Trees by Joyce Kilmer

Summary
-A poem that is as lovely and ideal as a tree is probably not something I'll ever read.
Trees that are thirsty take water from the sweet soil of the earth as a baby takes milk from its
mother.
All day long, trees gaze upward, their green branches appearing to be in a position of prayer.
Robins build their nests in trees during the summer, which look like crowns perched atop the
leaves.
Trees have a close, loving relationship with the rain, and snow falls on their breasts.
Even a person like me tried to make poetry, it would never have the same glory as anything
made by God.
Personal Critique and reflection
-The entire poem is metaphorical, honoring both nature and its Creator by personifying
nature. The poem's critique of human actions that harm nature is another significant feature.
While humans cut down trees to make paper and compose poems, God produces the trees.
The poet appears to be against this behavior. He refers to himself and other poets as fools
for this reason.

If you forget me by Pablo Neruda

Summary
-While living in exile from Chile, Pablo Neruda wrote this poem. He was involved in a
relationship with Matilde Urrutia at the time. Perhaps Matilde was in mind when the poem
was being composed. The poem illustrates how long love may last when it is treated with
respect and without prejudice. Others believe that this poem was written to Chile, his native
country, as a warning not to forget him while he was in exile rather than to his sweetheart.
The poem is one of the most well-known love poems in literature, regardless of point of view.
The poem is an expression of a young boy's intense inner love. He claims in the beginning
of the poem that everything he does in life draws him closer to his girlfriend. The poet says
that when he stares at the heavenly, crystal-white moon, all he can think about is her. He
compares his beloved to the purity and spirituality of the moon. Even the fireplace's burnt-out
leaves and the dried-out, crisp wood give him the impression that he is getting closer to her.
The poem provides a detailed explanation of the poet's everyday thoughts and emotional
state as they relate to remembering his loved one. In addition to finding her shine in the
metal particles, the poet also finds her perfume in the mouthwatering aroma of the air. The
poet expresses the fierce cries of his heart and how it hurts for him to imagine how
everything would turn into a boat if only he could cross oceans to be with her.
The poet's pure and selfless love for his girlfriend is beautifully captured in the poem's
second half. He claims that he will always yearn for her, even if she one day stops loving
him. He will instead pray to God to make the day his lover stops thinking of him the way she
once did his final day.
The poet asserts that if she remembers him every day, exactly as he does, and if she longs
for him as much as he does, his love is undivided and their love can last forever. The poet
has no idea whether she remembers him at all, but all he wants is to grow old with his
girlfriend and pass away in her embrace.

Personal Critique and reflection

-First and foremost, we support only nonviolent revolutions and are staunch opponents of
war. Additionally, we believe that he occasionally and unintentionally supported a
tremendous deal of evil using his abilities. For instance, his poems endorsing Marxism and
Stalin. We are aware of this. We cannot truly appreciate Neruda's choices without
understanding the circumstances in which they were made. We are aware of Neruda's own
words in his Memoirs, where he notes, "any judgment is possible in a diabolically confused
era." So, until we hear otherwise, we are happy to assume that some of Neruda's political
decisions are only a reflection of his misguided high aspirations. We only see tragedy in this
and would rather let someone else decide on Neruda's eternal soul. In my humble opinion,
he's protecting himself. If his love were to desert him, he would refuse to pine after her.
Pride. It's not that he wouldn't be heartbroken, he'd just refuse to show it. He'd move on; his
''roots will set off to seek another land''. He's not being shallow and his attitude isn't 'I'll love
you so long as you love me'- it's I'll love you so long as you'll allow me to, but if you should
choose to leave me and all we have, don't expect me to wait for you, forever washed up on
the shore. For he has a life to live too. A life he'd happily spend cherishing his love, so long
as the feeling is mutual. If not, he'd accept it let her live her life as well as moving on to live
his own. Broken-hearted, perhaps, but his pride and dignity will triumph.

Mother to son by Langston Hughes

Summary
-The poem serves as a mother's caution to her son about the obstacles one must overcome
in life. He needs to be cautious of tacks, splinters, and damaged boards. To confuse him,
these items are present. She also stresses that despite the possibility that he might grow
weary or despairing, he must never turn around or sit down. He can also climb up the steps
when she is still stumbling.
Personal Critique and reflection
-The first two lines portray a mother telling her son the facts in no uncertain terms. Here's an
honest individual putting their integrity on the line using a clever metaphor—a flight of steps.
These are not crystal steps to this person; instead, they are something else. Well, if they
were made of crystal, Things would have been quite different. The mother explains that her
stairway was devoid of carpet and was covered in splinters, tacks, and damaged planks. The
ground was actually just bare wood. The crystal stair's opposite is present here. Here, you
can find fundamental needs, poverty, and deprivation. The shift occurs in lines eight and nine
when the mother informs the son that she isn't giving up hope despite a difficult life since she
has been a climbing on, showing the emergence of the dialect. To help the boy from giving
up, the mother offers straightforward advise. Perhaps her son was considering returning to
the bottom of the stairs, giving up on the foundation he had built, and avoiding setting
ambitious goals. Therefore, through the mother’s pain she teaches her son hope. The line
about not sitting on the stairs puts the crystal stairs in perspective. Underneath it all is hope. A
satisfying poem. It teaches us that no matter what we go through in life. It’s going to be hard we
can't give up on life or on the challenges it throws at you.

Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas

Summary
-Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet, wrote "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" in 1951. The
poem, which is dedicated to his father, might be seen as a son pleading with his dying father
to retain his zest for life in the face of death. The poem emphasizes the vitality and delight of
human life despite its transience in a broader sense.
Personal critique and reflection
-"Do not go gentle into that good night" is mostly a poem about dying. The final stanza, or
group of lines, in the poem reveals that the narrator is going through his father's passing.
The speaker reflects about death more broadly after witnessing his father's passing. The
speaker considers how the many types of individuals shown in the previous five stanzas will
eventually have to confront death as well. In the end, the speaker comes to terms with the
fact that death cannot be prevented but can be resisted. He encourages readers to "rage
against the dying of the light" and "not go gentle into that good night," which is another way
of saying that they should not accept death without protest. Instead, he informs listeners that
the final decision a dying person makes is how to approach death. Thomas sees fighting
death as both a brave and human response. The main message of "Do Not Go Gentle into
That Good Night" is that life is valuable and deserves to be defended at any costs. The
speaker of the poem offers advice on how to approach death with ferocity and dignity rather
than resignation; he or she thinks that individuals should "burn and rave" as they get close to
passing away.

Still I rise by Maya Angelou

Summary
-The poet leads the reader through a sequence of assertions she makes about herself
throughout the poem. She lauds her physical prowess, strength, and capacity to overcome
her traumatic and oppressive history. The speaker claims that nothing can prevent her from
moving forward. Anything that tries to dominate her will "rise" above and beyond her.
Personal critique and reflection
-Her statement that she, for one, would not let society's intolerance dictate her achievement
is contained in the song "Still I Rise." The poem "Still I Rise" is a declaration of the author's
resolve to live above the society in which she was raised as well as an appeal to others to do
the same. The words "I rise" are repeated like a mantra throughout the entire poem,
attesting to the strength and power of Blackness as well as women. The "I" that the poem
alludes to is not a single person; rather, it serves as a collective voice for everyone who has
ever experienced oppression. We will soar like dust, like air, like bursting hopes. One
outstanding poet who used her words to inspire others is Maya Angelou. We can also honor
the poets who came before and after her during this month-long celebration of women in
literature. Below are links to just a handful of the poems I've read and liked.