details

BY THOMAS HARDY

We stood by a pond that winter day, 

And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, 

And a few leaves lay on the starving sod; 

– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray. 

Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove 

Over tedious riddles of years ago; 

And some words played between us to and fro 

On which lost the more by our love. 

The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing 

Alive enough to have strength to die; 

And a grin of bitterness swept thereby 

Like an ominous bird a-wing…. 

Since then, keen lessons that love deceives, 

And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me 

Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree, 

And a pond edged with grayish leaves. 

I chose this poem because I liked the link to nature in the poem. In an un-obvious way, the poem compares love to nature. Their love was dead like nature is in winter. Their once, green, alive, colorful love had turned to dark, gray, dead nothingness. Winter is the end of the year, yet the beginning of new things to come, like the relationship between the two in the poem. Its a harsh reminder that all things die and nothing lasts forever. I like the honesty of it. Its not sugar coated and pathetic like most love poems. 

I'll Open the Window

I’ll Open the Window

By Anna Swir

Our embrace lasted too long. 

We loved right down to the bone. 

I hear the bones grind, I see 

our two skeletons. 

Now I am waiting 

till you leave, till 

the clatter of your shoes 

is heard no more. Now, silence. 

Tonight I am going to sleep alone 

on the bedclothes of purity. 

Aloneness 

is the first hygienic measure. 

Aloneness 

will enlarge the walls of the room, 

I will open the window 

and the large, frosty air will enter, 

healthy as tragedy. 

Human thoughts will enter 

and human concerns, 

misfortune of others, saintliness of others. 

They will converse softly and sternly. 

Do not come anymore. 

I am an animal 

very rarely. 

I choose this poem because it isn't about light, happy, flawless love like many of the others.  Theres an hoesty to it.  The beginning of the poem is pretty clear as to what it means.  The speaker and his/her significant other have held on too long.  The love is gone, and it's worn them down.  Then they finally separate.  The second half is less clear, but my interpretation of it is that the speaker feels the melancholic freedom that follows a break up, and knows that the choice to split up was a healthy thing to do. 

 The feelings felt at the height of a relationship are often not how someone truly feels.  They get caught up with the idea of love and project their feelings for it onto the person their with.  The speaker recognized that they were beyond that point, that it was time to be honest to themselves.  The love just wasn't their and it wasn't healthy to stay together without it

Fake Happiness

I Woke Up—Smiling

Related Poem Content Details

BY JIN HA 

                         to L. Y.

I was told that I was a sad man.

Sadness is a fatal disease in this place

where happiness is a key to success.

If you are sad, you are doomed to fail—

you can’t please your boss,

your long face won’t attract customers,

a few sighs are enough

to let your friends down.

 

Yesterday afternoon I met Pham,

a Vietnamese man who was once a general.

He came to this country

after nine years’ imprisonment.

Now he works hard as a custodian

and always avoids

meeting his former soldiers here,

because every one of them

is doing better than he is.

“Sadness,” he told me,

“is a luxury for me.

I have no time for it.

If I feel sad

I won’t be able to support my family.”

 

His words filled me with shame,

although I learned long ago

a busy bee feels no sorrow.

He made me realize I’m still a fortunate one

and ought to be happy and grateful

for having food in my stomach

and books to read.

 

I returned home humming a cheerful tune.

My wife smiled wondering

why I had suddenly become lighthearted.

My son followed me, laughing and frolicking,

while I was capering on the floor.

 

Last night

I went to a party in my dream.

Voices and laughter were drifting in a large hall

that was full of paintings and calligraphy.

Strolling with ease

I ran into the handwriting of yours

hung in the air

piece by piece waving like wings.

Dumbfounded, I turned

and saw you sitting on a chair,

motionless, the same lean detached face,

only your blue clothes had grown darker.

Something snapped in my chest

and my tears flowed.

What’s the use of promising?

I have promised, a hundred times,

but never returned. Wherever we go

our cause is the same:

to make a living and raise children.

If a poem arises, it’s merely

an accidental blessing.

 

For several hours my heart ached,

but I woke up—smiling.

    I really liked this poem because it spoke to me personally. We live in a society and a world that is not always easy..depending on who you are. Making a living is hard, raising children is hard, just being alive is hard...but we are expected to look happy all the time. At our jobs, we are supposed to look happy in order to  make sales or we get talked to by our boss for not putting on a mask. In school we are supposed to look happy or people might report you to the guidance counselor for being depressed or think you're being dramatic. In public, we are supposed to look happy because someone always has it worse, right? In advertisement, they always look happy and smiling but everything is fake. We are forced to put on a face and keep pushing when things in our lives may be giving us no reason to really smile. The double standard in this poem is very strong. We are expected to take on so much and deal with so much tragedy in our lives, yet its almost unacceptable to show the pain we are really going through. But what is worse, acting happy when your not, or dealing with the consequences of showing your true feelings? Its easier to just look happy...

Love Poem: Windchime

Windchime 

By Tony Hoagland 

She goes out to hang the windchime 

in her nightie and her work boots. 

