Allusion

# 3 Neither Silver Nor Gold

From Lexington and Concord

To the red and yellow of Germantown

Painting by John Trumbull

Over the hills and halls of Mount Vernon

Down to Virginia’s Yorktown.

Weak are the soldiers bones,

 But still the Bullets crack.

The soldier thinks of home.

And so America the beautiful?

She still stands strong.

Fighting, slowly breaking the chains

Of English power held too long.

Painting by John Trumbull

So ask yourself,

Is it all about the grandeur?

Nay, it’s a soldier’s brave heart that will make Britain fall.

Its all in the doer,

Never the silver or gold.

So when the fireworks burst into air,

Behold!

The American flag flying fair.

Beware, old England,

Painting by Joh Trumbull

For I fear that your ships of gold

And guns of silver and steel

Had no effect on our vice and hold.

It seems unreal,

How courage, love and anger

Are even greater still.

So take this as a reminder

 And never forget the heart of the ranker.


 #2 Something More

Painted wood slowly rotting,
metallic wire turning to rust,

Sculpture by Natalia Russell

a once beautiful emerald peeling off.
But still,
waiting.
Remaining.
Trapped.
Golden waves and curls,
a swirling dress,
and electric blue eyes.
She dances, twirls and sings
all just for show though.
For those little origami birds.
The dreams taunt her with something better,

something shes never known.

For all she sees

is an emerald cage,

and those little origami birds,

since the day she was born.

Fear not though, gorgeous.

You have not lost hope.

For the world awaits you.

You will see what it holds.

The cage will finally crumble,

and the birds shall do what they please.

And you?

You will have it all at your fingertips.

Oh, what it would be like!

To be free from these dreadful bars.

 

#1 Lion's Breath

A land of shimmering plains

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

 by C.S. Lewis

of flowing rivers and creeks
Narnia, they say. 
The beautiful land, slain.
Oh, so cry the creatures for their lost land!
Is all hope lost?
Nay, for the four children come,
of Adam's flesh and Adam's bone.
They have crossed,
from the land of Wardrobe.
Calling back the one who saves.
For he shall save them all,
with lions breath like heavens air,
and the sound of his roar.

Painting by Eugene Delacroix

At the bare of his teeth,
winter will meet its match.
For he shall save us all,
at his dying breath.
And all wrong shall be right,
 for he made the ultimate sacrifice.
So don't fear,
sweet child of eve.
Adam's flesh, and Adam's bone,
they will sit at Cair Paravel in throne.
The evil will be over and done. 

 

        I generally don't write poetry. Unless, of course, its an english assignment!  So, naturally these poems were pretty difficult to write.It was hard just trying to make them flow all together and just plain sound pretty. I inserted stylistic elements throughout the poems, like using similes to convey imagery so the reader can imagine it going on in their head. I also used a ton of personification in the first poem, to make it seem like Aslan (a lion) was almost human. This helped show how much he really meant to the book, and the major part he played. I used imagery in every one of the poems, because I like to be able to imagine things in my head, and see them play out, which imagery does. The revision really helped though, because a lot of brainstorming went in, and I don't think that i would have come up with a lot of things if not for the revision process. 

        In all of them but the historical one, they relate to me specifically. The first one I wrote a poem about that book specifically because the whole book is an allusion to Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, which is something in my religion that I consider awe-inspiring. The second poem is about being trapped in adolescence, before you can go out and really start your life and fulfill your purpose. Sometimes I feel like I'm trapped like the girl in the cage, but we all have to learn and shape who we are before we meet the world. This poem is my favorite because it flows nicely and I just plain like it. It seems a little bit like I hate my life, but this poem is just describing a feeling of being trapped sometimes, like when school is really hard, or family life sucks. Overall, I really liked writing these poems because I usually express my feeling in art or just talking, but this is a completely different form of art.