Poem

Theme : Grief 

Twelve Songs

IX 

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.  --> Hyperbole
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,    --> Metaphor
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;  --> Metaphor
For nothing now can ever come to any good. 

                                                           - W. H. Auden 

In this poem we see that the tone of poet is in grief and is devastated, because of the 

death of a loved one. 

And the message was to express his sadness and grief over this tragic death. 

Do not stand at my grave and weep 

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am the thousand winds that blow.   --> Metaphor
I am the diamond glints on snow.    --> Metaphor
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.    --> Metaphor
I am the gentle autumn rain.    --> Metaphor

When you awaken in the morning hush 
I am the swift uplifting rush   --> Metaphor
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.   --> Metaphor 
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
The tone of the poem is peaceful and calm, in a place of acceptance, 
The message of the poet is to confort the poeple who are grieving over death, to try and 

relate to them, to tell them they don't have to cry over death, and to help them accept the 

death and grief. 

 I measure every grief... 
                               
I measure every grief I meet --> Metaphor

With analytic eyes;
I wonder if it weighs like mine, 

Or has an easier size.
                  
I wonder if they bore it long, 

Or did it just begin?
I could not tell the date of mine, 

It feels so old a pain.
                  
I wonder if it hurts to live,
And if they have to try            
And whether, could they choose between

 They would not rather die.
                  
I wonder if when years have piled--  --> Personification

Some thousands--on the cause
Of early hurt, if such a lapse 

Could give them any pause;
                  
Or would they go on aching still
Through centuries above,
Enlightened to a larger pain

 By contrast with the love.
              
The grieved are many, I am told; 

The reason deeper lies,
Death is but one and comes but once 

And only nails the eyes. --> Metaphor

                  
There's grief of want, and grief of cold,

A sort they call 'despair,'               
There's banishment from native eyes,              

In sight of native air.

    
And though I may not guess the kind
Correctly yet to me
A piercing comfort it affords
In passing Calvary,          
                  
To note the fashions of the cross
Of those that stand alone                
Still fascinated to presume                 

That some are like my own.
                  
- Emily Dickinson 

The tone of this poem is very sad and in grief, which is also in the title,  and the message of the poem is to 

express her sadness to the readers. 

Poem

You Can Be Whatever
You Want To Be!

There is inside you
all of the potential
to be whatever you want to be,
all of the energy
to do whatever you want to do.

Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
doing what you want to do,
and each day; take one step
towards your dream.  (Metaphor)

And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
hold on to your dream. (Personification)

One morning you will awake to find
that you are the person you dreamed of,
doing what you wanted to do,
simply because you had the courage
to believe in your potential
and to hold on to your dream.  . (Personification)

-Donna Levine 

The tone of the poem is comforting, happy, confident and peaceful, where the poet’s message was that she wanted to let us know that we should follow our dreams, and do whatever it is that we want to do and that we should never give up.  

Poem

Phenomenal woman:
 

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,   

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.   

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.    (Metaphor)

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,    (Metaphor)

And the flash of my teeth,   (Metaphor)

The swing in my waist,     (Metaphor)

And the joy in my feet.      (Metaphor)

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered   

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,   

They say they still can’t see.   

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,    (Metaphor)

The sun of my smile,      (Metaphor)

The ride of my breasts,   (Metaphor)

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.   

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.   

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,   

The bend of my hair,   

the palm of my hand,   

The need for my care.   

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

The tone of the poem is very confident and proud, the message of the poem is to show us how she is so confident, and to try and show us how to be as confident as her.