Inspirational Poems for the Youth: An Analysis of select

poemsof Frederick Douglas Harper

JOSHUA GNANA RAJ PRESEARCH SCHOLAR

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHJOSHUARAJ10@GMAIL.COM

PERIYAR UNIVERSITY, SALEM 11

Poems for Young PeopleInspirational, Educational, and Therapeutic

Poetryby Frederick Douglas Harper

Preface “The book was mainly written for young people, who

include children, teenagers, and and young adults. Of course, young adults include younger college students” (Douglas v).

“poetic writings in Poems for Young People provide wise guidance, life teachings, and inspirational messages” (Douglas v)

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TitlesAdvice for Young People (2)

1. Advice to the Young2. Watch Your Mouth

On Values, Character, & Morality (8) 3. If No one has told you about right and

wrong 4. Right and Wrong 5. If You Can, then 6. If You are Angry7. No Excuses, No Regrets8. Truth and Lies9. Giving is a Gift

10.Among the Greatest Things

Courage, Inspiration, & Strength (1) 11.Get Up Mighty Person

Spirituality & Meaning of Life (3) 12.A Humble Prayer13.Peace 14.Let the Children bring Peace

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Titles

Love for Family (3) 1. Ode to Granddad 2. Love your Chain3. Thanks Mother

Loss, Sadness, Grief, & Death (4) 4. Meaning of Life and Death 5. Loss of a Child 6. Today and Tomorrow7. Ode to Mrs. Cook

Identity, Understanding, Self-Esteem, & Self-Acceptance (3)

8. The Right to be Yourself9. Shine where you are 10.Everyone is Special

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Analysis1. Live long, be safe, / Avoid excess chemicals lipped through the face; /

Because tobacco and alcohol can diminish your health, / And in the end can pose threat to your wealth” (Watch Your Mouth 5-8).

2. “I tell you more: / It’s wrong to hurtfully trick or deceive someone / Who trust in you” (If No One has told you about Right and Wrong 12-14);

3. “If you have the opportunity / To do the right thing; / Then do not hesitate” (If You Can, Then 5-7).

4. “If you are angry, just close your eyes / And breathe deeply and slowly; / If you are angry, just try to cool down / And think straight” (If You are Angry 10-13).

5. “Get up you girl, get up you boy, / Get up you woman, get up you man, / Get up mighty person-you can” (Get up Mighty Person 11-13).

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1. “For every good deed done, / You will be blessed ten-fold; / Give and let there be peace” (Peace 1-3); and he also writes “Let us avoid jealousy and hatred, / Greed for another’s bread, and / Distrust of those who trust; / Let there be peace by being at peace” (Peace 9-12). In the final lines he also touches upon the preservation of the nature that grows in the rural sides by saying, “Let us enjoy life’s natural fruits and consume / Not the entire vineyard nor destroy the / Countryside” (Peace 18-20).

2. In the poem “Love your Chain” (Douglas 84) he again talks to his readers by writing the lines “Love all links in your chain / For a broken chain has no purpose” (Love Your Chain 12-13). Here the word family is symbolized to a ‘Chain’.

3. The “Loss of a Child” (Douglas 99) is also another touching poem where he says that “The loss of a child’s presence / Cannot be replaced, / Cannot be forgotten, / Cannot be forgiven” (Loss of a Child 1-4). He also compares that “The loss of a child is a loss of part of / Oneself” (Loss of a Child 9-10). He also says that is “The loss, whether permanent, or temporary, / Is piercing to the heart; a wound that never / Heals in full and a pain that comes and goes” (Loss of a Child 11-13).

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Analysis

1. The poem “Ode to Mrs. Cook” (Douglas 105) has a note attached along to it in the end, where it reads “*Mrs. Cook was a master teacher of my sixth-grade class. “Us” was that class. Mrs. Cook died in an automobile accident some years later during my college years” (Douglas 105).

2. “The Right to be Yourself” (Douglas 112) he writes “Each person has a right to think / And not be thought for” (The Right to be Yourself 1-2).

3. At the end of the poem “Everyone is Special” the lines says that “Remember, everyone is special at something, / Everyone is special for something; / And you are special too” (Everyone is Special 10-12).

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Works Cited

Harper, Frederick Douglas. Poems for Young People. Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2004. Print.

—. Poems on Love and Life. Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2004. Print.

—. God’s Gifts: Spiritual Writings. Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2003. Print.

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Frederick Douglas Harper

Thank you