Poetry Project
A Mother's LoveMy morals never shown to be true
The door won’t open till it’s broken straight through I was told this was wrong, A rapid drop to keep going along Your mother can’t save you. The morning of strangers is overdue hearts of all are sliced in two death doesn't see to mellow at all heads roll and shattered bones crawl Your mother can’t save you. Every piece was shattered for you Made to carry a new point of view My rank carries me with such pretentious delight Seeing others marked with a bullets tainted bite Your mother can’t save you. The same atrocities happen like deja vu Death so obscure, something I can’t get used to. To the terrors of the field Deafening Gunshots won’t soon yield Your mother can’t save you. I do what they tell me to do I do it for the respect of who? Steel caskets begging for you to come inside The air tastes of dust and cyanide Your mother can’t save you. These involuntary motions never felt so bad We’re strong on hatred and remorse If you saw what I’m seeing now, For lack of better words it’ll Break. You. Down. Your mother can’t save you. My. Mother. Can’t. Save. Me. |
Growth as a PoetThe perspective that I started out with was that war destroys the morals we were taught as children however it somehow changed to the idea that nothing can save you in war even your childhood hero, your mother. I’m only assuming that’s the usually the childhood hero. I didn't really have a “childhood hero”, so it’s only a guess. The change is visible in the first stanza. I first line says, “My morals never shown to be true.” I started off with that topic however, the last line of the stanza, “Your mother can’t save you,” inspired me to change the topic. That line evoked a strong emotion, so I went with it. This poem has a hopeless feeling that I don’t think could have been achieved if I used my first idea.
“I do what they tell me to do. I do it for the respect of who? Steel caskets begging for you to come inside. The air tastes of dust and cyanide. Your mother can’t save you.” In the rough draft of my poem the line “I do it for the respect of who?” was “But this is something I won't do.” I changed that line because the rhyming felt too forced and cliché. That line seemed to contradict the previous line. I like the idea of having a question in this stanza; I think it shows the uncertainty in war. Who am I fighting for? Who am I dying for? Who is going to respect me when I die? I feel like that was one the best changes I made. The line from the first draft would have ruined the poem, in my opinion. Basically the changes that were the most beneficial were just some rewording here and there. For example, The line, “the same atrocities happen like déjà vu.” use to be “the same horrors happen like déjà vu” I constantly use the world horrors so I decided I shouldn't used it at all in this poem. Using bigger and more advanced language really help my poem intellectually. This was an emotion based poem so it really helps having an advanced word. Another thing that was changed was the first line. It was “Iron morals never shown to be true,” I changed it to “My morals never shown to be true.” Iron morals felt forced and like I was trying too hard. That simple word change made it more personal. It’s talking about me. My morals have been broken. Everything I was taught. I am my morals. My morals are broken so I am too. That was the message I needed to be show. Even if it didn’t seem that was to the reader, I liked it. |
Globalization: Political Cartoon and Op-Eds
Globalization and the Effects on AnimalsWill the worlds demise be the result of globalization? In my opinion, yes. According to National Geographic, 90% of all the species that lived on the planet are extinct. There hasn't been an extinction like this since the dinosaurs died off, about 250 million years ago. However, this is most likely the fastest die off in all off in all of earth’s history. The cause of this tragedy weighs heavily on the human race. Mass destruction, mass consumption and mass pollution are all to blame. “By the year 2100, human activities such as pollution, land clearing, and over-fishing may have driven more than half of the world's marine and land species to extinction.” (Mass Extinction: What Causes Animal Die-Offs, 1)
The economic benefits of globalization are not worth all the lives of the animals it has taken. The conclusion that globalization benefits the environment is absurd. The only thing that benefits from economic globalization is global corporations. Mass production, mass consumption and mass pollution are responsible for animal die offs. Corporate companies don’t care about how much air pollution they are letting off. They only care about that money that they’ll be making. Corporate companies don’t care is the fuels that they are burning to carry the products overseas are killing the fish. As long as the product makes it to it’s destination, corporations don’t care. In Economic Globalization and the Environment, Jerry Mander says “But earlier versions were entirely different from the modern version in scale, speed, form, impact, and, most importantly, intent” (Mander, Jerry. 