By: Jessica Beckman Dedicated to: Mom

POETRY DEDICATION PROJECT

• Dear Mom,

The reason I chose you to dedicate this project to is because you encourage me to do my best and keep me going when things get hard and I just want to quit. You are always there for me when I need you the most and when I was little and always seemed to get hurt, like the time I fell off the ladder or found out I was allergic to bumble bees, you were there to let me know I’d be ok. You can tell when something is wrong with me when no one else can, even when I don’t want to tell you what’s wrong with me you end up getting me to tell you at some point. When I’m sitting on the couch thinking about something that is bothering me you’ll be the first person to come over and say “I can tell something is wrong, what is it?” and of course I’ll tell you “nothing” at first but you, being the caring mother that you are keep bugging me until I tell you the reason. I know sometimes things get rough and even you don’t know the answer but we’ll always pull through as a family. These poems I have picked out and wrote are based around children, family and our guardian angel, I hope you enjoy every one of them.

Love,

Jessie

Love It’s like treasure

Sometimes lost forever.

You’ll know when you find it

Love,

You can’t hide it.

There’s many ways to show

But with love,

You never know.

Things get crazy,

A little out of hand.

You may not understand

Love,

It has its own plan.

by Jessica Beckman

I have a very hard time writing things like this as you know, so you’re going to have to bear with me while reading the poems that I have written for this project. The reason I included this poem in my dedication project is because family is made up of several diff erent pieces but one thing that makes up a good family and relationship is, love. About 20 years ago (I think) you met who you thought was the love of your life, dad, but when times got hard he turned into someone else and that is how he’s been ever since. About a year after you guys got a divorce another man walked into your life, a single father that was very nice and willing to take every one of us under his wing and treat us like we are his own. One day he made a mistake, as do many men, ever since then you’ve been a little iff y on whether or not you should fall for him again. I can tell you love him and he loves you and in my mind I believe he is your soul mate. This is a story that proves love is crazy and you never know what love will have in store for you.

Air And Angels Twice or thrice had I loved thee,

Before I knew thy face or name;

So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame,

Angels affect us oft, and worshipped be;

Still when, to where thou wert, I came,

Some lovely glorious nothing I did see,

But since my soul, whose child love is,

Takes limbs of flesh, and else could nothing do,

More subtle than the parent is

Love must not be, but take a body too,

And therefore what thou wert, and who

I bid love ask, and now

That it assume thy body, I allow,

And fix itself in thy lip, eye, and brow.

Whilst thus to ballast love, I thought,

And so more steadily to have gone,

With wares which would sink admiration,

I saw, I had love's pinnace overfraught,

Every thy hair for love to work upon

Is much too much, some fitter must be sought;

For, nor in nothing, nor in things

Extreme, and scatt'ring bright, can love inhere;

Then as an angel, face and wings

Of air, not pure as it, yet pure doth wear,

So thy love may be my love's sphere;

Just such disparity

As is 'twixt air and angels' purity,

'Twixt women's love, and men's will ever be.

By John Donne

Explication of Air And Angles

• In “Air and Angels”, there are many possible interpretations. The emotion of love is being brought out by the speaker in this poem. The speaker is carrying love high on his shoulder. This makes love the most valuable thing an individual could every possibly own. The love in this poem is based on spirits, not beauty. No matter how bad the speaker desires to feel this emotion, he is desperately unable to get the feeling. In this poem, love is compared and contrasted in many different ways.

• The organizational structure of this poem has a significant meaning as well. In the first fourteen lines, the speaker is describing why love should be put into every human. It starts out with the overall theme that true beauty is hard to get a hold of and put into a true form. In the next fourteen lines the speaker is telling us that love is unattainable in average human form. The speakers talks about how air and angels are alike, something that does not matter to an average human being. Overall, air is just like love, weightless and without boundaries. There is a small conflict with the ending of the poem to that of the beginning because at first the speaker is telling us love is able to be attained and at the end the speaker is telling us that it is no longer attainable.

