Poem Self-Assessment

While I was in the process of completing this assignment, I had an idea of what I wanted one of my poems to be about. I knew that I wanted to bring awareness to the social issue of needing more physicians. For the other two poems, I decided to write a poem regarding my race and another on a location. Throughout this assignment, knowing the different types of poetry was helpful. Therefore, I was able to create the three poems that will forever hold a dear place in my heart.

The first poem that I wrote was titled “BlackBeauty”. This poem was based on the second option. I wanted to write a poem about being black because many young black women do not understand the power and strength that the color of their skin possesses. My pathos behind this poem empowered me to continue to be strong and to succeed in life which will enable my essence to shine bright. This poem was written in Haiku which enables the poem to have a prosody of 5-7-5. I wanted this poem to have volume even though many words were not ‘spoken’. “BlackBeauty” has the potential to let women of color understand their worth but also gain an understanding of who they are or at least have the potential of becoming. As a result, having the choice to write about an aspect of my identity allowed me to speak about a part of myself that is important.

The next poem that I wrote was “Jamaica Red”. Honestly, this poem came out of nowhere. Meaning, I had no idea of what direction I wanted to travel. However, the exigence behind this poem was the death of two family members. This was a repetition poem, anaphora because I wanted to emphasize the escalating violence in Jamaica and the impact that it is having on those within the area. When I used the word ‘RED’ it was to symbolize the blood that is being shed. Additionally, this poem is important to me because it was formed by using the literary device colloquialism. The syntax of this poem extends my sorrow to my family and the country in which they live in. Therefore, being able to write in patwa gave me a sense of peace because I was able to write about my feelings in my native tongue.

Lastly, the poem “Wanted: Rural Physicians” is a dedication to the career that I will be pursuing. This is a name poem that spells out Physicians. I came across an article that recognized that the shortage of physicians is a social issue that needs to be solved. In order to construct this poem, I used some words and or phrases from the article that corresponds with the letter I am writing about. In the end, being able to write a poem based on a social issue enabled me to share my plan for life.

All in all, this assignment taught me that poetry comes from within especially if it is based on a matter that holds your interest. Writing these poems were very easy because they were about matters that are of importance. In the future, I will find a way to write more poetry because I found it to be very therapeutic.

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