It’s six-thirty in the morning 

and she’s standing on the plastic ice chest 

tiptoe to reach the crossbeam of the porch, 

windchime in her left hand, 

hammer in her right, the nail 

gripped tight between her teeth 

but nothing happens next because 

she’s trying to figure out 

how to switch #1 with #3. 

She must have been standing in the kitchen, 

coffee in her hand, asleep, 

when she heard it—the wind blowing 

through the sound the windchime 

wasn’t making 

because it wasn’t there. 

No one, including me, especially anymore believes 

till death do us part, 

but I can see what I would miss in leaving— 

the way her ankles go into the work boots

as she stands upon the ice chest; 

the problem scrunched into her forehead;

the little kissable mouth 

with the nail in it.

I chose the poem Windchime by Tony Hoagland because it is a very simple, but can be interpreted in many ways. A girl in work boots using a hammer and nail could make it seem like she is in the southern country side, but it can also be taken as a girl and her lover just moving into the country side, since she is about to hang a windchime outside her home. This poem also shows that the lover of this girl in work boots hanging a windchime is about to leave her, since he says "but I can see what I would miss in leaving-the way her ankles go in her work boots...". Although, that can also be taken as the lover just thinking about how he should never leave her. This poem has many interpretations, which is why I chose Windchime by Tony Hoagland. 

Weeping Woman, Pablo Picasso

I picked the Weeping Woman, by Picasso. As we are all approaching graduation and the end of our high school time, it is a stressful time between college, AP exams, senior classes, senior dues, all the activities we do as seniors. On top of our jobs, friendship, families and sports. We can all say we are stressed out!!!! When I look at this painting I sense o sort of stress from it. The unevenness of the shapes and the color choices. This painting to me is like a painting of senioritis. This paining expresses how I feel approaching all the things in my life.

I consider this painting an ideal work of art because it's not only a very well known painting but it's also and abstract painting that every person interprets differently. While I find it stressful others may find it calming. Some people could consider her happy and some could argue she is sad. This is one of those paintings that will be famous forever and it's abstract colors and the use of cubism make it an unique piece of art. 

My love poem choice

I Love You

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I love your lips when they’re wet with wine 

And red with a wild desire; 

I love your eyes when the lovelight lies 

Lit with a passionate fire. 

I love your arms when the warm white flesh 

Touches mine in a fond embrace; 

I love your hair when the strands enmesh 

Your kisses against my face. 

Not for me the cold, calm kiss 

Of a virgin’s bloodless love; 

Not for me the saint’s white bliss, 

Nor the heart of a spotless dove. 

But give me the love that so freely gives 

And laughs at the whole world’s blame, 

With your body so young and warm in my arms, 

It sets my poor heart aflame. 

So kiss me sweet with your warm wet mouth, 

Still fragrant with ruby wine, 

And say with a fervor born of the South 

That your body and soul are mine. 

Clasp me close in your warm young arms, 

While the pale stars shine above, 

And we’ll live our whole young lives away 

In the joys of a living love. 

I picked this poem because it has a very deep connection between the person who is writing this poem and the person they are talking about. It uses food and drink imagery with the wine to describe how much they desire their lips when they are looking at them. You could say the person writing this poem has some sort of "illness" because they seem to have an obsession with the person they are talking about that is very powerful. The love portrayed in this poem seems very true and is a poem that is easy to understand. The person does a good job of using many types of imagery to make me feel as though I'm experiencing this experience with them.

Song: to Celia

Song: to Celia
By Ben Jonson

Come, my Celia, let us prove, 

While we can, the sports of love; 

Time will not be ours forever; 

He at length our good will sever. 

Spend not then his gifts in vain. 

Suns that set may rise again; 

But if once we lose this light, 

’Tis with us perpetual night. 

Why should we defer our joys? 

Fame and rumor are but toys. 

Cannot we delude the eyes 

Of a few poor household spies, 

Or his easier ears beguile, 

So removèd by our wile? 

’Tis no sin love’s fruit to steal; 

But the sweet thefts to reveal, 

To be taken, to be seen, 

These have crimes accounted been.

Song: to Celia was the first poem that really stuck with me and had evoked a sense of understanding, not based on my own life but just what seemed.. natural. I imagine this poem to be a story of a young couple that resemble Romeo and Juliet in that they have a great love that is in the spotlight of prying eyes. They are not necessarily famous but rather a unique couple that created curiosity in those around them. Love is hoped to last a lifetime for them, as the speaker makes many references to the light and day, that they will not last forever; to make the most of the time they have together. Those with lingering eyes and irrelevant opinions should be ignored because it is not their concern what happens between the two. Similarly, it is not as if their love is anything more scandalous than what has occurred before them.

