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Artwork Details:

Dafne Murillo, from Lima, Peru

Plastic Whale (2014)

Painting

Poem:

Max Antoniou

Chicago, IL

2015, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word

Plastic Poem

Plastic bottles are drifting,
Fishing nets are sifting,
The oceans are a mess,
We need to try our best,
To help our fishy friends,

Our fishy folk are dyin’,
Baby seals are cryin’,
There’s trash among the kelp,
These animals need help,
To survive our sloppy oceans,

We’ve got filthy ocean floors,
And dirty ocean shores,
We need to start policing,
The garbage that’s increasing,
To save our lovely waters,

Islands of trash are forming,
Plastics are swarming,
Fish are eating garbage,
Their stomachs are turning hostage,
To these vile micro toxins,

Plastic is on the beach,
You can hear the animals screech,
Birds are eating rotten,
And they’re also chewing toxins,
From the plastic in our oceans,

Waste is washing ashore,
Our oceans have to be cared for,
Wouldn’t it be fantastic,
If we could keep our toxic plastics,
Out of our beautiful oceans,

Trash is thrown to float,
Caps get stuck in sea turtles throats,
Our oceans are too lovely,
To make them all turn ugly,
With all this plastic pollution,

And sooner or later,
It’ll all come back to us,
Because our oceans are our water,
And our water is our life.

Analysis:

The poem “Plastic poem” by Max Antioniou has a typical structure of 8 stanzas/verses, each containing five lines, with the exception of the last verse which has four lines. The rhyme scheme does not follow a clear pattern, but it contains some lines that rhyme with one another, including: “drifting” and “sifting”, “dying” and “cryin”, among other lines. However, there are also some lines in the poem that do not rhyme with each other, such as “Us” and “Life”. A number of phrases in the poem refer to how plastic implicates the ocean, and you may notice the words plastic and ocean are repeated repeatedly in order to address, and draw attention to, one of the largest issues occurring globally, plastic pollution. It is an issue that has become a major concern, affecting marine life. As a rhetorical question, “Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could keep our toxic plastics out of our beautiful oceans”, it again draws the reader's attention, and makes them think about how us human’s activities are the primary reason for ocean pollution. The poem discusses the impacts of plastic pollution on marine life, for instance in the 3 lines “ Our fishy folk are dyin’, Baby seals are cryin’, There’s trash among the kelp,” ; this shows how animals have died because of this issue, from birds to fish “Birds are eating rotten, And they’re also chewing toxin”. It threatens marine health, appearance, food quality, habitats, and many species.  Additionally, the poem emphasises the need for immediate action, as mentioned through these lines “And sooner or later, It’ll all come back to us, Because our oceans are our water”. The poem's language is understandable, it has a very clear message at the end, which is about the effects of plastic production on society, mostly on the ocean life. It is clear that this poem writer is deeply concerned about the impact of plastic pollution, which has been ongoing for years and yet has not been resolved. It is a perfect example of how poetry can be used to bring social change. Plastic waste remains a threat to the environment, even though some actions have been taken to reduce it and promote recycling. According to the title of the poem, "plastic poem", this piece of work and Dane Morila's artwork entitled Plastic whale revolve around the same theme. The poem and art work address the issue of marine plastic pollution, which has become one of the greatest concerns in the world. Due to humans' overuse of disposable plastics, marine life is adversely affected by it. Some creatures living in the ocean may suffer harm from ingestion of plastic, as plastic can be mistaken for food. In addition to poisoning these animals and causing them to die, plastic can also damage some marine habitats, and it may also cause suffocation to animals that live in the ocean, since this piece of plastic might reach their nose or mouth, and it may prevent them from breathing. Due to the millions of animals that die each year, there were many protests. The role of plastic waste in causing animal death and harming marine life is illustrated by both the artwork and poem. However, the two methods of communicating the message are different; one uses poetry to do it, while the other uses an image of the piece of art.

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Leah Schutz's, is a member of the class of 2022 at Queens Metropolitan High School in Queens, New York

Silenced (March 8, 2022)

Painting

Poem:

HE TELLS HER | WENDY COPE

He tells her that the Earth is flat

He knows the facts, and that is that.

In altercations fierce and long

She tries her best to prove him wrong.

But he has learned to argue well.

He calls her arguments unsound

And often asks her not to yell.

She cannot win. He stands his ground.

The planet goes on being round.