• The two sections of this poem have diverse meanings. They also use different language. The first section of the poem uses words to keep the flow “down to earth” compared to the second section of the poem that makes it escalade into the air, with the angels. Angels are being compared to love which is ironic because when the average person hers anything about angels, they think love.

Pitter Patter The music I dance to

Both day and night,

My favorite song.

As soon as I get home,

The song starts to play.

All of my children run to the door

The sound of their feet on the floor.

Pitter patter all day long.

That sound right there,

Makes up my favorite song.

By Jessica Beckman

The reason I included this poem into my dedication project is because it is about the kids, how they are always running around and you know as well as I do, the second you walk in the door that “pitter patter” get ten times as loud as all the kids run towards the door and all of them start saying “mommy, mommy”. Even though they get a little crazy and you have to make them stop running around sometimes I know you would go insane if you weren’t able to hear that noise anymore. Good thing you have so many kids because by the time we are all out of the house you’ll be able to fi ll it with grandkids and since you don’t like to yell at your grandkids you aren’t going to be able to make the “pitter patter” stop. This poem has basically only one purpose to it and only people who love listening to their kids run around would be able to enjoy this poem. Sometimes I get frustrated with the kids running because I can’t concentrate on something but I honestly can’t wait for Charlotte to start running around and acting crazy. Watching kid’s play without them knowing it is when their true personalities shine through. I have to say each and every one of us, your children have very unique personalities.

To-day's your natal day; Sweet flowers I bring: Mother, accept, I pray My offering.

And may you happy live, And long us bless; Receiving as you give Great happiness.

To My Mother

By Christina Rossetti

Explication of To My Mother

The first thing that got my attention about this poem is its title. The poem itself is pretty much, short and sweet. I thought about how all the little kids bring you in flowers all summer long in the first part of the poem. The second part of the poem reminds me of how you are always trying to make everyone else happy and put yourself last, also how you are always giving but very rarely receiving. You need to stop worrying about making everyone else happy and do what you need to so that you can be happy all the time or at least most of the time.

• “To my mother” is a simple dedication poem that the speaker had wrote in order to ask for acceptance from her mother. The speaker starts off with her mother’s birthday. She is giving her flowers, and is asking for some kind of acceptance. By using the word “like” there is a small sense of feeling that her mother may not like flowers. The speaker is trying to flatter her mother as well as gain acceptance because she previously feels like she is not accepted. The last four lines of the poem “And may you happy live, / And long us bless; / Receiving as you give / Great happiness”, suggest that the speaker wishes her mother to live happily and not take anything for granted. When there is the chance to receive then her mother should also give in return. The speaker may be suggesting that her mother is greedy and does not give a lot from a day to day basis, and tells her to give more than she normally does. If this is what the speaker is suggesting, then the idea that the speaker needs to be accepted by her own mother becomes a little more prominent. It also suggests that her mother will love and “bless” her children. By the speaker becoming blessed by her mother, she knows she will be accepted. She will be accepted in her mother’s ways and in God’s name. The speaker kept this poem very simple, for the reader to read and for the speaker to write. Overall, this is a good poem to read and there is a lot that can be learnt from the simplicity of this and its true meaning, just by reading between the lines and thinking about what is being said from the reader helps understand the overall meaning of the poem.

The first thing that got my attention about this poem is its title. The poem itself is pretty much, short and sweet. I thought about how all the little kids bring you in flowers all summer long in the first part of the poem. The second part of the poem reminds me of how you are always trying to make everyone else happy and put yourself last, also how you are always giving but very rarely receiving. You need to stop worrying about making everyone else happy and do what you need to so that you can be happy all the time or at least most of the time.

Explication of To My Mother

Angel Wings In a hospital not good enough for you

Born too soon, but as normal as any.

You came out crying,

As do many.

Not long after, you started turning grey.

The doctor that tried playing God

Took your freedom away.

He knew as well as others

You would need a NICU right away.

This hospital didn’t have one,

The closest one was far away.

Because of this doctor you had a hard life.