2001. Economic Globalization and the Environment) About 50 years ago globalization was very different trade wise. Now we have constant shipping of goods from third world countries to American. It’s a constant running of machinery and constant pollution. Back 50 years about trading wasn’t just for money. It was more about making a connections and widening a countries perspective. The goal of earning money was still present then but now, that is our only goal. Corporate companies don’t care for the long term consequences. As long as their pockets are being fill, the lives of animals don’t matter. You’d think with our advances in technology and easy global communication we’d be able to find more environmentally friendly alternatives for products. “Here, in the wealthiest country on earth, our president outspokenly promotes the idea of globalization as helping nature, while at the same time he advocates more oil drilling, more forest cutting, more poisons in rivers, and voices his fierce opposition to any measures that help control climate change-the ultimate expression of globalization.” (Mander, Jerry. 2001. Economic Globalization and the Environment) The president at the time was George W. Bush. Careless destruction such as river and air poisoning are a resulting on massive animal die-offs. For example, on the 29 of December 2011, 2,000 freshwater drum fish were found dead in Beebe, Arkansas. It was estimated that there were 83,000 dead fish in a 17 mile stretch of the main Arkansas river. “ a kill bigger than any Leone has seen in his 10 years as a local biologist” (Marder, Jenny. "Birds Tumbling From the Sky; Fish Floating Dead in the Water: How Unusual Are These Animal Die-Offs?" 2011) The culprits of tragedies like this are toxic chemicals released into rivers and over fertilization, usually from farm runoff. Each of those can cause dead zones in oceans and oxygen depletion. Causing massive fish die offs “99 percent of the fish found dead were drum fish, with an occasional yellow bass, white bass and sauger fish affected.” (Marder, Jenny. "Birds Tumbling From the Sky; Fish Floating Dead in the Water: How Unusual Are These Animal Die-Offs?" 2011.) It is absurd to think that fish deaths like the one in Beebe, Arkansas happen far more often than we realize, and are also human caused. Think of all the toxic substances that have been drop into earths oceans, sea, and rivers. Over fertilization is to maximize growth, product quantity and quality. Due to the rapid consumption companies can’t afford to lose any crops due to pest. The water is not the only hazard in Beebe, Arkansas, The air is just as dangerous. “On New Years Day, residents of Beebe, Ark., awoke to find some 5,000 dead blackbirds strewn across roads, lawns and rooftops. Three days later, 125 miles from Beebe, thousands of fish were found dead on riverbanks and floating along the Arkansas River.” (Marder, Jenny. "Birds Tumbling From the Sky; Fish Floating Dead in the Water: How Unusual Are These Animal Die-Offs?" 2011.) The birds death was a mystery. Local biologists think that the fireworks from the previous night might have caused serious trauma and caused the birds to go into some sort of psychotic episode. During the psychotic episode they apparently crashed into each other at speeds around 40 miles per hour. The air pollution from the fireworks may have contributed to their death. Oddly enough, having birds fall from the sky like rain drops is also more common than the public realizes. There have been 16 cases like that in the last 20 twenty years. As time goes on massive die-offs are happening more frequent. The lack there of knowledge and awareness is disturbing. The facts are all in front of us. We aren't listening, Nobody is opening their eyes. None are so blind as those who won’t see. The world is dying due to modern globalization, We’d prefer to possess lifeless paper rather than taking care of the world. The truth eludes us because we won’t look at what’s around us. Our economy is not only depleting the world of its natural resources but it is also depleting the world of lives. We are on a downward spiral of careless consumption and pollution. It won’t be stopped until it’s too late. Total word Count: 872 Work Cited Marder, Jenny. "Birds Tumbling From the Sky; Fish Floating Dead in the Water: How Unusual Are These Animal Die-Offs?" PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 4 January 2011. Mander, Jerry. “Economic Globalization and the Environment.” Tikkun 16(5): 33. 2011 "Mass Extinctions." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. |
Final Poem ReflectionThe perspective that I started out with was that war destroys the morals we were taught as children however it some how changed to the idea that nothing can save you in war, even your childhood hero, your mother. I’m only assuming that’s the usually the childhood hero. I didn't really have a “childhood hero” ,so it’s only a guess. The change is visible in the first stanza. I first line says, “my morals never shown to be true.” I started off with that topic however, the last line of the stanza, “Your mother can’t save you,” inspired me to change the topic. That line evoked a strong emotion, so I went with it. This poem has a hopeless feeling that I don’t think could have been achieved if I used my first idea.
