Remora, Remora: Precis

In the poem, "Remora, Remora," by Thomas Lux, Lux uses metaphors to set a helpless or maybe even a hopeless tone as the shark represents the lower classed people. The author uses the shark and sucker sharks as metaphors for the higher classed or yet, higher powered people, while the lower classed people are represented by the metaphorical "nick of gauze" for they are called the "morons," "idiots," "imbeciles," or "nincompoops." The poet seems to feel helpless when he calls himself "the invisible point of the pyramid," meaning he feels as if he has no power or authority because people think of the lower class as "idiots" or "morons." Lux sets a helpless tone when each shark metaphor creates a smaller and smaller feeling of authority for the lesser classed/lesser powered. By using sharks as his metaphors, Lux was able to convey a feeling of helplessness in his poem.

Wheels: Precis

In the poem, "Wheels," by Jim Daniels, the poet sets a reflecting tone as he uses repetition to display his brother, or an imaginary character's, milestones in life. Each vehicle the character acquires, is the metaphorical milestone that he achieved. The poet uses repetition in his poem to convey reflection when he uses the word "waving," as if to say goodbye to the milestone and to welcome the milestone into the past. By putting the milestone in the past, the character welcomes a new milestone with a new vehicle. The poet also repeats the words "in his" or "on his" to reflect on his life by describing the vehicle he acquired as a metaphor of his new milestone, such as getting married and having a child. By using repetition in his work, Daniels was able to perfectly depict his image of reflection.

Radio: Precis

In the poem "Radio," by Laurel Blossom, Blossom uses an annoyed or frustrated tone by using repetition. By using repetition, Blossom was able to write an informal message to her culprits. The first example of repetition she used was the word "no." By using the word "no," blossom was able to convey that she does not have anything for the culprits to steal, therefore, they should not break in. Another example of repetition is when Blossom says, "radio." By repeating the word "radio," Blossom hopes to give the culprits the idea that her radio had already been stolen, along with everything else so that they should not try to break in anymore. Blossom then repeats herself again when saying "nothing" in order to convey the message of emptiness into her valuables. By using repetition, she hopes that the culprits will finally get the message she is sending them and will no longer use her as a target. By using repetition to write her poem, Blossom was able to convey her frustrated tone and message to her culprits.

Dorie Off to Atlanta: Precis

In the poem "Dorie Off to Atlanta," by Mark Halliday, the poet conveys an exciting message of finding "the one" using the literary device "point of view."  The point of view comes from a woman named Dorie, who sets an excited and almost persuading tone in the poem. Dorie conveys her message through this tone many times throughout the poem, but there are three examples that I would like to point out. The first example where she displays love is when Dorie  speaks about a woman named Marcie who is hesitant to see a guy saying, "from what you've said, Jason sounds different." This quote points out the deeper emotion that Dorie feels that the man named Jason is "different from other guys," and that Marcie should give him a chance. The second quote I would like to point out is when Dorie defends her case of finding "the one"  fro Marcie when she says, "this is a guy who understands, y'know?" She uses this in her defense of finding love because Dorie feels as if this man might actually be the one for Marcie. Lastly, Dorie uses her point of view in her point when she says, "if you don't give this guy like a serious chance, somebody else-y'know?" This shows how hard Dorie is trying to persuade Marcie to be with the guy and how he feels they would rule out together. By using point of view as his literary device, Halliday was able to convey his message of finding "the one"  perfectly.

Did I Miss Anything Precis

The poem,"Did I Miss Anything?," by Tom Wayman, is a childlike poem about a teacher writing to a student about he consequences of missing class. Wayman was able to display his childlike humor by using repetition. The childlike humor conveys a deeper idea to the poem where missing class is actually  a huge loss to you. "Nothing" is one of the main words that the teacher uses repeatedly to remind the child of their loss. The other word that the author repeatedly uses is "everything," as the student missed their chance to be at school, whether they just didn't show up, or they were sick. Wayman also shows a pattern or repeated sarcasm. Every stanza in the poem contains sarcasm, especially in the stanzas first containing the word "nothing." This creates a deeper message to any student to misses school, they if they miss school, that is an opportunity missed. By using repetition to convey his idea, Wayman was able to create an image of consequence perfectly.

Neglect Precis

The poem, "Neglect," by R. T. Smith, Smith clearly shows that he is full of regret and sadness due to the fact that he had lost his apple tree. Smith is able to convey loss throughout the poem by using imagery. Smith uses imagery in his poem to convey the loss when he says "I should have" repeatedly. This act of repetition shows just how full of regret Smith was by this loss. Smith displays his loss and regret through the words "too callow to believe that death's inevitable," meaning he was too immature to ever know that the tree would need as much attention as it did. Though it was just an apple tree, Smith repeatedly expresses his sadness by creating images of regret about how he should have treated the tree and how he should have taken better care of it. This reveals the deeper side to how neglect to an object can affect the result. In this case, Smith's tree had died. Smith could also be conveying the message that one should pay more attention to something they care about whether it is a tree or a person because, like Smith, the object could whither away. Just as Smith had regretted it, "through this lesson in winter regret," we should also pay close attention to valued objects. By using imagery, Smith was able to conduct his idea of loss and regret through his images.

Numbers Precis

"Numbers," by Mary Cornish, is a childlike poem, where Cornish expresses her fondness towards numbers by using imagery and metaphors. Cornish is able to bring out her childlike side when she uses imagery such as, "whose silver bodies breed" and "add two cups of milk and stir." Cornish expresses her joy in numbers by adding images of math problems she creates using numbers. Cornish also uses metaphors in her poem to create a childlike feeling when the audience reads. One example of her childlike metaphors would be, "I never fail to be surprised by the gift of an odd remainder." She uses another metaphor saying, "an amplitude to long division as it opens Chinese take-out." She uses metaphors such as these to display her childlike but memorable way in how she loves numbers. By using imagery and metaphors, Cornish was able to create a poem easy enough for a child to understand as well as be childlike herself while writing.

The Cord Precis

"The Cord," by Leanne O'Sullivan, is a reflective poem about how the author, or an imaginative character, would enjoy the days where they could sit around and just talk on the phone all day. Leanne teaches us how she remembers her younger days, by using many metaphors and imagery to  create an image for her audience. One example of a metaphor that Leanne uses is "each sentence is a new territory." She continues, "the glass shattering with delirium, with knowledge and fear." She uses these metaphors to express her comfort and enjoyment of talking on the phone, each conversation a new idea. Leanne also uses imagery in her poem to reflect on her routine, "a plate of cold rice to my left, my school books to my right." She gives another example saying, "stay where I can reach you, dim room, dark earth." This seems to show the comfort she and her mother felt, her mother allowing her to use the phone. By using metaphors and imagery, Leanne reflects her young days perfectly by being able to describe in clear detail, her routines.