The End and the Beginning by Wislawa Szymborska

     This was a truly interesting poem. The poems I've read before in class usually involve an ongoing war. This was different because it talked about the aftermath of the war. I liked how the tone of the poem was a matter-of-fact type because it seemed like someone was reporting and I was a listener. The poem talks about the recovery process after the war and focuses on less important things such as dust and debris, rather than dead corpses. Because of this, I didn't really imagine the scene all too well, which could be good or bad. Maybe, the persona didn't want me to imagine the scene after all, for reasons I do not know. I also liked how it poked fun at the media, which only reports during the war and after recovery, and not in between. The latter part of the poem seemed so calm, especially the last stanza. I imagined this person(somewhat like a farmer) just looking at the sky with a leaf in his mouth, not realizing how lucky he is to be where he's at. I felt sorry for those who had to fight the war, only to be forgotten as time passed, but I think that this process is inevitable. I just wish that the idle people realized their fortune and actually do something to prevent future wars from happening again.

What Mr. Cogito Thinks About Hell by Zbigniew Herbert

     When I saw the word 'hell' in the title, the book "Dante's Inferno" immediately came into my mind. I really enjoyed that book because it's the first time I've read a detailed portrayal of hell in literature. That is why my expectations were high for this poem. I'm glad to say, the poem didn't fail. The poem has this persona named Mr. Cogito who gives his view on what he thinks of hell. I loved the fact that he gave a totally opposite view of the hell portrayed in 'Inferno,' because it's also nice to see what other people thought of hell. I was just a little saddened that he only described the lowest circle of hell. I wish he described them all. The words he used evoked images in my mind, and I liked it. I was just a little curious why he specifically chose artists to be the persons in the lowest circle of hell. I had no historical background, so I didn't know what symbolisms this poem contained. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed this poem for using hell as its theme. It was also refreshing to see the line, "Beelzebub loves art," since the devil isn't usually portrayed in this manner. The hell in this poem also seemed a little too kind, with that bit of irony in the end where Mr. Cogito says that the devil isolates artists from hellish life. A truly bizarre and mind-blowing poem. I love it.

On the Eve of the Execution by Jaime An Lim

     When I read this poem, I really didn't know what the whole situation was, so it was a bit hard to understand at first. My initials thoughts were that someone was being executed for someone's love of his country, but I couldn't identify who these were until I read the last line. After reading the last line, it was all clear to me. The addressee was Andres Bonifacio. This was obvious since no other Andres was known to have been executed anyways. The overall impression I got from the poem was that the persona seems to be contemplating on his actions. He ponders deeply and says that he really didn't want any of these to happen. With a little recalling of my history lessons, Emilio Aguinaldo came into my mind as the possible persona. I then looked at the different clues of the poem that pointed to this, and it seems that my guess was plausible. The issue I have with this poem is the persona's sincerity. I couldn't tell even though he says that he loves both his country and Andres, since he still decides to push through with the execution. He also says that he sends Bonifacio to a "hero's death." If Aguinaldo was the one to be executed, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be thinking and saying those things, which makes me question his sincerity. My favorite lines in the poem were, "Too long the land lies wounded, the house divided: / child from mother, husband from wife, brother/ from brother," because it shows how serious the division in their group is. It was really close to their heart, like family. The historical background of this poem seems accurate, although some lines may be questionable. Nevertheless, considering all the other Filipino poems I've read for school before, this one has to be my favorite.

The Woman Inside by Michael Blumenthal

     This is a really interesting poem. The first two lines already made me question who this woman was, and what type of person the persona could be for saying such a thing. The persona then describes this woman, yet I still couldn't figure out who she was after reading the poem. The only thing I got from the poem at first reading was that the persona was a man who thinks there is a woman inside of him, and that can be seen in several lines. It would definitely be odd if the persona was a woman and she's talking about a woman inside of her; that would be too redundant. I like the imagery that this poem evokes such as the "lilac," "darkness...light and light," and "lust...tenderness gone wild." The references to mythology was also a plus for me because I really love stories or poems that allude or use references to other works. The last few lines of the poem make me feel sad for the persona because he imagines this woman inside of him but in reality, wakes all by himself. My initial guess to this woman inside of him was the Virgin Mary because of the images I formed in my mind due to "angels" and "light," but after a few more readings, I figured that the persona wasn't probably referring to anyone specific. I don't really know what to feel. Unlike the persona, I don't feel a woman inside of me.

We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks

     I liked this poem for its shortness and simplicity. The introduction is already a vital part of the poem itself, since it introduces the characters and the place where they usually hang out. The quick rhythm of the poem brings a sense of urgency in the lines, which is finally stopped in the last line. I liked the hanging "We" at the end of each line, because they made me shift from one line to the next at a quick pace. The pool players seem to be enjoying what they are doing. They think that they're cool and all. They left school, lurk at night, play pool, sing, and drink. Eventually, they all die. What a sad ending, but I would be too kind if I said they didn't deserve it. They suffered the consequences of their actions. After reading the last line, I couldn't help but go through the poem again. I then realized that 'Seven' could have a double meaning. It could be a lucky number, but it can represent the seven deadly sins as well. This is probably my favorite poem so far for Lit14 because of the meaning and lessons that it conveys, whilst maintaining simplicity. If we replace the actions of the pool players in every line, then we can actually make a modern and still applicable version of the poem.

Death, Be Not Proud, Though Some Have Called Thee by John Donne

      I thought that this was a Shakespearean poem, because the poems we've read in Literature during high school seemed to use apostrophe a lot. But it wasn't. I was actually pleased at the poem. It's main theme of mocking death really seemed interesting to me. It was as if the persona was not afraid to die. I thought to myself, "How many people would still be like that persona?" I bet I could count those persons with my fingers. The poem presents death as an alternative form of rest and sleep which seems absurd but if you think about it, is actually true. It also presents death as something that does not have the absolute power to decide on who experiences it. The last two lines awakened the Christian in me. I remembered the concept of eternal life that has been taught to me for several years. The persona ends in saying that death will be conquered through a new, eternal life. "Death, thou shalt die" seems really powerful on its own, and it really ends the poem on a strong note.

To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell

     This poem seems long at first, but it's a good read. Since we had to report this for class, I needed to

read the poem extra carefully even during the first time(which could be a wrong thing to do) so that I wouldn't have problems later on. I loved the use of words in the poem. The images that conjured in my mind while reading were really vivid because of the descriptions. The words that were normally used as nouns were used as adjectives in this poem, such as "vegetable", which really kept me entertained and interested throughout. I found the latter part of the first section as a little too exaggerated, but I guess that's what the persona was aiming for. In his defense, it worked really well to show the divided tones of the poem. The second part talks about time and how limited it is in this world, so the persona suggests that they should have sex or else the worms will take the addressee's virginity instead. Now, that was an image I didn't want to think of, but I was forced into thinking of it anyways. I cringed in disgust, while remembering the movie "Human Centipede" for some odd reason. Gladly, the third part wasn't  as disturbing. The words such as "hue" and "glew" made me almost forget about the previous part's horrid imagery. This third part has a forceful tone into it which I loved and hated at the same time because it had to end with a paradox, which I had to think of for a long time to actually understand.