"Sway" by Michael Buble

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

When marimbas start to play
Hold me close, make me sway
Like an ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease
When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

This song can be a poem because each stanza is composed of four lines that all have a rhyme scheme of AABB. Buble also uses two similes to make a comparison of how he would like his love interest to dance with him. For example he says,

“Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore ” and

“Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease.”

There’s also visual and auditory imagery in this song. For example, we can picture two lovers dancing throughout the song. Also, in the first line he mentions “marimba rhythms” and he then later mentions "the sound of violins” which automatically makes us imagine these sounds of music. 

Spring

Spring in New Hampshire by Claude McKay

Too green the springing April grass,

Too blue the silver-speckled sky,

For me to linger here, alas,

While happy winds go laughing by,

Wasting the golden hours indoors,

Washing windows and scrubbing floors.

Too wonderful the April night,

Too faintly sweet the first May flowers,

The stars too gloriously bright,

For me to spend the evening hours,

When fields are fresh and streams are leaping,

Wearied, exhausted, dully sleeping.

Again, I chose this poem because of its simplicity. I feel like McKay makes the message of this poem straightforward, which is that the outdoors is beautiful, especially during the season of Spring. As McKay describes, Spring is when the grass is green, the sky is blue, and the flowers have just began to blossom. This poem encourages me to spend more time enjoying nature rather than sitting indoors and being boring. I also like McKay’s use of rhyme in both stanzas which have a pattern of ABABCC. For me, rhymes always make a poem more fun to read. Lastly, I like to read pieces of work that soothe my mind, and this poem kind of did that, a few of the other ones were a bit on the grotesque side.

Ode to Things

Pablo Neruda's "Ode to Things" captured my interest because it talks about life's little pleasures. It kind of reminds me of how man-made things have a certain beauty. Also, to me, the tone of this ode is happy and calm which makes it nice to read.

Robert Frost

Revelation

    WE make ourselves a place apart

    Behind light words that tease and flout,

    But oh, the agitated heart

    Till someone find us really out.

    'Tis pity if the case require

    (Or so we say) that in the end

    We speak the literal to inspire

    The understanding of a friend.

    But so with all, from babes that play

    At hide-and-seek to God afar,

    So all who hide too well away

    Must speak and tell us where they are. 

I chose this poem because it’s short and simple but still conveys a strong message. I’m someone who admires honesty and Frost shows its importance in this poem. I also felt like I understood this piece of work more than I did some of the others.

I think Frost is trying to describe how we sometimes put up a front by telling lies. For whatever reason it may be, we'll try to be someone we’re not. And although we may be capable of making others believe our pretense initially, sooner or later the truth will be revealed in some way or another. When that happens, we fear of losing respect from those who trusted us, causing pity. Frost’s point is that we should always be honest – to ourselves and to others. People will eventually see through your facade and find the inner you.

One literary device I found was personification when Frost writes, “the agitated heart.” The heart is an organ and obviously can’t literally be agitated. By using personification, Frost expresses the emotion we feel when we’re not being who we are.