Poetry Madness: We Real Cool

We Real Cool

The Pool Players.
Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon. 

Gwendolyn Brooks

Theyenks.

I am thankful that this isn't my car.

I am thankful for my brother. He makes me laugh at the most unexpected times; usually times that I shouldn't be laughing.

I'm thankful for my dog, Jake. We always seem to share the same emotions at the same times.

I'm thankful for this coat! I can curl up into a ball and hide from the world. I mostly like it because it keeps me warm and lots of my past coats didn't do that?

I am thankful for pumpkin bagels. Seriously, go to Panera Bread and try them.

I am thankful for coffee and all caffienated beverages, for that matter. Sometimes they help me feel like I got more than 3 hours of sleep.

I am thankful for trees and nature in general. I can often find solace in these places, even when my life contains everything but peace.

I am thankful for the beautiful city of Seattle. The constant rain and cloud-cover just make sunsets like these even better.

I am thankful for potatoes and all the ways we can eat them.

I am thankful for my grandma. She has been through so much and helped me through so much and given so much to me and my family. I love you.

The Hun

To touch and hold, out, he briefly reaches,  

He touches softly the ear with his hand,  

The defense of the creature he breaches,

From warm ears to snout, his kind touches spanned.

Slowly time passes, ensuring their trust,

Relinquishing power, unable to see,

Peacefully, the deer sighs into the dust,

Defenseless, with not a desire to flee,

The small dagger, the man carefully draws,

To the neck of the small fawn he places,

Yet more demise, the instrument will cause,  

The pulse of the creature’s neck he traces.

From the fawn’s limp neck, the red slowly drips.

And through the creature’s nose, the last breath slips.

The Theban Bros

We, the Chorus, are elders of Thebes, serving to represent our society’s values. What is it that we, society, value? As time ceaselessly passes, sentiments and values seem to as well. The audience can depend on our opinions to be correct; however, do be aware that they vary line to line.  No, we do not refute ourselves, oh imprudent audience, we simply learn more as time passes and adjust our opinions accordingly. Our task is not simple; not only must we guide our ever endearing audience through the action and context of the play, but also guide them to the greater meaning of this astounding work by the remarkable Sophocles. Oh, divine audience, your endurance is especially appreciated.

Oh, senseless Antigone, does she surely believe she should do anything other than praise the laws of our great city? “When [one] honors the laws of the land, and that justice which he hath sworn by the gods to uphold, proudly stands his city: no city hath he who, for his rashness, dwells with sin. Never may he share my hearth, never think my thoughts, who doth these things!” Indeed, hHer naivety is nothing short of appalling; believing she is acting as the gods would like. If the gods did not favor Creon, how is it he would rise to this position of power? To obey Creon and his city is to obey the gods. He can do no wrong. Oh, senseless Antigone, she shall “pass to Hades, as no other of mortal kind [has] passed.” It is her pride that has brought this upon her, “[her] self-willed temper hath wrought [her] ruin.”

Yes, Antigone deserves the worst of punishments.

However…

Creon! Oh, he cannot let Antigone die! The terrifying prophecy of Tiresias, does it not worry him? Perhaps the king should free Antigone from her chamber and yield his actions after all, “for swift harms from the gods cut short the folly of men.” Oh, Dionysus, please protect our city.

.

.

.

Antigone is dead? Haemon, as well? The queen has also killed herself? What tragedy! Oh, great Creon, finally brought to the ground with tears; it is his pride that caused this! The gods have finally given him what he deserves. “This is the law… That seeing the stricken heart… Of pride brought down,… We learn when we are old.” 

Dog-Eat-Dog World

Sunday
Pre-Monday.

Monday
Monday goes as Mondays often go. She comes home, heaves her backpack on the couch and contemplates life; life in general, her future, college, the remaining school year, and the next few hours. She tells her mother she has so much homework. The response is the same, that she should get started soon. The girl digs through the disarray of textbooks and half-completed assignments in her backpack, pulls out a small notebook, places it back with a melodramatic sigh, and makes her way upstairs. I don't follow. On Mondays she prefers to be alone.

Tuesday
Second Monday.

Wednesday
Better than Monday. Her school week is half completed. Tomorrow is Thursday; the day ensuing is Friday. The atmosphere is lighter. Today, however, she grumbles about grades. She did poorly on a test. She claims it was harder than she had expected it to be. I know it was hard because I never saw her study.

Thursday
Tomorrow is Friday. Today is more pleasant than yesterday. She knows the school week is coming to a close. She doesn't open her backpack tonight. She always does Thursday's homework on Friday morning.

Friday
It is 4 am and I wonder why she is awake before I recall what day it is. Even I am weary. I wonder why she doesn't just do her homework on Thursday. She could still be sleeping if she wanted to.

Friday (evening)
She gets home. She lobs her backpack on the couch, flings her shoes in the closet, and goes to her room. She reads as she always does. Her mother asks for her assistance with laundry. The girl tells her mother that she is exhausted and asks if she can help after she has rested. I wonder why she didn't just do her homework earlier. She could have gotten a few more hours of sleep last night.