About twelve short years later,

The Lord called you home.

Your little Angel Wings and Halo way too soon, was earned.

By Jessica Beckman

It took me a while to write this one, I couldn’t fi gure out how to put the words together then once I did I couldn’t fi gure out how to put the sentences together. This one is dedicated to my favorite angel and our family’s guardian angel. This talks about how he should not have been born at our hospital and how even the doctor knew that, but instead of shipping you to Arnot Ogden he decided to put you into labor even more and basically force you to give birth to a pre-mature baby at our hospital which has no NICU. I remember how even though he couldn’t talk he had his way of showing what he wanted and who he did or didn’t like, like his one teacher, how he’d give her the fi nger every time she came. At fi rst we thought it was a coincidence but after a couple weeks of it it was pretty obvious, he just did not like her at all. I know it made you laugh when he did that because none of us liked her either. Tristen was one of the bravest kids I have ever meet and I am lucky to have had him as a brother for as long as I did. He will always be with us even if he’s not visible, though he does make himself clear that he most defi nitely is still with us.

The Children’s Hour Between the dark and the daylight,

When the night is beginning to lower,

Comes a pause in the day's occupations,

That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me

The patter of little feet,

The sound of a door that is opened,

And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,

Descending the broad hall stair,

Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,

And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:

Yet I know by their merry eyes

They are plotting and planning together

To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,

A sudden raid from the hall!

By three doors left unguarded

They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret O'er the arms and back of my chair; If I try to escape, they surround me; They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses, Their arms about me entwine, Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti, Because you have scaled the wall, Such an old mustache as I am Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress, And will not let you depart, But put you down into the dungeon In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever, Yes, forever and a day, Till the walls shall crumble to ruin, And moulder in dust away!

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Explication of The Children’s Hour

• In “The Children’s Hour” the speaker helps getting the reader directly involved in the poem. This is done by a creative use of language and tone of voice the speaker is speaking in. The poem starts off with the setting being right around dusk, as the sun is setting and night is coming. This makes the reader think that there is an unexpected event about to happen. This makes the reader want to learn what is about to happen. Reading on, the speaker introduces playful children. The language is changing every few lines, and the pace of the poem seems like it is getting faster than slower. This tactic helps bring in the reader’s attention and keeps him wanting to read more. The speaker uses words such as “sudden raid” and “sudden rush” followed by a place in order to help the reader grasp an image of what is going on during the time. The speaker then continues to state that his love for his daughters is a gift from God. Love is an eternal thing that a lot of people can find. It is a value that we all have because it is a reflection from God’s love. In this poem, the speaker clearly shows the reader that he loves his daughters. Just like people with God, no matter what happens, he will always love his children. It is an unconditional love. If love were conditioned, and “God will only love you IF…” then the reflection would be a lot different and people would probably act a lot different or have a different sense of meaning of the word and emotion “Love”. This poem is a good poem that can easily be applied to life, especially that of a father who has a daughter.

I really liked this poem and I thought you would too. I mainly picked it because it’s about children and I know how much you love children. As I read the poem a couple times it just kept sounding even better so I had to put it in my project. In the poem, where it says “A sudden rush from the stairway, A sudden raid from the hall!” reminds me of how the kids come out of their rooms after they’re told to go to bed and you hear something in the kitchen so you start heading out to see what it is but by the time you get their all you see is the snack cupboard open and a chair underneath it because as soon as they hear you coming they run to their room as fast as they can.

Little Boy Little Boy with special needs

Had a big heart,

He taught the world a lesson

About life being tough.

He fought every day,

Till it was his time to go.

Then the Lord took him back

To a new place for him to call home.

In heaven everyone’s happy,

There is no pain.

I’m happy he’s not in pain anymore

But I still want him back

Nothing’s the same!

