The poem “Firefighters” by Lucas Wheeler was interesting in that certain words were highlighted by the way he ordered his lines. The poem highlighted the firefighters in New York who had immediately responded to the distress calls from the Twin Towers and also to those who had given their lives in the line of duty. The story he picked was obviously showcasing the talents and may have even been written by one of the firefighters from Westchester that had arrived as backup on the scene of devastation. I think it is nice that Lucas chose a piece on firefighters since they put not only their lives on the line to save others, but also put their all into their work even if it meant sacrificing themselves and emotionally crippling their families. One of the things I really liked was how he ended his poem because it placed a great emphasis on September 11^th and also leant itself to leaving the reader with a sense of purpose and tragedy. The spacing of the words in the poem gave it an aura of wistfulness and sorrow with a hint of hope and justice. Even though the poem is short and concise, the reader still receives the full message that Lucas was trying to get across: that all those who died in the September 11^th attacked should be remembered, especially those who were only doing their job as civil servants. I really liked the picture as well since it helped emphasize the importance and meaning that those firefighters who perished held in both their workplace and their families’ hearts. I also liked the fact that it was black and white, since it leant a sort of starkness to the whole image, and helped give the poem greater meaning in its few words. Overall, the reader is left with a sense of duty and honor even in the midst of a tragedy.

Response: What Made

One poem that really caught my attention was “What Made”, by Branden Stevens. The format, each line starting with “what made” was intriguing, and the fact that the entire poem consisted of questions was thought-provoking. This poem doesn’t just describe 9/11, it ponders the events that occurred on September 11 and the results. These are unanswerable questions, questions that people asked in the aftermath of the attacks and are still asking. Some of them don’t seem to need to be answered – for example, the penultimate line “What made this sudden yet apparent sense of American spirit that never existed before?” is questioning the surge of patriotism that swept the country after the attacks. Everyone accepted that the natural thing to do was to rally behind the country and wave the flag, instead of questioning why we should do this and what America did to provoke the attacks. The statement “What made the news rerun the footage repeatedly again as if they were the scenes of a bad car commercial?” reminded me of the media frenzy surrounding 9/11. For weeks, the newspaper and television was full of images of the place crashing into the World Trade Center, the Towers falling, the rubble, bodies. The event almost became a spectacle, something to entertain instead of a tragic event. This line just made me ponder the obsession we have with tragedy – the news is full of kidnappings and murder and horror, even where there isn’t a major even like 9/11. The line “What made our country increase security and make me feel so much safer?” made me ponder not why America increased security, but why it made me feel safer. What, really, has been done to protect us? As the final line says, “What makes us… think it couldn’t happen again?”

Blog 4

I enjoyed reading Briana’s poem. Her poem intrigued me because it described this man’s day at the office on September 11^th and how his day proceeded at first as just a normal day at work where he felt safe and content knowing that he and his family were safe. This was his reality until he heard someone in his office discussing how the World Trade Centers had been attacked. He couldn’t believe it at first and then rushed to his office to find on the internet that this terrible tragedy was true. This feeling of seeing this event happen but having it not really sink in and become a reality like this man experienced on this day, was an experience felt by most, if not all, Americans on this day. We were shocked to think that such a disaster like this could happen and happen out of the blue.

I really enjoyed reading Briana’s poem because it brings attention to the fact that this average American man was like so many Americans on this day. We couldn’t believe that it was true and when the reality of this event actually sunk down into our heads and we processed the information, we were scared to death. We ran to make sure that our families and everyone that we cared about was alright and safe. We speed dialed like crazy, sent e-mails, and scurried about frantic and in hysteria to make sure that everyone that we cared for was safe and sound and hadn’t been a part of this tragedy. But once we calmed down and figured out that everyone we cared for was okay or not okay, we came to the realization that things in America would never be the same after this day. We wouldn’t be so nieve to think that because we are a great superpower that no one will challenge us and we will always be safe because we trust in our government and our systems of belief. We believe that we will be protected from any radical suicide bombers or any terrorist. We were wrong. We were very very wrong. This poem expresses how we felt on this day and how we couldn’t really come to terms with what had actually happened until the day was over or much later on.