Analysis:

Wendy Cope wrote a poem called "He Tells Her" in 2006, but it became popular in 2016. The poem deals with the issue of gender inequality and consists of two stanzas. The first stanza has eight lines and the second stanza has only one line. The poem follows a rhythm scheme of AABBCDCDC. The main theme of the poem is emphasised through phrases that create vivid imagery. Some of them are as follows: the line "He calls her arguments unsound" reflects the issue of women's voices not being heard or respected. And basically anything that a woman says against a man in our current society would not be taken seriously. It highlights gender inequality and the unequal treatment of women in society. The poem is about how girls are treated differently only because of their gender. This poem emphasises the discrimination that all women face everyday. This could be shown through these emotional written words, written by Wendy Cope: "And often ask her not to yell". This line demonstrates the oppressive society that most girls live in, as this also shows how men control women a lot, and make them do whatever they want, not valuing their existence and words. This reflects the biassed world that girls live in. The poem serves as a reminder to address and break the oppression caused by gender inequality. The language used in the poem is understandable, but its meaning is not entirely clear. However, the line "She cannot win" shows that the poem is about gender equality and the lack of rights given to women. The repetition of the pronoun "He" symbolises the power imbalance between men and women. The title "He tells her" conveys frustration about society's treatment of women. The poem, along with Leah Schutz's artwork titled "Silenced," highlights the message of gender inequality and the inability of women to speak up due to oppression and discrimination. Both the text and artwork discuss the struggle women face in expressing their ideas due to judgement based on gender. While both the poem and artwork address the same theme, they do so in different ways. The artwork directly portrays the message clearly, while the poem uses a situation to exemplify gender inequality and control over women. The poem explores more ideas than the artwork, where the artwork focuses mainly on women's inability to express themselves freely. In contrast, the poem conveys the idea of women being controlled by men and how their words are undervalued and ignored by society.

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Adrian Brandon,

George Floyd, Stolen series (2020)

Portrait

Poem:

Black Lives Matter

And they march on the streets
by tens, hundreds and thousands
joined in by the voices of protests
reverberating in distant lands.

The blood of the blacks,
screaming for justice
in generations, is awakened
by the death of George Floyd.

"I cannot breathe",
becomes the slogan,
when life is strangulated
by violence, when the freedom
to breathe air is even denied
to human lungs.

Let this march be the march
for peace and justice!
Never again should the blacks
be treated as in the age of slavery
that fueled the boom of US economy.

Never again should racism
because of colors be upheld
in schools and human relations
not in thrones and monuments
of enslaving powers that kill.
_____________

Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

Analysis:

Elizabeth Padilo Oslen's poem "Black Lives Matter'' features the standard pattern of a poem, with five stanzas/verses. This poem is distinguished by the enjambment it contains, such as in these lines: "by the death of George Floyd. I cannot breathe, becomes the slogan,” . Another example is: “When life is strangled by violence, when breathing air is denied, to human lungs.” As well as many other examples. These enjambments serve as a way to keep the reader engaged, generating that thrilling sensation that makes the reader want to know more about the issue being raised. This captures the full attention of the reader to the issue that has been affecting people for decades: racism. Because this issue has a lot to say, Mrs. Olsen could not express everything in a single line; this enabled her to describe the black lives matter crisis in more detail. The meaning behind this poem is about racism, inequality and injustice that has been ongoing towards the black people for years.  Due to this judgement that exists between skin colour, it led to the deaths of millions of innocent people, including children. The poem highlights the ongoing problem of racism by quoting a real life example of a person who was murdered 4 years ago called George Floyd, he was killed by a policeman because of his skin tone, not for any reason. According to the poem the death of this person has sparked the protests, showing how discrimination affects people, as it causes great harm to them, as illustrated by these phrases: "The blood of the blacks, screaming for justice, in generations, is awakened by the death of George Floyd." This portrays how black people are mistreated a lot. The poet's attempt to effect social change regarding the mistreatment of Black lives matters is evident in this poem, which repeatedly uses the word "justice." This serves as a reminder that everyone deserves to be treated equally, with respect, and with the same opportunities as others, regardless of their skin colour. It is also evident from the repetition of this world that people with darker skin tones are subjected to unfair treatment.  Since the poem's title is "Black Lives Matter," I assume that the poem's theme, time, and space, as well as Adrian Brandon's illustration named "Stolen Series" talk about injustice and discrimination based on race and colour. The same historical period is covered in both texts: May 25, 2020, in the United States, when George Floyd was killed by a police officer of a different skin tone.   Both discuss George Floyd's significant involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, which ended tragically when a white police officer killed him due to his dark skin.   Their shared goal is to draw attention to and challenge the long-standing problem of systemic racism.   However, the painting primarily emphasises George Floyd's killing and the incident of police brutality, aiming to address racial inequality and social injustice.   On the other hand, the poem focuses more on advocating for rights and striving for change, using George Floyd's death as an example.