Reiko Gomyo: Imagining a Growing Future

Reiko Gomyo’s haiku “Vision of Loneliness” captures daily life at the internment camp within America by utilizing imagery as a way to spark hope to combat the imprisonment of Japanese Americans. The haiku being written in free verse establishes the sense of freedom that the audience can experience from the speaker’s experience. The speaker mentioning “Vision of loneliness” creates that image of a person alone, and a melancholic feeling that a person could experience (Gomyo 1). This can be translated to the internment camps because many Japanese Americans would have experienced that sense of loneliness, feeling imprisoned from the world, adding onto when they were finally released, they returned to find their home and belongings taken from them, and were still not socially accepted with most Japanese Americans remaining unemployed between 1945 to 1988. Thus, “vision” becomes a foreshadow to American repression against Japanese Americans, based on the racial prejudices and discrimination on physical appearance. 

Though the haiku takes a first person narrator, mentioning “I endure in the green of spring” (2-3). Being written in first person narration gives the speaker a sense of individuality and push through the suffering of loneliness, which can be reflected in the lives of Japanese Americans in these internment camps. The speaker uses the spring season as a traditional symbol for growth; an endurance to continue growing when faced with loneliness as a Japanese American in the internment camps. Neiji Ozawa, a Japanese American poet pioneering the usage of haiku, had also mentioned how Gomyo’s haiku are “lyrical and serene” (Matsuda De Cristoforo 104). This can be seen by contrasting the melancholic with the hopeful outlook of endurance and emphasizing on the color green of spring to create that imagery of growth which bolsters with its consonance repeating the “g” sound. Rhythm can also be detected: the first line holds no rhythm as loneliness disrupts the possibility of growth, until the last two lines where trochees mimic the process of growth through the stressed syllables – “I enDURE/IN the GREEN of SPRING.” Gomyo’s imaginative world helps bring a hopeful message when faced with the loneliness of daily life at internment camps, to continue growing as individuals and endure.

Phillip Gallo

The Beauty in Art

The poem that is most effective in representing the nature of art would be Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” mainly because of how its title brings significance to the poem. Just by reading it, it could be immediately concluded that Herrick wrote about a woman, but is he? That’s where the poem gets effective. The title may be questionable, especially in the aspect of how it connects to ‘disorder’ and “delight’, however by scanning its metrical and rhythmical side, its connection can be found. The poem begins with an Iambic Tetrameter, this is cut short when the word “Kindles” is introduced. It is a trochee. At first, while scanning the poem, I started to think more trochees would appear, which another did on line four, “Into”. This may seem like that’s how the metric feet are meant to be, but closely scanning through, I noticed the trochees were set as a distraction. The trochees were inputted on purpose to make the reader scan through the entire poem and not realize the poem’s prosody is an Iambic Tetrameter, which was answered on the first line. The way the trochees stand out reflects how it’s a disorderly poem overall, and the way the poet expresses it is quite interesting since he could have simply expressed it with words, but instead he hid the message with meters.

On the other hand, though Jonson’s poem also has a dominant iambic tetrameter, and his sound pattern is more organized and straightforward, his poem is generally suspicious. The meters and rhythm fit rather too perfectly with the words Like “Give me/a look, give me/ a face”. The tone and the rhythm sound like a heartbeat. This is where I believe he did very well in expressing his main idea. But overall, I was still left with many unanswered questions about his poem. Like what was his motive to make his poem so neat? Why make readers suspicious? Is he trying to purposely have readers overthink his poem’s intent? This is why I chose Herrick’s.  I believe Herrick was more precise on the nature of art than Jonson.

Claudia Dominguez

Chaotic Beauty in Simple Form

Each poem makes a note of how art is not a precise and “neat” form that needs a step by step way of creating nor is it something that is always complex but can be rather simple. From Herrick’s poem I get, as in the title, a more chaotic disorder of what art is, definitely giving me the idea that beauty portrayed here is not a clean and all straightened up thing but more of as stated “Kindles in clothes a wantonness” (Herrick line 2) wantonness being a reckless and freeing act which is being corelated to beauty and art. Herricks poem gives me the sense of not only beauty and art but of love, a sort of romantic feel, something I see closely within the genre of Romanticism. There is that hint of disorder often associated with the genre that shows hints of itself within this poem. Although Herrick’s poem is lovely I dare say Jonson’s poem is seemingly more effective to portraying art. Jonson’s Still to Be Neat also has that unruly and disorderly description to it but in a way the structure and rhythm has a sweeter note. It describes the neat way of how art can be seen and viewed but then goes on to describe how the neat “lady” ,as art is being personified as, does not give the writer the same feeling or as he put, “Such sweet neglect more taketh me” (Jonson line 10) how the neglect of order and formality does not catch his attention as much as the “neglect” or unruliness that art is given form to does. His poem personifying art as a lady who does not need to be a “proper” lady with all her presumption but is better as a lady with “Robes loosely flowing”(line 9), it gives a sense of freedom and carelessness, is much more effective in representing the nature of art and all of the chaotic beauty it entails.

