1. Observational Poetry
Kerry Caitlyn Connor
Mrs. Love
Period uno

2. Dirty Face By Shel Silverstein
Where did you get such a dirty face, My darling dirty-
faced child? I got it from crawling along in the dirt And
biting two buttons off Jeremy’s shirt.
I got it from chewing the roots of a rose And digging for
clams in the yard with my nose.
I got it from peeking into a dark cave And painting myself
like a Navajo brave. I got it from playing with coal in the
bin And signing my name in cement with my chin.
I got if from rolling around on the rug And giving the
horrible dog a big hug.
I got it from finding a lost silver mine And eating sweet
blackberries right off the vine.
I got it from ice cream and wrestling and tears And from
having more fun than you’ve had in years.

3. Dirty face Analysis
The most prominent devices used in this poem are end rhyme,
imagery, and allusion. The main character in this poem
obviously likes to get down and dirty and isn’t afraid to get
messed up, like most children. The tone of this poem is silly and
is meant to make the reader laugh, and does a good job in that. I
had a smile while reading and analyzing it.

4. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village
though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill
up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse
near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of
the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some
mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and
downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to
keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I
sleep.

5. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening Analysis
The devices used here are end rhyme, personification, and imagery, as well as allusion.
The narrator in the poem is expressing his admiration for the woods in the winter time
and all of his thoughts are connected to that.
I like this poem because of the rhyme scheme, especially in the last stanza. It’s simple
thought, but Frost is so good at explaining them. That is a hard thing to do for a lot of
people.
I think a theme for this poem is “longing”. Frost wants to just watch the snowy woods,
and even explore them a little longer, but he has other things he must do.

6. The Tuft of Flowers By Robert Frost
I went to turn the grass once after one Who
mowed it in the dew before the sun.
The dew was gone that made his blade so keen
Before I came to view the levelled scene
I looked for him behind an isle of trees; I
listened for his whetstone on the breeze.
But he had gone his way, the grass all mown,
And I must be, as he had been,— alone,
As all must be,' I said within my heart, Whether
they work together or apart.'
But as I said it, swift there passed me by On
noiseless wing a 'wildered butterfly, Seeking
with memories grown dim o'er night
Some resting flower of yesterday's delight. And
once I marked his flight go round and round,
As where some flower lay withering on the
ground. And then he flew as far as eye could
see,
And then on tremulous wing came back to me. I
thought of questions that have no reply, And
would have turned to toss the grass to dry; But
he turned first, and led my eye to look At a tall
tuft of flowers beside a brook,
A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had
spared

7. A leaping tongue of bloom the scythe had spared Beside a reedy brook the scythe had
bared.
I left my place to know them by their name, Finding them butterfly weed when I
came.
The mower in the dew had loved them thus, By leaving them to flourish, not for us,
Nor yet to draw one thought of ours to him. But from sheer morning gladness at the
brim.
The butterfly and I had lit upon, Nevertheless, a message from the dawn,
That made me hear the wakening birds around, And hear his long scythe whispering
to the ground, And feel a spirit kindred to my own;
So that henceforth I worked no more alone; But glad with him, I worked as with his
aid, And weary, sought at noon with him the shade;
And dreaming, as it were, held brotherly speech With one whose thought I had not
hoped to reach. Men work together,' I told him from the heart,
Whether they work together or apart.'

8. The Tuft of Flowers Analysis
In this poem, there are elements of end rhyme, allusion, rhyme scheme in general,
personification, some blank verse, and obvious stanzas.
What I understood and liked about this poem was that he was observing and making
unusual assumptions about what he saw. Like the grass being mowed, he noticed that
there was new dew on it so the blade that mowed it must have been fairly sharp.
Frost also observes that even though he never saw the guy mowing the grass and he
was also alone, the guys job was incredibly helpful to him and other people, whether
they are directly connected or not.
One theme of this poem could be “one-ness”. He observes the earth and realises how
things are connected to each other, even though they seem unrelated.

