• Creative

• Curious

• Resilient

• Thoughtful

• Energetic

• Intuitive

• Honest

• Bold

  Similes:

  like a soft breeze - calm and light

  like twilight - peaceful and quiet

  like a quiet meadow - calm and peaceful

  Metaphors:

  I am a bright morning- full of energy

  I am a noon - steady and strong

  I am a small library- full of stories

Guillermo Gomez-Peña conveys time and place in his poem by using anaphora to show how people from Mexico are being discriminated against. For example, he writes "What If" to highlight the challenges that immigrant Mexican people have to face in a marginalized position. This suggests the struggles of Mexicans due to cultural context because the repetition of "What if" makes the reader think about the difficulties the marginalized group of Mexicans have faced. Overall, the poem captures time and place by connecting the personal challenges of immigrant Mexican people to social issues, showing the urgent need for awareness for cultural identity in our society.

What do you see? Motorbikes everywhere, colorful signs, small food carts, and people moving quickly.

What do you hear? voice chatting, traffic noise, and street vendor call out for customers.

What do you feel? humid air, rough pavement

What do you smell? pho, banh mi, coffee

What do you taste? humid air

Ilze Müller's poem thoughtfully uses punctuation to deepen its meaning and emotional resonance. For instance, capitalizing words like "Reassuring" highlights their significance, emphasizing that being a lesbian is a natural and valid aspect of identity. This approach adds weight to the idea of sexuality, showing the speaker's perspective. The irregular capitalization throughout the poem gives it a modern, personal vibe that breaks away from traditional rules. This style makes the capitalized words catch the reader’s attention even more.

The use of colons also plays a key role in shaping the poem’s themes. When the speaker writes "her name:", the colon introduces a moment of pause, which builds the reader's curiosity. It highlights the visible parts of a lesbian woman's identity. Similarly, in the line "invisible:", the colon introduces aspects of her identity that remain unseen. This juxtaposition between visible and invisible elements runs throughout the poem, illustrating the contrast between what is openly shared and what is kept hidden. These punctuation choices not only enhance the poem’s flow but also explain the unseen or seen parts of a lesbian woman's identity

They say beauty is flawless skin,
A perfect smile, a frame so thin.
They say beauty is painted and bright,
A mask to wear both day and night

They measure the worth through face and size

I was able to accomplish one stanza and one line. Throughout the process of writing it, I felt it difficult to write in a poem structure. To improve my poem, I think I need to add more techniques which will help me to express the poem's meaning better.

But the quiet corners are hidden behind the crowd

Bright light glowing, hopeless glance

Where empty hands reach for a chance

Kids selling kẹo kéo next to the traffic lights

An old woman pushing a cart with might

Hoping for a place tonight

Hoping for a meal tonight

Plain faces pass by them like waves that fade

Ignoring the hardship they have to face

As life’s getting too busy, people chasing their dream

Their struggles are left unseen

In this poem, I could tell that the social issue is poverty, as she depicts the environment and the situation of the individuals in the poem. In addition, the poem follows a rhyming structure, drawing more attention to the main theme and idea of the poem and making it more appealing to hear. I could also see that even though the whole poem is rhyming, it would make the word choice harder. Chloe was still able to fully deliver the message clearly, without making it hard to understand. However, in the poem, there are word choices that could use some rephrasing. For example, instead of the line " People passing by them like waves don't stay ", it could be changed to " People pass them, like waves that fade ". This is because " Waves don't stay " is simply implying passing by, which is unnecessary. Another line that could be changed is " Ignoring struggles the struggles they have to face, The struggles of poverty are left unseen ", and it could be changed into " Ignoring the hardships they have to face, The struggles of poverty remain unseen "because both lines use the word " struggles " which is not needed. This poem also uses a lot of different techniques such as Imagery to help the reader visualize the situation. In short, this poem is nicely written, and made me think about the actual issue happening to the world today.

But the quiet corners are hidden behind the crowd

Bright light glowing, hopeless glance

Where empty hands reach for a chance

Kids selling kẹo kéo next to the traffic lights

An aged, frail woman pushing a cart with might

Hoping for a place tonight

Hoping for a meal tonight

Plain faces pass by them like waves that fade

Ignoring the hardship they have to face

As life’s getting too busy, people chasing their dream

Their struggles are left unseen

As the night comes, people enjoy their vibrant life

While others fight to survive

In the silent corner, where no one sees

They, burdened by unheard please

But the quiet corners are hidden behind the crowd

Bright light glowing, hopeless glance

Where empty hands reach for a chance

Kids selling kẹo kéo next to the traffic lights

An aged, frail woman pushing a cart with might

Hoping for a place tonight

Hoping for a meal tonight

Plain faces pass by them like waves that fade

Ignoring the hardship they have to face

As life’s getting too busy, people chasing their dream

Their struggles are left unseen

As the night comes, people enjoy their vibrant life

While others fight to survive

In the silent corner, where no one sees

They, burdened by unheard please

Her pace was well-balanced; it was not too fast and not too slow, which was easy to follow. Additionally, she adjusted her pacing naturally depending on the topic, slowing down for more detailed explanations and maintaining a smooth flow throughout.