“I do what they tell me to do. I do it for the respect of who? Steel caskets begging for you to come inside. The air tastes of dust and cyanide. Your mother can’t save you.” In the rough draft of my poem the line “I do it for the respect of who?” was “But this is something I won't do.” I changed that line because the rhyming felt too forced and cliche. It seemed off topic and contradicting to the line before it. I like the idea of having a question in this stanza, I think it shows the uncertainty in war. Who am I fighting for? Who am I dying for? Who is gonna respect me when I die? I feel like that was one the best changes I made. The like from the first draft would have ruined the poem, in my opinion.. Basically the changes that were the most beneficial were just some rewording here and there. For example, The line, “the same atrocities happen like deja vu.” use to be “the same horrors happen like deja vu” I constantly use the world horrors so I decided I shouldn't used it at all in this poem. Using bigger and more advanced language really help my poem intellectually. This was an emotion based poem so it really help having a advanced word. Another thing that was changed was the first line. It was “Iron morals never shown to be true,” I changed it to “My morals never shown to be true.” Iron morals felt forced and like I was trying too hard. That simple word change made it more personal. It’s talking about me. My morals have been broken. Everything I was taught. I am my morals. My morals are broken so I am too. That was the message I needed to be show. Even if it didn’t seem that was to the reader, I liked it. |
The Science of Happiness
♥ Click here for "Being Peace" ♥
African Imperialism: Creative Historian Project
The Hero Rowan Woodford
The door swung open abruptly, knocking Kakra onto the ground interrupting the steady flow of information. The fall stunned her for a second. As the door opened wider she started to scoot back with fear that she was in trouble. “Eavesdropping again are we?” A tall well dressed man said, “Next time I catch you I just might have to cut off your ear. Then would you learn? The others are getting very suspicious about you. You’re lucky that it was me that caught you… again.” “You say that every time,” The girl said as she struggled to her feel again. “I’m curious… you know that. Any luck with joining the Big Six?” The Big Six were six leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention, the leading political party in the British colony of the Gold Coast. Atka had his eye on one of the leading positions; He wanted to make it the Big Seven. The Big Six is hard at work try to help Ghana break away from imperialism. “No…. But they should let me join. They’d be nothing without my help,” Atka clenched his jaw and then released it. He stood silently for a second obviously holding back a menacing thought. “Come now Kakra. Let me take you back to your hut.” He was angry. She could tell but it wasn’t her fault that he wasn’t a part of the Big Six. He could never measure up to any of them. For example, Dr Kwame Nkrumah is such a strong leader. I put my full trust in him. Dr. Kwame Nktumah was a born leader. He’s very intelligent. He’s received a B.A, a STB, a Master of Science in education, and a master of Arts in Philosophy the next year. Atka did not. He hasn’t done much. At least, not that she knows of. Kakra walk through town with Atka. Everything was just as it usually was. It always smelled of body odor. It was hot outside, at least 100 degrees. In Ghana, there is only two different seasons, dry or rainy. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. The wind was blowing right of the Sahara desert. it was dusty and what looked like snow. Obviously it wasn’t. It was ash. Ash wasn’t surprising to see falling from the sky. All you could ever smell in the town area was body odor and burning objects. Kakra was used to these smells. The only smell that is pleasing to her was the misty smell of the forest on a rainy day. Of Course she had to wait for the rain. The rainy season wasn't coming for 2 more months. Also, she has to walk almost an hour to get to the forest. However, it was well worth that wait though. Atka stopped but Kakra kept going for a couple of meters before she realized that he wasn’t there. She stopped to and looked back. “Go to your hut now. You don’t need me to walk you all the way back,” Atka stuttered and stepped back a little. “Oh… okay.” Kakra was confused by his behavior lately. He used to walk her home and stay for some palm wine with her Father. He stopped walking her all the way home a couple weeks ago. Her hut was about a mile away from the