9. And Then It Was Less Bleak Because
We Said So By Wendy Xu
Today there has been so much
talk of things exploding into
other things, so much that we
all become curious, that we all
run outside into the hot streets
and hug. Romance is a grotto
of eager stones anticipating
light, or a girl whose teeth
you can always see. With
more sparkle and pop is the
only way to live. Your confetti
tongue explodes into acid jazz.
Small typewriters
that other people keep in
their eyes click away at all our
farewell parties. It is hard to
pack for the rest of your life.
Someone is always eating cold
cucumber noodles. Someone
will drop by later to help
dismantle some furniture. A
lot can go wrong if you sleep
or think, but the trees go on
waving their broken little
hands.

10. And Then It Was Less Bleak Because
We Said So Analysis
Elements most prominent in this poem are free verse, blank verse,
onomatopoeia.
I can’t quite sum up what I was feeling when I read this poem. I understood
the message though. Things happen. People feel things day-to-day and those
feelings change. Things are not certain in this life
I believe this poem’s theme is just “life”, because it goes on everyday. It can
be sad, happy, whatever. But it goes on.

11. The Minstrel’s Prayer by Cartel
And all these stupid
silly songs Keep trying
to catch your ear
I'm trying desperately
It's just so hard to
persevere
And even if you
listened I never had
much to say Cause it's
the same old song I've
written for the day
Shelter me oh genius
words Just give me
strength Just to pen
these things And give
me peace to well her
wings
All these minstrels
through the ages That
is really all we are
Simply singing for the
girl that makes us try
so very hard to craft
the perfect limerick To
wield unending woe To
write such silly songs
And the difference
never know
And I'll hold on to the
dream Of this beggar's
plea and optimistic
fantasy
Just hold the hand and
drop the knee You're
facing love You're
embracing melody
And carry on, oh carry
on all you minstrels of
the world We will catch
our ladies ear We will
win for us the girl

12. The Minstrel’s Prayer Analysis
Elements used in this poem are allusion, ballad, and
symbolism. A mood in this poem is “hopeful”
because the narrator is on his knees, asking for
things to get better. That could also be the theme,
since it is the main idea of the song/poem.

13. I Knew a Woman
By Theodore Roethke
I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;
Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one:
The shapes a bright container can contain!
Of her choice virtues only gods should speak,
or English poets who grew up on Greek
(I’d have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek).
How well her wishes went! She stroked my chin,
She taught me Turn, and Counter-turn, and Stand;
She taught me Touch, that undulant white skin;
I nibbled meekly from her proffered hand;
She was the sickle; I, poor I, the rake,
Coming behind her for her pretty sake
(But what prodigious mowing we did make).
Love likes a gander, and adores a goose:
Her full lips pursed, the errant note to seize;
She played it quick, she played it light and loose;
My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees;
Her several parts could keep a pure repose,
Or one hip quiver with a mobile nose
(She moved in circles, and those circles moved).

14. I Knew A Woman Analysis
Elements present in this poem are rhyme scheme, allusion,
assonance, and imagery. The mood feels reminiscent. Not like
the author is sad, but remembering this girl he loved. The
theme is obviously tenderness. He may not be with her
anymore, but he still feels something special for her.

15. “Is this a dagger which I see before me”
By William Shakespeare
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

16. Is this a dagger which I see before me
Analysis
The biggest terms used in this poem are rhyme scheme, or end
rhyme, and metaphor. More metaphor than you can shake a
stick at, and imagery. The mood from this poem is something
like “distress” and the theme is about “conflict”, which is the
unspoken conflict between free will and destiny.

