Monday, August 17, 2009

Some Poems

Difícil trabalhar com poesia em sala de aula, mesmo na universidade e em curso de Letras. Magina, então, Ensino Médio. Mas, depois de um Varal de Poesias, creio ter conseguido um resultado pra lá de razoável com meu atual grupo de Video & Literature do CAp neste ano.

These are the poems I read with my students in class. They're supposed to come here, choose one and write a comment about it.
In case you're not a student of mine, feel free to leave your impressions as well.

THE DAY IS DONE
H.W. Longfellow

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

ANNABEL LEE
Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.


THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


THIS IS JUST TO SAY
William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

1st poem
e. e. cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the colour of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

2nd poem
e. e. cummings

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite a new thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like,, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh....And eyes big love-crumbs,

and possibly i like the thrill

of under me you quite so new

HAPPINESS
Carl Sandburg

I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though as I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of [beer and an accordion.

THE APPLICANT
Sylvia Plath

First, are you our sort of a person?
Do you wear
A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
A brace or a hook,
Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,

Stitches to show something's missing? No, no? Then
How can we give you a thing?
Stop crying.
Open your hand.
Empty? Empty. Here is a hand

To fill it and willing
To bring teacups and roll away headaches
And do whatever you tell it.
Will you marry it?
It is guaranteed

To thumb shut your eyes at the end
And dissolve of sorrow.
We make new stock from the salt.
I notice you are stark naked.
How about this suit----

Black and stiff, but not a bad fit.
Will you marry it?
It is waterproof, shatterproof, proof
Against fire and bombs through the roof.
Believe me, they'll bury you in it.

Now your head, excuse me, is empty.
I have the ticket for that.
Come here, sweetie, out of the closet.
Well, what do you think of that ?
Naked as paper to start

But in twenty-five years she'll be silver,
In fifty, gold.
A living doll, everywhere you look.
It can sew, it can cook,
It can talk, talk , talk.

It works, there is nothing wrong with it.
You have a hole, it's a poultice.
You have an eye, it's an image.
My boy, it's your last resort.
Will you marry it, marry it, marry it.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro!the poems are all very touching and meaningfull,but the one I liked the most was Annabel Lee.I think It's because despite dealing with a subject as usual as the love, Edgar Allan Poe poem can transport the reader to another universe,just like a dream.He also do this connection between body and soul very softly during the poem,trying to show the reader that death cannot separate the lover and the beloved.It's difficult to know how, all I can say is that Edgar used the words in such a smart and emotional way that he did manage to write a work of art that I'm pretty sure that inspires people in many ways, and this is the most facinanting about this poem.

Thanks,
Katharine 22B

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro! I liked all the poems, but the one I liked most was Annabel Lee. I think that poem is very touching, because even when she dies he still loving her and nothing or nobody can change it. A friend of my father knows a woman like the "eu poético" of this poem, her husband is dead, but she still loving him.
It shows that it can happen in real life, not only in the poems. This is the reason that i like this poem.

Victor 22B

Filipe said...

Hi Evandro, i'm going to talk about Happiness because this poem is fantastic, alluring and a lesson for life. When you read this poem it touch within the soul, because it is just the truth, we can't say what happiness is, we can't try to think what it is .. better, we can try to think what it is but we will never find a truth or a complete answer.
As the poem show us we can ask the most import, most intelligent person in the world but this person will not give any answer, you only find the real answer, if one day the happiness pass in your path, you will just know it when you feel it, but the meaning of happiness cannot be written in words.
That what i liked of this poem because it's touching and real. It show us what is in front of us but we cannot see: that the life has a lot of feelings that we are always trying to decipher it when we just have to feel it. It's amazing !

Bye,
Filipe Teodoro 22B

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro, the poems are very good but the one that I liked most was "The Applicant", I think this poem is about what society want from us. And in a inteligent way, criticize the values of our culture. I think that is a brillant poem done by Sylvia Plath.

Giovana 22A

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro,
the poem that I had chosen of the first time was "Happiness". But after to study and understand all them, the one that I liked more was "Annabel Lee". In that poem the love is represented in a very magic way, he loves her so much that the death doesn't stop him. The author make us belive in the eternal love and this is so beautiful.

