belly dancer by diane Wakoski

This poem is mainly about women's liberation. Diane Wakoski uses the art of belly dancing to show how despite that fact that we now live in a time where women are given the same rights and values as the men of this world there is still a restriction on sexuality and desire. Wakoski is basically writing towards the women who are afraid to go beyond themselves and want more than what they are given. It is actually comical how it is a major downplay towards men, as it seems as though they may be a key part of the reason as to why these liberated women are so un liberated. It is quite the oxymoron in this time and age. Wakoski calls the women in this poem "old-young" because it is their prim, proper and close minded nature towards sexuality that makes them seem as if they are living in body of the young while their mind reminds trapped in the old fashion ways of the elderly. For these women to whom Wakoski is referring to she is saying that they are battling against their own sexuality because the men to whom they are married to or trapped to cannot begin to satisfy this sexuality even if it was to be released. Oddly enough even the sensual curve and movement of a snake is enough to cause fright and awkward stares while the belly dancer continues to show the woman that there is nothing wrong with sex or the exotic nature of a woman, all the while scorning the men who try and show otherwise.

who understand me but me by jimmy santiago baca

This poem is the epitome of self acceptance and self beauty. Jimmy Baca in each line expresses the fact that despite the flaws to which he may have and the imperfections that are deemed ugly by society he is still beautiful to himself. No matter what obstacles and roadblocks that are thrown his way he accepts himself beyond what others think. Their ugly is his beauty. It is by seeing this within himself that he finds a greater understanding and deeper love for everything that is him. It is like saying he is his own greatest contradiction because a lot of what he feels others would never get thus the line "who understands me when I say this is beautiful, who understand me when I say I have found other freedoms", being free of trying to be what society or everyone else deems as "perfect" is a freedom unfound. So he takes his stubborn nature, childish antics, failures, fears etc and doesn't dwell in the negative of it all but accepts it and above all values it. Some people are at times so afraid to go outside the norm and become something more than what they are told to be that they miss out on everything else that they could possibly become. At times looking outside the box, coloring outside the lines, taking the road most untraveled is the hardest yet most rewarding path of them all. Jimmy Baca says that I am me and I could give two craps less what you may think, but regardless of what obstacles you throw at me not only will i live with them but I will thrive upon it.

Incident by Amira Baraka

Now reading this poem it felt very separated. Now what I mean is that in the beginning of the poem it didn’t express who the killer was and what was the reason for his action. In a way the first stanza was very dry with details while comparing to the second stanza it said “the speeding bullet tore his face and blood sprayed fine over the killer and the grey light” while comparing it to the first stanza all it says is shadow wood, down, shot ,dying dead, to full halt.” It seemed so unclear. To me as you continue to read it expresses the pain and feeling which death brings to people in which in the poem it says, “his spirit sucks up the light”.  To me this poem seems to be a puzzle with the information in which it is distributed. 

the golden gat that day by lawrence ferlinghetti

to me this poem seemed to have a general meaning at the beginning but it became to change as the poem went on. the poem seemed to give a lot of  things which were in the setting. for example the meadow seemed to be the start of which was to be a new beginning. but the story involved a women and man who's relationship took a turn for the worse. i say that because the flame that seemed to be their in beginning wasn't their any more. but for some reason seemed to have a deeper meaning than that.