Rose of Evanescent, you Stood not a Chance with the Forgotten Poppy

By Mitaya La Pierre

When I think of a rose, I like to generally think of romance; I like to consider the red hue of the flower and the love it can symbolize. But when I think about what could be seen as ‘challenging’ that symbolism; two poems come up to par. One, “The Rose and The Poppy” by UC Merced student Adrianna Puente, and two, “Sea Rose” by H. D. Now, both poems are very explicit in re introducing the symbolism of the rose; however I find myself more drawn to the UC student’s poem rather than H.D’s poem, but let me explain!

In “Sea Rose”, the speaker is apparently sighting a pathetic rose, drifting in the sea, not having having anything particularly special about it. I felt initially drawn to this because the poem then compares spice to the ‘sea rose’; which I thought was a strange comparison. But when re reading Puente’s poem, I could see a true de characterization of the rose symbol, and a re flourish of the definitions ‘unique’,  and ‘lovely’. Which in this case is the presumed “Poppy”. 

In lines 1-3, the speaker of the poem disallows any notion of it being a rose.

“I am

not a ravishing ruby red,

or a semblance of purity white.”

And through lines 4-10, the speaker then goes on to describe the abilities of a rose; the flower you give out of love, condolences; a flower you represent with a beautiful red, a passionate event’s must have. 

“Not the flower you give to a lover,

or a token of comfort you give to a friend in the hospital.

Nor am I a symbol of romance

–

of new moments to

be made,

of old memories to be cherished.

Though I am not a beautiful rouge,

Buds picked to be set onto a bed of down and wine”

So here we are re iterating it’s human perceived ‘uniqueness’, it purpose, and everything else the rose is meant for. Yet we are also reminded that the speaker is NONE of these adjectives. So still we read to find out what they could be. We go down further, to lines 11-14

“I am

wild in fields of green and blues.

Electric orange

–

like tangerines in an orchard of trees”

Now this speaker is describing what they are, instead of what they are not. Here, it is not just any orange but ‘Electric’ orange color, and born of green and blues. This is very much not a rose; not just because the speaker said so, but the introduction is so different from any other rose. 

“my skin’s perfume meshed

in the summer breeze.

Most times I am forgotten.

Rarely chosen for 

eager hands on Valentine’s day

–

but I am my own.”

The not-rose describes that it may not be picked for Valentine’s, but that it has other desirable qualities like, a beautiful scent and extraordinary coloring. That it is ‘unique’.

“In a potpourri of our colors

we each wilt

between dried petals

–

Scenting rooms

with our fragrance.

Rotting

into umber”

In the last few lines of the poem, the flower then describes a scene, a scene of her and other flowers like her all rotting for scent in a potpourri bowl. This part struck me most peculiarly because flowers are traditionally known for scent. And by standards of what the speaker is saying, if we put the perfume of this flower in our homes, all of time, then why is it not revered more perfectly? Why doesn’t “The Rose” get less credit than the “The Poppy”? And the answer is clear, that those things that are talked about the most; as in the rose that is seen as such a symbol of beauty and romance–tends to lack a uniqueness. Simply because everyone sees it as ‘special’, rather than a collective small group who can notice the actually ‘unique’ beauty of the wild poppy flower. While the rose has its assumptive traditional roles, ones played all of the time, this poem takes the role of ‘special’ out of it, and puts the new notion of ‘romance’ into the poppy. Majorly because its spoken of in such an defined yet divine way, its hard to try and not wonder if the Poppy is more special and more of a symbol of ‘passion’ and ‘love’ then the rose. After all, isn’t love more special, when only a select few see it’s worth in something completely different?

Feeling in Words

Okay, to start off, I don’t think I’ve ever read a poem that kept my attention like this one did. “Like This” by Rumi uses a mix of figurative language and repetition to make the poem seem as close and intimate as a loving and passionate relationship. Had this poem been originally written in any other language like English, I’m certain the meaning would have been lost on me, or at least not have been hammered into me as effectively.

The poem is meant to depict the love between two people in worded form, and does so in a way that makes the reader feel that they aren’t an observer, but part of that union themselves; for example, Lines 12, 13, and 14 are:

“or what God’s fragrance” means

lean your head towards him or her.

Keep your face there close

The aforementioned figurative language compares the scent of one half of the couple to something the other half is thoroughly enamored with, comparing it to God; the poem repeats this process with a variety of different phrases, but these different phrases all mean the same thing at their core: love.

I noticed that as the poem goes along, the words and meaning behind them grow in intensity and in intimacy, as indicated by the lines “slowly loosen knot by knot the strings” (Line 18) and “Kiss me on the lips” (Line 23). It becomes a crescendo of sorts, almost representative of a couple preparing for passion and the increasing feelings leading up to it.

There is a recurring element throughout the poem that consistently repeats itself after each paragraph: the words “like this”. I’m torn on what the real meaning of this phrase actually represents; on one hand, I get the impression it is the narrator’s thoughts, as he/she and their lover do what the paragraphs before each “like this” describe; we as readers follow along as the couple dance on the rooftop, kiss, enjoy quiet nights together, and do everything that being a happy couple implies. And, of course, regarding a more sexual aspect, “like this” could also be representative of the couple’s first time making love; fumbling with each other as they try to find out what the other enjoys.

Overall, the figurative language used in the poem comes together to help give a touching throwback to what a genuinely loving relationship is, or at least can be; it’s not just kissing and sex, but the emotional bonds that two people forge, bit by bit, everlasting.

 

By Daniel Amaro