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For the poem you haven’t yet explored, share the intended audience of the speaker of the poem. Is it a specific person? A group of people? Who needs to hear it?

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For the poem you haven’t yet explored, share the intended audience of the speaker of the poem. Is it a specific person? A group of people? Who needs to hear it?

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For this, I will be using the poem "From Blossoms" (1986)

I find that the this poem is structured, it is almost as if Lee is trying to help the reader. Lee uses the peaches he bought to write about the hard work that was required so that Lee was able to consume one of these peaches. These lines about peaches, for me, symbolizes the importance of living your life to the fullest, and the importance of positive moments that can give our lives meaning, allowing us to appreciate the life we have been given. My opinion on this message is that it should be shared to everyone in the world, especially those who have started to struggle with the life they've been given. I find that oftentimes all too many people focus on the horrible moments of their lives and use those parts to define them, but just like a sweet peach, our journey to where we are required hard work and although some may get to the sweet peach sooner than others, we must relish the moments we have and try to live out our lives as best as we can.

I find this message is conveyed throughout the whole poem, but best through the lines:

"O, to take what we love inside,

to carry within us an orchard, to eat

not only the skin, but the shade,

not only the sugar, but the days, to hold the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into the round jubilance of peach."

"There are days we live

as if death were nowhere

in the background; from joy

to joy to joy, from wing to wing,

from blossom to blossom to

impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom."

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For another, provide a profile of the speaker in whatever medium you’d prefer.

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For another, provide a profile of the speaker in whatever medium you’d prefer.

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For this, I will be using the poem "Nocturne" (1986) (poem is linked)

In this poem, Lee does a really great job of making the reader feel anxious and a little creeped out. I find that a common theme that runs through the poem is fear and insecurity, as he uses small details to describe uncomfortable sounds and images, ultimately making the reader feel a little nervous and scared.

When I read this the first time, I couldn't quite put a face on the speaker. Instead, I pictured the features on someone who would read this to me. I imagine someone who is inching closer to you as each line passes, with a taunting and intimidating tone. This speaker intends on making you uncomfortable, and maybe even secretly enjoys watching you get creeped out. This speaker is tall, and towers over you has they read the poem, with a smile on their face.

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For another, explore your thoughts on the significance of the title.

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For another, explore your thoughts on the significance of the title.

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For this, I will be using the poem "Early in the Morning" (1986)

I find that in the title, Lee sets up the emotions and setting that the poem is in. Early mornings are for the most part quiet and peaceful, both that are conveyed through Lee's poem where he reflects on his childhood. In the early morning, the day has just begun, and the action has not yet started. This allows the reader to gauge that this poem retains a feeling of quiet comfort in your own home as you wake up and start your day. Lee conveys this through the line:

"While the long grain is softening in the water, gurgling

over a low stove flame, before

the salted Winter Vegetable is sliced

for breakfast, before the birds,

my mother glides an ivory comb

through her hair, heavy and black as calligrapher’s ink."

Lee uses very vivid imagery, and the title reveals a lot about what the poem will contain. When I read through it, I examined the poem in a lens of what I would be like in an early morning: tired, slow, quiet. This is why the title is so important for this poem. The details I gathered through the title are what allowed to me experience Lee's poem more vividly.

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For another poem, include a powerful line and the reason you find it powerful.

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For another poem, include a powerful line and the reason you find it powerful.

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For this prompt, I will be using the poem "The Gift" (1986)

"And I recall his hands,

two measures of tenderness

he laid against my face,

the flames of discipline

he raised above my head."

Lee's poem sends the readers back to a time where Lee himself was hurt, and had his father take a metal splinter out of his hand. He writes about the importance of tenderness and discipline when it comes to healing, and not just on a physical level but on an emotional and spiritual level as well. By the end of the poem, we see Lee using 'the gift' of tenderness his father had given him to take a splinter out of his wife's hand.

I found this line extremely powerful as it depicts the relationships between a child and parent, and also the journey of healing. Our parents are here to show us tenderness, but also stress the need for discipline. When we're hurting, I find that tenderness and discipline play hand in hand. The act of tenderness and discipline in this poem acts as the gift, which I find connects to all the things parents have to offer children as life lessons that can be carried on throughout the future. The imagery Lee uses when he's describing his father's hands against his face allows the reader to know his exact emotions which I found powerful as I believe everyone has been in a place of hurt where we've all needed "measures of tenderness".

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For one poem, select an image you find complements it. Add the relevant lines and try to avoid being literal.

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For one poem, select an image you find complements it. Add the relevant lines and try to avoid being literal.

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The poem I will be using for this will be "I Ask My Mother to Sing" (1986)

"Mother and daughter sing like young girls."

"But I love to hear it sung;

how the waterlilies fill with rain until

they overturn"

"Both women have begun to cry.

But neither stops her song."

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Introduce your poet and why you choose this person to explore.

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Introduce your poet and why you choose this person to explore.

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The poet I chose to explore is Li-Young Lee. Lee was born in Indonesia in 1957 to Chinese political exiles. His family arrived in the Untied States in 1964 and Lee began to seriously write poems when he was a University student. I chose to explore and read Lee's poems as they all dive deep into the theme of family. In his poems, he tells the story through his personal experiences and memories. His descriptions are very simple yet complex which makes it very easy for me to read and understand the feelings he is trying to convey, almost making it feel like I've experienced them myself. In addition, his poems are full of imagery which add to the experience as well.

I found that a lot of the time, the pauses within his poems were very impactful and were communicating a very complex message besides just being the stepping stone for the next verse.