"Underwear" -Lawrence Ferlinghetti

I didn’t get much sleep last night  thinking about underwear  Have you ever stopped to consider  underwear in the abstract  When you really dig into it  some shocking problems are raised  Underwear is something we all have to deal with  Everyone wears some kind of underwear  Even Indians wear underwear  Even Cubans wear underwear The Pope wears underwear I hope  The Governor of Louisiana wears underwear I saw him on TV  He must have had tight underwear  He squirmed a lot  Underwear can really get you in a bind  You have seen the underwear ads for men and women  so alike but so different  Women’s underwear holds things up  Men’s underwear holds things down  Underwear is one thing  men and women do have in common  Underwear is all we have between us  You have seen the three-color pictures  with crotches encircled  to show the areas of extra strength  with three-way stretch  promising full freedom of action  Don’t be deceived  It’s all based on the two-party system  which doesn’t allow much freedom of choice  the way things are set up  America in its Underwear  struggles thru the night  Underwear controls everything in the end  Take foundation garments for instance  They are really fascist forms  of underground government  making people believe  something but the truth  telling you what you can of can’t do  Did you ever try to get around a girdle Perhaps Non-Violent Action  is the only answer  Did Gandhi wear a girdle?  Did Lady Macbeth wear a girdle?  Was that why Macbeth murdered sleep? And the spot she was always rubbing - Was it really her underwear? Modern anglosaxon ladies must have huge guilt complexes always washing and washing and washing Out damned spot Underwear with spots very suspicious Underwear with bulges very shocking Underwear on clothesline a great flag of freedom Someone has escaped his Underwear May be naked somewhere Help! But don’t worry Everybody’s still hung up in it There won’t be no real revolution And poetry still the underwear of the soul And underwear still covering a multitude of faults  in the geological sense - strange sedimentary stones, inscrutable cracks!  If I were you I’d keep aside  an oversize pair of winter underwear  Do not go naked into that good night  And in the meantime  keep calm and warm and dry  No use stirring ourselves up prematurely  ‘over Nothing’ Move forward with dignity  hand in vest  Don’t get emotional  And death shall have no dominion  There’s plenty of time my darling  Are we not still young and easy?

Thomas Sayers Ellis

I attended Ellis' poetry reading Monday and must say that I was disappointed. I was really impressed and entertained by the videos you showed us in class Monday. I went to the reading expecting what I had seen in the National Poetry Slam videos but left the reading let down. I will give him credit for the risk he takes with his writing and how it is definitely unique, but his style did not take a liking to me. Honestly, I found the performance more of an annoyance. There were many times where I was not even able to understand what he was saying, therefore I could not even grasp the principle of his words. There were a few times where I was able to pick out a few lines, and some were pretty powerful. Overall, his work seemed to choppy with an inconsistent flow of thoughts and rhythm. It did not appeal to me at all.
If I had to choose a favorite, or a few, a couple that stood out to me was the one where he talked of how he played percussion and his 'poetry line' then spoke a poem based on that in mind. Another was "About Time." Both are in his new book, "Skin Ink."
Although I was thoroughly disappointed by this poet, I still am glad I went, believe it or not. I like how this course is exposing me to so many different styles of poetry and writers. I find it really interesting and I am learning so much. I have noticed that I am loving poetry even more than I did when I enrolled into this course! By the way, I really am hoping that we are able to put together a course which will allow us to concentrate on the study of poetry from another country with the opportunity available for us to travel there as well. That would expose even deeper into a subject in which I have such a growing passion for.
I can say with great sincerity, that I am looking forward to future poetry reading held on campus.

Best Class Ever.

Today, we talked of how the free verse structure in poetry is much more common in the present day poetry. It is a more modern form of structure and was introduced by Walt Whitman. I am very thankful for this man and for his courage to actually go through with publishing his free verse poetry. Why am I thankful? Because it's probably my favorite structure of poetry. To me, the lack of rhyme, meter, and pattern, leaves the poem as just dry emotion, which is very appealing to me. When rhyme is added in, it's to "sing-songy" for me, and it doesn't seem as real. It seems as if things are more of a lie or dramatized just so it fits within a certain structure and set of guidelines and rules. With free verse, you make your poem whatever you want it to be. That's how poetry should be. It should be the expression of ones emotions and thoughts in whichever way pleases the writer most. That's what I see free verse as.
You read us a number of your poems today from your book, "Mother Love". I honestly loved them all. And I promise I am not just saying this to be a suck-up and hope for an A in your class. I was really drawn to your writing and just got done searching for your book on Amazon.com. However, the book, "The House on Beartown Road" came up in my search. Did you write that too? If so, I am buying it! But, I really would love to own a copy of "Mother Love". (Please excuse any typos, or grammatical errors. I don't know if your works should be in italics, underlined or in quotations. I just took a guess.)
I had an awesome time in class today and this is definitely my favorite lesson so far. I would love for you to read more of your work in our class, or even have a separate poetry reading, or both! I hope, that as time passes, I am able to write as well and with as much heart-felt emotion as you are able to.
Thank you so much for sharing your poems with the class today.

Meters!!

In previous classes, we have discussed the variations of characteristics that a poem can have in order to set it apart from the rest. Every poem is unique due to the different qualities they hold.
We talked about how there is a great deal of imagery, symbolism, metaphor, simile, and much more used in poems in order for it to express a certain emotion or situation. Another characteristic that poetry possess's is meter. There are many different types of meters and they can be distinguished through the stressed and unstressed syllables. The variation of these different meters is how a poet further accents a meaning or message he wants portrayed in his work.
Our class seemed to be getting pretty frustrated with the whole concept of meter, stressed and unstressed syllables. But, for me, I found it very interesting. I love how I have a further comprehension of poetic meters and have grown a fascination as to how poets fit them into their work. The meters they choose are always so suitable and really add color to the poem. It's truly inspiring reading poetry with such flow and meaning. They make it seem so easy to set a meter to language. I for one, have a lot of practice to do with meter and setting it to my own words. I have yet to create a masterpiece.