By Jessica Beckman

This is one of my favorite poems that I have put in here and I know you could guess why I put it in here but I am going to tell you anyway. This is another poem for our guardian angel and I know the day is coming close to where he will be gone for two years already and things do not get easier but I’m hoping this helps at least a little. Everyone who seen what happened that day has it burned into the back of their head and we all say if there is one thing I could do I would go back in time and never leave his side so I can make sure that wouldn’t happen. I remember you telling me a few times “the doctor didn’t expect him to live past one year old” but he was a fi ghter and made that doctor out to be a liar. I still don’t understand even at the least why God would take someone so young, fearless, and full of love and I never will understand but I want you to know even if it is hard to talk about for me and you, if you ever need someone to talk to about Tristen, you can count on me to be here for you just as much as I can count on you (and that’s a lot)!

We Are Seven

—A simple child,

That lightly draws its breath,

And feels its life in every limb,

What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage girl:

She was eight years old, she said;

Her hair was thick with many a curl

That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,

And she was wildly clad:

Her eyes were fair, and very fair;

—Her beauty made me glad.

"Sisters and brothers, little maid,

How many may you be?"

"How many? Seven in all," she said,

And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they? I pray you tell." She answered, "Seven are we; And two of us at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea.

"Two of us in the churchyard lie, My sister and my brother; And, in the churchyard cottage, I Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea, Yet ye are seven! I pray you tell, Sweet maid, how this may be."

Then did the little maid reply, "Seven boys and girls are we; Two of us in the churchyard lie, Beneath the churchyard tree."

We Are Seven (continued) "You run about, my little maid, Your limbs they are alive; If two are in the churchyard laid, Then ye are only five."

"Their graves are green, they may be seen," The little maid replied,"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door, And they are side by side.

"My stockings there I often knit, My kerchief there I hem; And there upon the ground I sit, And sing a song to them.

"And often after sunset, sir, When It is light and fair, I take my little porringer, And eat my supper there.

"The first that died was sister Jane; In bed she moaning lay, Till God released her of her pain; And then she went away.

"So in the churchyard she was laid; And, when the grass was dry, Together round her grave we played, My brother John and I.

"And when the ground was white with snow And I could run and slide, My brother John was forced to go, And he lies by her side."

"How many are you, then," said I, "If they two are in heaven?" Quick was the little maid's reply, "O master! we are seven."

"But they are dead; those two are dead! Their spirits are in heaven!" 'Twas throwing words away; for still The little maid would have her will, And said, "Nay, we are seven!"

By William Wordsworth

Explication of We Are Seven

This is probably my favorite poem out of all the ones that I picked from the published poems. The reason for that is because it talks about how two of the siblings passed away but yet they still count them as being there. We do the same thing with Tristen, when someone asks you how many kids you have you say 12 and when someone asks me how many siblings I have I say 11, no matter where one of my siblings go I still count them as being part of the family, even if they’re never coming home.

“We are seven” is created by sixteen four-line stanzas. It ends with one five-line stanza. Each of the stanzas is composed of an abab rhythmic pattern. It appears that the speaker had chosen to write the last line of this poem first. This poem starts off with an old man asking a little girl a couple of questions. A couple of questions that could have been answered in just a few short lines however is dragged on and adds to the overall significance of the poem. The poem “drags on” because the old man is not convinced that the girl, only of the age of eight, feels like she still has two siblings that are no longer alive, making there being seven siblings total, and five living still. The young girl also adds that she lives alone with her mother, this also makes the older man wonder about what is really going on, or if she is just making up some lie. At the beginning of their conversation, the young girl appears to not know too much about what death is or how it occurs. She states that she talks to and signs to her siblings as she spends time with them, which is really odd, to the reader as well as the older man. By the end of the poem, it appears that the little girl really did know what she was talking about as she understands more about life and death compared to the old man she was conversing with once before. She states that she will not leave the deceased out of her life. They all have a soul somewhere still and they all still need to be remembered. By the end of the poem, the little girl realizes what death is, and the only thing she is able to do is continue to move on with her own life.

Blessed I feel so blessed

I get reminded every day,

By your happiness.

Being a mommy,

Is one of the best jobs.

With no pay,

But the love of a child.

You get me through the day

When I think about giving up,

Or when I think there is no way.

