Iambic Pentameter Poem (kind of)

I hate the way my skin is blotched and pink,
And the remnants of spots on my pale cheeks.
I wish my foundation stayed on my face
And that I did not need it there at all.
I wish my lips weren't always dry and chapped
And I wish my hair didn't fall straight down flat
(But I wish I had not cut my hair short)

I wish my limbs were not sharp and angled,
I wish the skin around my nails was soft.
I wish my wrists weren't skinny and frail
And I wish my skin wasn't so goddamn pale

Sometimes I wish my hair was dark auburn,
And that I reminded people of fall.
I wish I could scrape my hand through my hair
Without it looking like a messy nest.
I wish I smelt like honey and vanilla,
And wore soft knitted sweaters when it's cold.

But the truth is I'm not suited that way:
I look bad in mustard yellow sweaters
And drink more coffee than necessary
And wear too much monochrome and leather
Sometimes I wear floral skirts and dresses
And confuse the people who think I'm cool.
But really I just wish I wasn't tired.

Poem Analysis- Balloons and Composition

Balloons

• Commas regulate the rhythm of the poem
• '---' gives a sense of the list continuing and Plath's amazement with the world and how extensive it is
• Exclamatory sentence makes Plath sound shocked
• Imitates the journey and life cycle of the balloon 
• Less punctuation towards the end of the poem
• Full stop at the end of the poem to symbolise the death of the balloon

Composition

• (blue) as an afterthought, as if it's important to Shapcott that the reader knows that the pencil is blue
• Becomes more disjointed as the poem continues
• Overwhelmed by what's happening
• (blue) as if that information is important
• More disjointed as the poem continues
• Sense of the poet being overwhelmed
• Begins poem with 'And' as if the readers have just stumbled upon someone's thought process, almost like we're intruding, the poem has been going on long before it's been written.

Typographical Crimes 

• Sansom uses disjointed punctuation and other 'typographical crimes' to show the reader how much punctuation impacts on a poem and how it influences the tone of the poem.
• 'Composition' uses lower-case to symbolise breathlessness, 
• 'Balloons' starts each line with a capital letter for emphasis, sharpness

The Product of Negativity

I am the product of all the times I said no.

Of the ‘play it safe’s and the ‘better safe than sorry’s

I am made of report cards saying ‘a pleasure to have in class’

And ‘she’s a quiet girl who should speak up more’

 

I am the product of all the times

 I was told to apologise before talking

And to cover your mouth when you smile.

“So as not to show your crooked teeth”

 

I was always told to ask for permission before asking a question,

As worst case scenarios were forced down my throat

Until all I could taste was someone else’s regret

And told it’s more valuable to listen to others than to offer

My own burdening thoughts

 

So when they say to speak louder, ‘Don’t worry!’

 ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ and ‘You won’t regret it, I promise’

I offer little more than a shy smile and think:

‘It’s hard to not be a product of all the times I said no’

Childhood Memory Poem

I have a memory

Of a television screen dropping from a wall

To project an image of a collapsing tower

The screen lit with red, black and grey

My blotched pink toddler hands gripped a net made out of twisted rope

As I gazed upon a gathering of people, a clump of individuals

Bound together by grief.

I have a memory of being at my grandparents’ house

Waiting expectantly for my parents to come back

(Even though I did not even know they were gone)

I stood by the door

Silent. Alone.

Until I saw a limp hand on my mother’s belly,

Her eyes ringed with pink, her cheeks wet.

I did not understand back then

That I was no longer going to be a big sister.

It’s funny how my memories of grief are the strongest ones I have

But have also swallowed up entire years of my existence

As if grief is the only reason

I have memories

But also forgotten them.