17. A Rhyme for Halloween
by Maurice Kilwein Guevara
Tonight I light the candles of my eyes in the lee
And swing down this branch full of red leaves.
Yellow moon, skull and spine of the hare,
Arrow me to town on the neck of the air.
I hear the undertaker make love in the
heather;
The candy maker, poor fellow, is under the
weather.
Skunk, moose, raccoon, they go to the doors in
threes
With a torch in their hands or pleas: "O, please
. . ."
Baruch Spinoza and the butcher are drunk:
One is the tail and one is the trunk
Of a beast who dances in circles for beer
And doesn't think twice to learn how to steer.
Our clock is blind, our clock is dumb.
Its hands are broken, its fingers numb.
No time for the martyr of our fair town
Who wasn't a witch because she could drown.
Now the dogs of the cemetery are starting
to bark
At the vision of her, bobbing up through the
dark.
When she opens her mouth to gasp for air,
A moth flies out and lands in her hair.
The apples are thumping, winter is coming.
The lips of the pumpkin soon will be humming.
By the caw of the crow on the first of the year,
Something will die, something appear.

18. A Rhyme for Halloween Analysis
Terms used in this poem are imagery, end rhyme, allusion, and
personification. The mood I get from this poem is excitement,
because I love Halloween and the thought of it makes me
happy. The theme for this poem would be “expectation”
because the person sees all the signs and knows what is
coming

19. Nature, That Washed Her Hands in Milk
By Sir Walter Ralegh
Nature, that washed her hands in milk,
And had forgot to dry them,
Instead of earth took snow and silk,
At love’s request to try them,
If she a mistress could compose
To please love’s fancy out of those.
Her eyes he would should be of light,
A violet breath, and lips of jelly;
Her hair not black, nor overbright,
And of the softest down her belly;
As for her inside he’d have it
Only of wantonness and wit.
At love’s entreaty such a one
Nature made, but with her beauty
She hath framed a heart of stone;
So as love, by ill destiny,
Must die for her whom nature gave him,
Because her darling would not save him.
But time (which nature doth despise,
And rudely gives her love the lie,
Makes hope a fool, and sorrow wise)
His hands do neither wash nor dry;
But being made of steel and rust,
Turns snow and silk and milk to dust.
The light, the belly, lips, and breath,
He dims, discolors, and destroys;
With those he feeds but fills not death,
Which sometimes were the food of joys.
Yea, time doth dull each lively wit,
And dries all wantonness with it.
Oh, cruel time! which takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, and all we have,
And pays us but with age and dust;
Who in the dark and silent grave
When we have wandered all our ways
Shuts up the story of our days.

20. Nature, That Washed Her Hands In
Milk Analysis
Elements used in this poem are imagery, rhyme scheme,
metaphor, and personification. This poem has many themes,
and undertones, but one I picked up on was contempt for a
“cold” mistress who turned the author bitter from longing.

21. Spring Sickness
Nice feel to the air
Smells of spring, so I’m told
I can’t tell, allergies.

22. Nighttime
The moon and stars come out
Beautiful Specks in the sky
Sit on the swing & listen to cicadas
Breeze blowing, lightning bugs
The nighttime is alive

23. Belief is Subjective Matter
I believe in the power of the mind
The healing properties of Earth
The vulgarity of money
The idea that learning comes from experience
The thought that you can be happy anyway
But the belief that some people are simply
Better than others is downright stupid & unrealistic
I believe in travelling as far as you can go
I believe in total self-love
I believe it’s okay to eat fish, because they don’t have any feelings
Music, compassion, courage
And I believe that change is inevitable

24. I Couldn’t Think of a Name for This Poem So I
Just Wrote This Down, There is Absolutely No
Symbolism
This is a pegatree
Pegatrees live in pickled pits in the bottom of Palestine
Pegatrees eat panty peaches, papoose roots, and parachutes
Pegatrees poke parents,people with parkinsons,& passive parrots
Pegatrees play patty cake, and are party poopers
Pegatrees picked my pack of Pennsylvanian Pears

25. What is Joy?
Joy is green and blue
It tastes like ice cream on a hot day
It sounds like the smooth jazz of a saxophone
And smells like freshly baked cookies on Christmas
It looks like young people in love for the first time
And makes you feel like you are impenetrable