Anytime you need me I’ll be there

In a blink of an eye,

To help you with trouble.

Because I’m your mommy,

I feel so Blessed!

By Jessica Beckman

I put this poem in my project for a few reasons. It reminds me of how good of a mom you are, I know I wrote it but that’s part of the reason I did. You’re always saying how being a mom is the best job and now that I am a mommy I completely understand where you come from with that and I definitely agree with you. There are so many things about being a mom that make all those sleepless nights and cranky days’ worth it. Though I haven’t been a mom for very long I already know that I will be there for Charlotte whenever she needs me even if that means having to drive 24 hours away and I know you would do the same for me or any one of your other kids. In my poem it says how you don’t get paid for the best job with anything but a child’s love, I know how much you love each and every one of your children (even if I am your favorite =p) and getting paid with the love of them right back is probably the best pay you can think of. God has blessed you with 12 beautiful children and I am proud to say that I am one of them. I know I make you go crazy sometimes but that’s what kids are for right??

To My Brother Miguel in memoriam

Brother, today I sit on the brick bench outside the house, where you make a bottomless emptiness.I remember we used to play at this hour of the day, and mama would calm us: "There now, boys..." Now I go hide as before, from all these evening prayers, and I hope that you will not find me. In the parlor, the entrance hall, the corridors. Later, you hide, and I do not find you. I remember we made each other cry, brother, in that game.

Miguel, you hid yourself one night in August, nearly at daybreak, but instead of laughing when you hid, you were sad. And your other heart of those dead afternoons is tired of looking and not finding you. And now shadows fall on the soul.

Listen, brother, don't be too late coming out. All right? Mama might worry.

by César Vallejo

Explication ofTo My Brother Miguel in memoriam

The reason I added “To My Brother Miguel in Memoriam” is basically because it is in memoriam about a brother. That reminds me of Tristen obviously, I know he’s your child not brother but I really couldn’t find any about children passing away that made much sense. It talks about how he remembers the good times he had with his brother and I do that every day, think about how many good times there were and try to keep the bad memories away and I know you do the same.

In “To My Brother Miguel in memoriam” the speaker begins sitting out on the porch, mourning the death of his brother. The reason the speaker probably choose to write this poem was probably to express his feelings like most poets. The speaker quickly brings back the good memories. The speaker brings back the time of playing hide and seeks for hours, usually the person who was hiding being the winner of the day. Then all of a sudden, Miguel had hid himself, he had hid and he did not return. From a readers perspective, Miguel had either ran away, or he had gotten killed. He may of even gotten sick because the speaker says he was “sad”. The speaker by the end of the poem is tired of looking for his brother Miguel and not being able to find him because he himself is getting sad. The speaker closes the play “And now / Shadows fall on the soul”. This give the reader the impression that the speakers brother Miguel has passed away. He feels like his brother may come back at some point, that way their Mama does not worry. Overall, the speaker is simply saying that he wished his brother was playing hide and seek still instead of being deceased. This poem leaves out how his brother has passed away, which makes the reader kind of curious because if he looked sad, then it gives the impression he may have had been sick. Overall, this is a rather sad poem to read and the reader can feel the same emotion that the speaker does. Most people can relate to having good times and having a death someone in their family. Most of the time it is really hard to see someone go.

Mom,

Thank you for being there for me through everything our family has been through these past few years, thank you for being the mother that you are to all of us, if you weren’t the mother you are to me I don’t think I’d be the mother I am to Charlotte , I really appreciate everything you do for me and I hope you never forget that. I have been doing my best to help you out as much as I can and help you get through the hard times too. You are the best mom (and grandma [me-me]) that anyone could ask for, I wouldn’t trade you for the world, I love you.

Love,

Jessie

Bibliography (MLA)

• Donne, John. "Poets.org." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16091>.

• Longfellow, Henry. "Poets.org." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15639>.

• Rossetti, Christina. "Poets.org." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19659>.

• Vallejo, Cesar. "Poets.org." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15272>.

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