beach. The palm tree’s were so tall they could touch the sky the reflection of the water hit the palm tree’s tops. The sun was setting, casting shadows through the tree’s onto the ground. Kakra loved to walk at this time of day. She felt like she was walking on a giant zebra. light sand, dark striped shadow, light sand, dark shadow over and over again. The sky was painted with the most vibrant colors she’s ever seen. Farther from the horizon it was turning from yellow, to orange, to pink, to purple. Kakra was so mesmerized by the colors that she ran straight into Panyin, her sister. “Always the clumsy twin,” Panyin said. Then her voice turned harsh, “You weren’t walking with Atka again were you?” Panyin hated him but Kakra didn’t know why. He’s always been nice to them. He always helped them. Strangely, he was always there when disaster struck. Kakra always could find something good about people. She thinks of Atka as a small hero. Never help with nothing major (like the Big Six) but he helped with the little things. For example, Once Panyin’s kente cloth went missing. They couldn’t find it for hours. She went around town asking people if they’ve seen it go by. Not soon after she got back home there was a knock at the door. It was Atka with Panyin’s kente cloth. She never told him that it was missing but at least it was there. “Oh no, I didn’t,” Kakra lied. Panyin knew but she didn’t want to say anything.”So… Dinner?” “Yeah it’s ready,” Panyin said. They walked inside their hut. Kakra didn’t know how but somehow her whole family was talking about the war. It had ended a couple years ago but it was still a touchy subject for everyone. By everyone I don’t mean Ghana. I mean everyone, the whole world is still mourning. Her Father however was more concerned with his dissatisfaction with The League of Nations. The League of Nations was made to help prevent another world war but the LN was weak. If another intergovernmental organization is form, we all hope that Ghana is represented as an individual country without Britain standing by its side. Meanwhile “I’ve waited long enough. It’s time for you to make a decision,” Akata said sternly to the members of the Big Six. He was confident. Too confident. Almost like it was obvious that he was going to be a part of the Big Six. If things went the way he planned it would soon be the Big Seven. He looked around that room at all the members waiting to get an instant ‘Yes!’ but no. He waited in silence for a good ten minutes. No one wanted to make him angry. His name means strong headed. That he was. “Well?” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, Mr. Ako Adjei, Mr. Edward Akuffo-Addo, Dr. J. B. Danquah, and Mr. William Ofori Atta were all looking at each other. Their eyes were franticly moving around to each others as if it would determine who was going to break the silence. No such luck. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah broke. “Well… The Big Six doesn’t need any more people. and quite frankly, you haven’t contributed much to our meetings. All you do is disagree, but then in the next meeting you pretend like you came up with the idea. In order to more forward all legs have to be working towards the same goal. Atka, I’m sorry, but you are the faulty leg. You’re setting us so far behind. I know you want this country’s independence as much as all of us but you can’t be a hero this time.” Atka’s face twisted. He face was red and getting more and more distorted by the second. “Oh. Oh really. I CAN’T be a hero. Excuse me but I’m always a hero. The Big Six would be nothing without me! When we claim independence I deserve to be king!” “Have you gone mad? Have you forgotten everything we have talked about for the past 5 years. You were trying to sabotage us! You wanted to be the savior. You always want to be the hero!” Dr. J. B. Danquah was frantic. “We didn’t spend all this time fighting, rebelling, and boycotting to get right back where we started. Maybe you forgot this ‘O’ great hero’ but we all decided that we were going to have president. instead of a monarchy. You have to be stupid to think that.” He closed his mouth fast but the word already came out. Every eye in the room was now on him. Dr. J. B. Danquah really shouldn’t have said that. The others in the room were shocked. The tension in the room doubled. Everyone stopped and stared. It was silent but it felt like the air around them was vibrating “Oh really now… I’m stupid. You all wouldn’t have boycotted the imported goods if it wasn’t for my brilliant mind.” Atka was sounding cocky again. A voice came from the back of the room, “actually, that was my idea.” Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey, who had kept quiet the whole time said as he walked forward, “But you, Atka, shot the idea down. no less than two weeks later you had ‘The brilliant idea of boycotting the British goods.” Atka was stunned he knew he was caught. He was just about to make a run for it but just then there was a little knock at the door. Atka was looking for anything to help distract the others so he could leave. He opened the door and grabbed the girl pulled her in. Just then he realized it was Kakra. He pulled a knife out behind his back and put it to her throat. “Let me join or I’ll kill her!” Atka screamed and pulled her closer by her hair. Katra squirmed for a little bit then she realized that it was no use. “Let her go!” “Stop it Atka!” “She trusted you!!” Voices were yelling all around her she couldn’t tell who was who. She felt her ears get hot. Then it was her face, soon it was her whole body. She felt like boiling water. Slowly the voices got mixed in to a strange buzz around her. ‘No… it can’t end like this,’ she thought, ‘He’s always been my hero. I came here to help him be a hero to Ghana too. I wanted to convince the Big Six to let him join. I should have listened to Panyin. Panyin… wait! What happened to her? She was there when I knocked on the door but she wasn’t pulled it…” The blade was burning hot and pushed harder against her throat. A small trickle of blood ran down her neck. CRASH! The door flew open wide. in the doorway stood a group of ten towns people and in the back stood Panyin. Kakra’s face lit up in hope. Panyin ran and got help. “DROP YOUR WEAPON!” The man in the front yelled. His voice echoed off the walls and shook the whole room. The tone in his voice sent chills down everyone's spine, especially Atka’s. Atka knew he had been caught. He thought he was more elusive than that but no. He knocked over the table and tried to make a run for it but the exits were blocked. He was trapped and was arrested. After he was arrested they found that he had committed more crimes than that. Atka had Hero Syndrome. Hero Syndrome is a phenomenon that affects people who seek recognition as a hero. In a desperate attempt to get recognized as a hero, they create a problem for other people just so they can fix it. All of the problems they create are just a scheme to feel self-worth and heroic. In his hut they found tons of stolen items that he was planning to “find” and give back. Panyin Kente cloth didn’t just disappear. He stole it. He only joining the Big Six to feel like a hero but in the end he was a villain. Who knows what else he had done? Come to think of it there was a hut that was burned down last week…. and Atka just so happened to have an empty hut for them to stay at till they finished rebuilding. Maybe it was a coincident or maybe not. Now that he was away the future was bright. Nothing is going to stop Ghana from being the first African country to gain its independence. Kakra didn’t know how to feel about the last couple of days. She felt broken about Atka. She felt dumb for having so much trust into him. On the other side, that incident brought Panyin and Kakra closer. Panyin courage was shocking to Kakra. Panyin was usually shy and spineless but not anymore. Everything happens for a reason, Kakra decided just to leave it at that. The End |
Project Reflection This first project we did this school year was focused of African imperialism. Eachof had to chose a country to reasearch and discorver ways of how they have gained there freedom from imperialism. To show our understanding of the country, Ms. Sara had us write a historical fiction short story.
I feel like my story was rich in describing scenery, "Her hut was about a mile away from the beach. The palm tree’s were so tall they could touch the sky the reflection of the water hit the palm tree’s tops. The sun was setting, casting shadows through the tree’s onto the ground. Kakra loved to walk at this time of day. She felt like she was walking on a giant zebra. light sand, dark striped shadow, light sand, dark shadow over and over again. The sky was painted with the most vibrant colors she’s ever seen. Farther from the horizon it was turning from yellow, to orange, to pink, to purple. Kakra was so mesmerized by the colors that she ran straight into Panyin, her sister." However my story didn't show very good details very clearly. Im this story my characters were boring . There is no real example for it because it has to deal with my full story. The two important citiques I got during this just talk me to revise, organize, revise. My thoughts are all over the place usually so I needed to get my thoughts into place. |