poems about identity.docx

poems about identity.docx

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poemsaboutidentity

Ithaka

ConstantineP.Cavafy

AsyousetoutforIthaka

hopeyourroadisalongone,

fullofadventure,fullofdiscovery.

Laistrygonians,Cyclops,

angryPoseidon-don’tbeafraidofthem:

you’llneverfindthingslikethatonyourway

aslongasyoukeepyourthoughtsraisedhigh,

aslongasarareexcitement

stirsyourspiritandyourbody.

Laistrygonians,Cyclops,

wildPoseidon-youwon’tencounterthem

unlessyoubringthemalonginsideyoursoul,

unlessyoursoulsetsthemupinfrontofyou.

Hopeyourroadisalongone.

Maytherebemanysummermorningswhen,

withwhatpleasure,whatjoy,

youenterharborsyou’reseeingforthefirsttime;

mayyoustopatPhoeniciantradingstations

tobuyfinethings,

motherofpearlandcoral,amberandebony,

sensualperfumeofeverykind-

asmanysensualperfumesasyoucan;

andmayyouvisitmanyEgyptiancities

tolearnandgoonlearningfromtheirscholars.

KeepIthakaalwaysinyourmind.

Arrivingthereiswhatyou’redestinedfor.

Butdon’thurrythejourneyatall.

Betterifitlastsforyears,

soyou’reoldbythetimeyoureachtheisland,

wealthywithallyou’vegainedontheway,

notexpectingIthakatomakeyourich.

Ithakagaveyouthemarvelousjourney.

Withoutheryouwouldn’thavesetout.

Shehasnothinglefttogiveyounow.

Andifyoufindherpoor,Ithakawon’thavefooledyou.

Wiseasyouwillhavebecome,sofullofexperience,

you’llhaveunderstoodbythenwhattheseIthakasmean.

LangstonHughes

AsIGrewOlder

ITwasalongtimeago.

Ihavealmostforgottenmydream.

Butitwastherethen,

Infrontofme,

Brightlikeasun—

Mydream.

Andthenthewallrose,

Roseslowly,

Slowly,

Betweenmeandmydream.

Roseuntilittouchedthesky—

Thewall.

Shadow.

Iamblack.

Iliedownintheshadow.

Nolongerthelightofmydreambeforeme,

Aboveme.

Onlythethickwall.

Onlytheshadow.

Myhands!

Mydarkhands!

Breakthroughthewall!

Findmydream!

Helpmetoshatterthisdarkness,

Tosmashthisnight,

Tobreakthisshadow

Intoathousandlightsofsun,

Intoathousandwhirlingdreams

Ofsun!

RobertFrost

TheRoadNotTaken

Tworoadsdivergedinayellowwood,

AndsorryIcouldnottravelboth

Andbeonetraveler,longIstood

AndlookeddownoneasfarasIcould

Towhereitbentintheundergrowth;

Thentooktheother,asjustasfair,

Andhavingperhapsthebetterclaim

Becauseitwasgrassyandwantedwear;

Thoughasforthatthepassingthere

Hadwornthemreallyaboutthesame,

Andboththatmorningequallylay

Inleavesnostephadtroddenblack.

Oh,Ikeptthefirstforanotherday!

Yetknowinghowwayleadsontoway,

IdoubtedifIshouldevercomeback.

Ishallbetellingthiswithasigh

Somewhereagesandageshence:

Tworoadsdivergedinawood,andI—

Itooktheonelesstraveledby,

Andthathasmadeallthedifference.

MayaAngelou

Alone

LYING,thinking

Lastnight

Howtofindmysoulahome

Wherewaterisnotthirsty

Andbreadloafisnotstone

Icameupwithonething

AndIdon'tbelieveI'mwrong

Thatnobody,

Butnobody

Canmakeitoutherealone.

Alone,allalone

Nobody,butnobody

Canmakeitoutherealone.

Therearesomemillionaires

Withmoneytheycan'tuse

Theirwivesrunroundlikebanshees

Theirchildrensingtheblues

They'vegotexpensivedoctors

Tocuretheirheartsofstone.

Butnobody

No,nobody

Canmakeitoutherealone.

Alone,allalone

Nobody,butnobody

Canmakeitoutherealone.

Nowifyoulistenclosely

I'lltellyouwhatIknow

Stormcloudsaregathering

Thewindisgonnablow

Theraceofmanissuffering

AndIcanhearthemoan,

'Causenobody,

Butnobody

Canmakeitoutherealone.

Alone,allalone

Nobody,butnobody

Canmakeitoutherealone.

LoveAfterLove

DerekWalcott

Thetimewillcome

when,withelation

youwillgreetyourselfarriving

atyourowndoor,inyourownmirror

andeachwillsmileattheother'swelcome,

andsay,sithere.Eat.

Youwillloveagainthestrangerwhowasyourself.

Givewine.Givebread.Givebackyourheart

toitself,tothestrangerwhohaslovedyou

allyourlife,whomyouignored

foranother,whoknowsyoubyheart.

Takedownthelovelettersfromthebookshelf,

thephotographs,thedesperatenotes,

peelyourownimagefromthemirror.

Sit.Feastonyourlife.

LangstonHughes’“AsIGrewOlder”representsnotonlyhisgrowthinstature,buttheobstaclestohisgrowthasanindividual,andamemberofsociety.ThepurposeofLifeforapersonisdefinedbyhisdream.Hestatesthat“Itwasalongtimeago”thathisdreamexisted.Thelinesthatbeginlikeafairytalepointtoafairytaleexistence--theaspirationofablackinawhite-dominatedsociety.Thedreamatthemomentwasrightinfrontofhim,an‘inthefaceaspect’.Itislikenedtothesun.Thecomparisonisapt,astheSunstandsforsunshine,brightness,thewarmthoflifeandraysofhope.ThelightoftheSunalsoseemedtoshowhimtheway.