Bye,
Mariana 22A

Anonymous said...

Hey Evandro
I'm here to talk about the poem "The Applicant", written bys Sylvia Plath.
I think this poem is brilliant. I mean, the way she criticizes our societey, her sarcasm and her strong way to write gives the poem a something special.It make us think about our society, the way it works. It help us to see the problems we have to face.
We need to conform with the ideas of society, after all, we haven't found no way out from her.
I like this poem very much.

See you later Evandro
Carolinne
22B

mikamakino said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mikamakino said...

First, I would like to say THANKS for show me a piece of beauty in the poems, in the life. Cause art is the essence of human.
About the poems, I can say that all of then are very unique and singular. But the 1st poem by e.e. cummings makes me feel something sweet, soft, maybe like tempting fruit or a petal of a flower. The way who Cummings describes and shapes the individual with subtle and perfect facts of nature. Giving us a sensitive and sentimental tone of that majestic figure, so we can not only read it, but what we see, feel and hear. It's something completely diferent, but glorious like the world. Somethig we embellishes, move, and I compare with the love that only who living-such splendor can dazzle.

Mika Makino 22A

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro! I liked "Happiness" because it talks about people who give more importance to the job and forget the simple things of life like a picnic, and even being smart they can't answer the question about happiness. The Hungarians weren't asked because it wasn't necessary, enough see them with their simple life enjoying the moment and just being happy. "Happiness" shows that people can't answer what is happiness only live it.

Rebecca Abrantes, 22B.

Anonymous said...

Hey Evandro, how are you doing? I wasn't supposed to come here and post, again, a comment about "The Road Not Taken" from Robert Frost. Althoug, taking into consideration that I love to write or speak in english, here I am. Anyway, I chose this poem from Frost just because its "profound" meaning really calls anyones attention, that is, the idea of revolting yourself so that being able to thing by yourself, and not following the herd is fantastic, and should be used by everyone who has just a little of sense.
Farewell Evandro.
Arthur Berbert, 22B

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro!
I liked all the poems, but I am going to talk about "Annabel Lee". I chose this one because it touched my soul in a wonderful way. It makes you really believe that love is everlasting, that not even the death can ruin it. Edgar Allan Poe also uses the the image of the body and the soul and that you don't need to be physically together to fell the person because love can break this limit. "Annabel Lee" is a very touching poem that I'm sure everyone who reads it, will fell different after it.

Thanks,
Luiza Saraiva 22C

Anonymous said...

Hello Evandro!
When we had the "varal da poesia" my favorite poem was Annabel Lee, but another one that I loved was e. e. cummings' poem, somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond.
I think that in a general way, talk about love isn't really an easy thing to do, even most father and son's love. Besides that the way e. e. cummings say is so beautiful and touching, and firstly of all isn't a "cliche" way of speak.
All of this makes the poem so special but in a simple way.

Bye bye!
Fernanda Mayor. 22C

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro!! How are you doing?? All the poems are awesome, but one of them are totally perfect: This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams. The way that the author writtes the poems is absolutelly interesting. I loved this poems 'cause it's short and in the other hand it's tottaly brillant!!
Simple words can transform as innofensive poem in a hot/sexy poem. I loved them!!
See you, my friend! Hope you liked the poem, I really did.

Igor Rocha - 22C

Anonymous said...

Hi Evandro! First I want to say thank you for showing us these beautiful and excellent poems. When we first read them we had a different and superficial understanding. But after studying and discussing about it in class we understood it wolly. The poem that I liked the most was “Happiness” by Carl Sandburg because it shows that no one can tell the meaning of happiness. This is something that you can only know by yourself, feeling by heart and having experiences with this emotion.


See you,
Ana Carolina - 22A

Cora said...

Hey Evandro, finally I'm here, better late than never.
I liked all the poems too but I have two that I like most, there are "the road not taken" by Robert Frost and 2nd poem by e. e. cummings. The first, by Frost, tells about two differents ways to do or follow something, as in our life, we always have two roads and only one to pick. The second poem, by e. e. cummings is a figurative way to show two peoples having a relantionship. I really like the not directly way to say something.
That's all,

Cora 22B!