Blog 4

For my blog 4, I chose Brandon Stevens' poem to analyze. I really like how he starts off each question with "What Made...". Also, it really stuck out to me that he generalized the questions in the beginning, and gradually led them up to specifically describe 9/11. It creates a sense of mystery in what he is talking about and makes it way more dramatic. Using "What made..." in every question make you want to know what actually made those things or feelings happen, even though you already know. What really stuck out to me was the ending though. When he says "What makes us... think it couldn't happen again?" The Ellipsis creates a pause while reading which makes the reader believe the author is trying to convey the idea of being very sad and emotional. I really liked this poem the most and this is why I chose to analyze it.

Blog 4 - Response to "A Little Numb"

I love the way this poem was structured; the short, concise lines kept me reading, wanting to know what happened. The line that really struck me the most was the one that said " "don't look up" / (don't look back)." I don't know why this one line stood out to me so much, but to me it just really conveyed what a horrible reality it must have been for the people present during this event. I also liked the repetition of the line "keep moving" even before the towers were hit because that thought seemed to remain with the narrator the entire time. It started out as him just trying to get through the work day and quickly evolved into him trying to escape and survive. This one thought is just a basic human instinct; whatever else may happen, you just always have to tell yourself to keep moving and not to look back. I was really impressed with how this poem was put together, and I thought it was really effective with the use of time stamps. It really helps the reader know exactly when each thing is happening during the narrator's day.

Blog 4

I really loved Brittany Clark's poem, "A Little Numb." The poem goes chronologically through a World Trade Center worker's day on September 11. It starts out early in the morning with this man sipping on coffee and getting things ready for the day. It moves on to him going to a meeting that was interrupted by a loud "boom." Although he wasn't aware if this was some type of earthquake or not, everyone evacuated the building. As everyone was exiting down the stairs, Brittany posted the time moving forward.

I really liked how Brittany wrote this because it gives you a great concept on how fast everything happened. At 8:44, Brittany says the businessmen were all evacuated, and at 3 they are in a different city, and the buildings they were just standing in were collapsed forever. Brittany does an excellent job adding in fine details, as well. Brittany states "lines of fire fighters fully outfitted extra equipment...walk with purpose (keep moving)." In just a few words Brittany gives the reader a great image of what is happening with this evacuation.

The poem's ending gets very graphic when Brittany writes that the man seeing a large puddle of "something," which was blood. The blood was near a human head that was detached from it's lost body. Brittany says that the man saw the head "squashed on impact." This story she retrieved this from is really amazing. As I read this poem, I was waiting for this man to be killed, but he makes it out alive. It makes you wonder, however, if he wished he hadn't after the scarring experience. Brittany's poem is really awesome, she did a great job!

BLOG 3

What Made.

What made me blemish my attendance record that day by missing school?

What made me so physically and mentally exhausted that could have kept me asleep that day till 6:30

What made me wonder so aimlessly into the living room of my ranch style house?

What made my father ask me to bless him among the couch with my presence?

What made the news rerun the footage repeatedly again as if they were the scenes of a bad car commercial?

What made me so absorbed into the news my eyes were fixated as if they were made of glass?

What made September 11, 2001 such a day to remember in American History we would add it to the very textbooks I had avoided reading in school?

What made those men hi-jack a plane simply to throw away their lives as well as many other innocent civilians?

What made a Bowing 767-223ER airplane crash into the World Trade Center?

What made those people leap from a window accepting death as their only fate and life as a thing of the past?

What made me so terrified?

What made those men and women risk there life save other men and women they had never met before?

What made ever lasting memories so deep in my cerebellum that a laser couldn’t even remove them?

What made my family find so proud to be a righteous, law abiding, patriotic, AMERICAN citizen?

What made it so urgent for every American house hold to add an American flag to their décor?

What made our country increase security and make me feel so much safer?

What made this sudden yet apparent sense of American spirit that never existed before?

What makes us… think it couldn’t happen again?

Click Here To See The Original Article I Used For My Found Poem.