Many of the points made within this poem are a reflection of how I believe a great relationship, or love, should be viewed as. "Fame and rumor are but toys" (line 10) stood out because in the few meaningful relationships I have had, these two factors had tested the waters. What others thought of the relationship made a great impact on its health, and not for the better. In an ideal world curiosity in other peoples' lives would be minimal and always encouraging. There is so much negativity that floats about relationships, purely based on opinions that should not have as great an impact as they do. This poem is a letter from a lover to their gift, taking the leap to say forget the negativity and opinions, it is just the two of them and no one else matters. The light they have will last as long as they live and they should focus on what they have, not what others believe they lack.

metaphors in We Never Know

We Never Know

Related Poem Content Details

BY YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA

He danced with tall grass 

for a moment, like he was swaying 

with a woman. Our gun barrels 

glowed white-hot. 

When I got to him, 

a blue halo 

of flies had already claimed him. 

I pulled the crumbled photograph 

from his fingers. 

There's no other way 

to say this: I fell in love. 

The morning cleared again, 

except for a distant mortar 

& somewhere choppers taking off. 

I slid the wallet into his pocket 

& turned him over, so he wouldn't be 

kissing the ground.

     I only had to read this poem once and I got the chills. It is typical that any piece of work with the topic of war speaks volumes to me. When the speaker says "He danced with tall grass" I analyzed this as a soldier graciously swaying in the grass as he falls to his death after being shot. This use of imagery allows us readers to be able to paint a picture of a soldier, fighting for his country, falling to his last seconds of life. 

   

     When the speaker of the poem pulls the photograph from the fallen soldiers hands, I find this part of the poem more beautiful than i can put into  words. When a soldier dies and his (or her)  men come across his body, or he dies in the arms of one of his men, the note and picture(s) kept in their pocket is taken out of his pocket and returned home to his or her family. These soldiers human beings with families and love that goes so deep that they come out and literally fight for what they believe in. 

     The speaker of the poem shows respect for the soldier belonging to the opposing country by turning his body over so his face wasn't in the dirt. The picture I am able to create of this poem is so vivid and that is exactly why I chose it. Not only is it a poem that speaks volumes, but the use of imagery is so diligent. This poem portrays the feeling of loss, meaning, and tragedy; however, love encompasses all of those feelings and has the most power over all. 

Country Love Song

Country Love Song

Related Poem Content Details

BY MELANIE ALMEDER

I try to think of the cup of a hand, 

of legs in a tangle, and not the thistle 

though even it, purpled, spiking away, 

wants to be admired, wants to say, whistle 

a little for me. O every little thing wants 

to be loved, wants to be marked by the cry 

that brings desire to it, even blue-eyed fly 

to the bloated hiss of death. To love is to be remiss: 

the horse alone in the wide flat field nods 

its head as if the bridle and bit were missed 

or mocked; the cow slung with the unmilked weight 

of her tremendous teats shoots a look back over her shoulder 

at O lonesome me. I want to say to her need 

as if crooning could be enough, 

sweet, sweet mama . . . truth be told, 

the thousand lisping bees to the milkweeds' honey 

terrifies me. When the stink of slurry season 

is over and the greened fields are slathered, fecund, 

overtall foxgloves tip with the weight of their fruit. 

Then I dream a little dream of you 

and me, curled like two grubs on the top of a leaf 

wind-driven and scudding along the lake's surface. 

All night we glide to its blue harbor 

and back again. The fattened slack of us 

singing O darlin' darlin' darlin'.

For my poem, I picked Country Love Song. When I first picked it, I picked it because I like the country lifestyle. My friends make fun of me and call me a hick or redneck. Although I don't think I'm either. I also picked it because I like the description of a country setting. Another reason for picking this poem is because I really like the hallmark channel and this poem reminds of the hallmark channel. The setting in this poem just sounds so surreal and relaxing. 

Watercolor Fall

Have you ever thought about your favorite season? If so, I'm assuming there are good memories that you associate with that. You may even think of life changing events that occurred during that season one year or maybe even bad memories. That's what Fall is for me. It is nostalgic. Fall is a time of change. Watercolors are also meaningful to me. They're messy in a way that is beautiful. I've always been fond of them.

Fall is a time of change for me in many ways. The trees are changing color, the air is getting colder, the days are getting darker sooner. Not only that, but school always starts. I have been to four different high schools, two of them which I have been to twice each. I've always had a new school in the fall. Always. There was never consistency. I move a lot in the fall. In ways, I hate how life worked out but yet I always find positivity. In the fall when things change, it feels like a breath of fresh air literally and figuratively. 

All of this change has shaped me into a person who I am confidently proud of. I'm not trying to write a sob story, but I am glad that I've taken all the negativity in my life and made something positive of it. Many of these changes have been messy very much like a watercolor. Family has become mad, money has been tight, I have to leave all on my "new friends" and make even newer friends, etc. BUT I've realized out of all of this that life is so short. Take a second and just think about that. It sounds cheesy but tomorrow is never promised. We shouldn't be sad about change or mad because things don't work out the way we hoped they would. We should embrace everything life hands us. I love this piece of artwork. I do. It reminds me of how I got where I am today. Needless to say, Fall is my favorite season.