It seems that the world is all about the greatest hits, the Track A’s, the highlights of life. What about Track B? Does anyone ever just be honest and share their lowlights, or is there too much shame in the bad? Whether we like it or not, there are two sides to every coin, every story, and every person. These poems are about some of the people that I love, the good and the bad. Track A, of course, is their best parts, and Track B, their worst. In the end, it's our lowest moments that lead us to our greatest hits. Here are some poems from the semester, along with their newly written opposites, because there are two sides to everyone.

Link to the presentation and poems here.

Listen to the tracks:

Track A:

Pistanthrophobia

A Good (Wo)Man (An ode to my father)

Ode To Mothers Who Raise Daughters

Track B:

The Flavors In Your Vocabulary

Paper Labyrinths

Ode To Mothers Who Raise Daughters (Part 2)

Reflection:

At the start of this semester, I struggled to find my voice. Looking at my first poems, they were chaotic, unclear, and overly simplified. I didn't know what I was writing about or how I felt or even how to put it into words. This class helped me to find the voice and form that I used in this final portfolio. Through odes and persona poems, I realized that I found it easier to write when I was looking through the lens of someone else's eye. Recall a poem from early in the semester, "A Matter Of Time." This poem involved me embodying the life of my grandfather in his final moments before passing away at the beginning of this semester. After I wrote it, I felt like I had "faced the lion," seen the world through his eyes, and understood his final moments. When I put myself into the persona of another, which I did often for my poems, I found that I was more controlled. The techniques and practices I learned in this class gave me a sense of how to control my thoughts instead of writing jumbled emotions on a page and calling it a poem. I understand the benefits and beauty of showing and not telling my readers--and the importance of a good title. My poems and techniques could always use more work, but I've never felt closer to my own voice. Maybe they're not for everyone, and that is okay. Furthermore, although I was apprehensive about Jane Hirschfield, she brought me back to the basics of poetry: story, music, rhetoric, imagery, emotion, and voice. I thought that I knew all of this. Truthfully, I was missing most of these aspects. But, once I could look at my poetry with a more critical view, I saw the lines that could be built on and the ones that didn't serve the poem. Which reminds me, Matt definitely taught me the importance of having just one important phrase/ line as the foundation to build an entire poem on. What was the best part of this class? The fact that none of the lessons felt like work, but, suddenly, I can look back and pinpoint how each one helped me grow.

Thank you.