Writer's Notebook

"I'm four, in itchy woolen leggings,"- Marilyn Hacker

"the day that I can't recognize the man

down at the park entrance, waving,

as my father. He has ten

more years to live, that spring."

This poem really shows the innocence of a child. All of these images and emotions running through her head that it is hard to decipher what is right in front of her. The way the author describes the event is exactly like a four year old would see it. Instead of focusing on the negatives, like how awful her father looks she talks about her surroundings and little details others might not notice. Even how she starts the poem is relevant to that of a four year old. By introducing the problem with the itchy leggings it takes away some tension from her not even being able to identify her own father.

One thing that I want to get better at is being able to put the big picture in the background by portraying a lot of details. In this poem Hacker talks about her surrounding and what she is wearing in order to take some attention off the declining health of her father. This focus on surrounding shows a sense of innocence, but also allows the reader to identify pathos because of how she goes on to describe what she loves about her father.

Writer's Notebook

Mid Term Break- Seamus Heaney

"Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple,

He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.

No gaudy scars, bumpers knocked him clear.

A four foot box, a foot for every year."

This poem is so different from what you first expect. Seamus Heaney catches the reader off guard with the title Mid Term Break. College kids see this as a joyous time that they have been waiting for a long time, but then he explains in the first line that he is crying. There is so much sadness in this poem, but there are also little details that give hope, like the baby cooing. The narrator seems out of the loop because he was in college, which made this event even more traumatic.

The one thing that I would like to acquire from this poem is Heaney's ability to build suspense and momentum. Throughout the poem the reader tries to fit the pieces together and in the end one sentences makes you realize everything. It is so incredible how one sentence can stop you dead in your tracks, and it just completely makes the whole poem. This poem portrays a tragic event in the author's life and the structure makes it all the more powerful.