Subsequently,thepoetbringsinthemetaphoroftheWallthatgrewwhenhewassupposedtogrowninitsplace.ThewallreferredtohereisthewallofApartheid,theinvisiblebutsophisticatedbarrier.Thewallisemblematicofboundaries,andbarriers,andmarginalizationandsegregation,asinRobertFrost’s“MendingWall’.Whilepeoplehaveintroducedthewall,asasymbolofcivilization;accordingtoFrostitwasaneloquentsymbolforregression.ThepoetLangstonHughesassertshowthewallroseslowlyhere,hereiteratestheword‘slowly’tostressitsdeviousmethodofsegregation.IteventuallyseparatesLangstonHughesfromhisdreampermanently.Whenitshouldhavebeenthedreamtouchingthehorizon,HughesportraystheWallastouchingthesky.’

Itwasalongtimeago.

Ihavealmostforgottenmydream.

Butitwastherethen,

Infrontofme,

Brightlikeasun--

Mydream.

Andthenthewallrose,

Roseslowly,

Slowly,

Betweenmeandmydream.

Roseuntilittouchedthesky--

Itnowthrowsashadow.Theshadow,istruetothespeakerasitishisownanddoesnotpartwithhim.Itremainswithhimevenintimesofdistress.Thesymbolismoftheshadowindicatesapallofgloom.Asthespeakerasserts:

“Iliedownintheshadow,”theshadowcomesacrossasaprotectiverefugeforhim.Thelightofhisdreamnolongerinspireshim.Whatremainsisonlythethickimpenetrablewallandtheshadowofdarkness.Thepoetutilizes‘hands;torefertohisreachandalsotohiswholebody.Thereforethefigureofspeechemployedismetonymy.Hewantstobreakthroughthiswall;heaimstobreakdownthisdarknessofirrationalbehaviourbasedoncolour.Thisisthewhytheword‘black’hasbeenrepeatednumeroustimes.

Heutilizesimagesofdarknesslikeshadow,Night.Hughesstronglyurgestobreakthiswallaseasilyasafragilepieceofglassware.Thisinclinationisechoedinthewords‘shatter’,’smash’,’break’.Heaspirestobreakitlikepiecesofmirrorthatwouldreflect“Intoathousandlightsofsun.”Thesebrokenpiecesofmirrorfunctionastheobjectivecorrelativeofhisbrokendreams.

LangstonHughes'poem,"AsIGrewOlder,"tellsagreatstoryinjustafewshortstanzas. Hughesputswordstotheexperienceoftheyearsgoingbyslowlytheneventuallyfasterandfasterinhumanlife. Asyoungchildren,peoplecannotwaittogetoldertobeabletorealizeallofourvividdreams. Thereissomuchthatispossibleandsomuchtheycando. Thefutureissobrightandseemstobefullofendlesspossibilities. Unfortunately,atthisstageoflife,theyearsseemtocrawlbyandtimeseemstogososlow. Itseemstheywillneverreachthepointinlifewheredreamscanpotentiallybecomereality.ThefollowingwordsofHughes'depictthis,

"Brightlikeasun-

Mydream.

Andthenthewallrose,

Roseslowly,

Slowly,

Betweenmeandmydream."

Lateroninlife,aspeoplecometothepointwheretheyaremoreincontrolofwhattheydoandwhentheydoit,theyrealizeallthatgetsinthewayofdreams.Thedreamsarestilltherebuttheystarttofadeastheyrealizethattherearelimitationsandobstaclesthatseparateresponsibilitiesfromdreams. Theylearnthattheymustputtheirresponsibilitiesfirstanddreamsonhold,inmanycases. Thiscanbecomefrustrating. Thegreatdreamsofthepastdonotdisappearcompletely,buttheyarefurtherfromconsciousnessthantheyeverwerebefore. Soon,theyearsstartgoingbymoreswiftlyandtheygetolder. Itseemssometimesthereisn'teventimetoblinktimegoessofast. Liveschangeandeventuallydreamsarenotasimportantastheyoncewere.

HugheshighlightstheideathattherecomesatimeinlifeaspeoplegetolderandtimeonEarthisalmostcompletethatdreamshavefadedtothepointthattheyreallyhavetothinktorememberthem. Whatseemedpossiblesomanyyearsagoisnolongeranythingthatcanbepossible. It'snolongersomethingthattheydesireorneedinlife. Earlydreamswerereplacedwithanewrealitythattheyneverimagined. Thisnewrealityissometimesbetterthantheyeverdreamedorcouldhavedreamedatayoungage.

Withthispoem,Hughesseemstobesayingthatdreamsareimportant. Theymotivateusandgiveuspurpose. However,peopleshouldnotbedejectediftheydonotbecomereality. Eventhoughlifegoesbyfast,itisfullofsurprises. Thesesurprisesandnewrealitiescaneventuallyreplacedreams. Thisisnotabadthing,justthewaylifeis,perceptionschangeaspeoplegrowolderandtimemoveson. 

Theliteralmeaningofthispoemisthatbecauseheisblack,LangstonHughesisunabletoachievehisdreams.

Asachild,hewasunawareofthecrueltyoftheworldandinhisinnocentoptimismdaredtodreamofachie