Friday (late evening)
She is doing the laundry. She tells her mother about her week and how she has no friends. She’s exaggerating; I’ve met her friends before. She can't wait to leave her school. She's always talking about how she can name the people she genuinely likes on one hand.

Saturday
She leaves early; goes out to be with friends. I sleep curled up at the end of her bed until she is home again.

Woof Draft

 Woof Draft

For my entire life, I have been prone to indecision; irresolute in most situations. However, in Guatemala, I came to a realization; a decision I had never been so sure of in my entire life: I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to help people. Whatever career I chose, I just wanted to be able to walk away with the satisfaction that I had affected someone’s life in a positive way; even better, I loved being able to witness the direct effect.

I was in Guatemala on a school service trip. I came to this conclusion very early within my nine days of being there. It was the second day of actually meeting with our set groups; I had been placed in the agriculture group. After a long day of vaccinating uncooperative animals, we began to head back to the local church. However, along the way, we passed a house where an older lady was lifting cinder-blocks by herself; not only that, but it also appeared that she was not anywhere close to being finished. So, we stopped and helped her. I had spilled my water bottle earlier in the day, but after we had finished helping, a girl who I assumed to be her daughter came out with 7UP. I could see the condensation on the outside of the bottle and subconsciously deemed this girl my savior.

The 7UP, seemingly significant to most people, contributed to this being one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. The experience in its entirety, placed with the other events I witnessed and was involved with in Guatemala, led me to the understanding that I really love helping people and not just in the typical “yeah, it sure is nice to put a smile on someone’s face” way. This is totally different; seeing that I have in fact made a difference in someone’s life or even just their day literally gives me this satisfaction that I cannot get from anything else. Even if it is something that seems rather inconsequential, knowing how much of a difference just a small act of kindness can make for someone just makes me so stinking giddy in the best way possible. Since that day and just that week in general, I always make a greater effort to help out with not only the big things, but the little things too.

Being so sure of something for once in my indecisive life has really changed something inside of me. Even on the bad days, I am looking for ways that I can improve myself, and that usually involves helping others. I enjoy making others happy because it brings me great happiness as well.

My Mom and Clint Eastwood

ISTP

Introvert(100%)  Sensing(1%)  Thinking(12%)  Perceiving(22)%

• You have strong preference of Introversion over Extraversion (100%)
• You have marginal or no preference of Sensing over Intuition (1%)
• You have slight preference of Thinking over Feeling (12%)
• You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (22%)

·       

  Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving
by Marina Margaret Heiss

·         Profile: ISTP
Revision: 3.0
Date of Revision: 26 Feb 2005

·        

---

·         “Like their fellow SPs, ISTPs are fundamentally Performers (note the capital 'P' :-)), but as Ts their areas of interest tend to be mechanical rather than artistic like those of ISFPs, and unlike most ESPs they do not present an impression of constant activity.” 
-I don’t think I’m artistic but I do prefer art over mechanics, so I disagree with the former part of that statement. I do agree with ISTPs not presenting an impression of constant activity. That is definitely me.

·       
  “On the contrary, they lie dormant, saving their energy until a project or an adventure worthy of their time comes along--and then they launch themselves at it. The apparently frenzied state that inevitably ensues is actually much more controlled than it appears--ISTPs always seem to know what they're doing when it comes to physical or mechanical obstacles--but the whole chain of events presents a confusing and paradoxical picture to an outsider.” 
-YES. This is insanely true. I have these outbursts and my family doesn’t understand what’s going on but I will always get a ton of stuff done in these situations.  

·          
“ISTPs are equally difficult to understand in their need for personal space, which in turn has an impact on their relationships with others.” 
-This is very true; more often than not, I just need space, but the way in which I try to let people know that I want space usually results in them getting upset with me.

·       
  “These territorial considerations are usually critical in relationships with ISTPs; communication also tends to be a key issue, since they generally express themselves non-verbally. When they do actually verbalize, ISTPs are masters of the one-liner, often showing flashes of humor in the most tense situations; this can result in their being seen as thick-skinned or tasteless.” 
-THIS IS SO TRUE. I don’t know how many times people have told me, “This isn’t the time for your sarcasm.” 

Overall, I think this thing was pretty accurate. I share a personality similar to that of Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood.

P.S. I also had my dad take this, and he also got the ISTP result! His percentages were different than mine, and he was a lot less introverted than me, but I found it interesting we were the same.  




 Affirmation Solicitation 
Affirmer's Name: Veronica Messmer
Relation to Student: Mother

Please choose three to five words that best describe the character qualities of this student: 
1. Adventurous
2. Funny
3. Smart
4. Brave
5. Tolerant

In your own words, please describe below what you believe this student has going for him/her, especially as it relates to his/her character and personal qualities. Please be as specific as possible. 

Amy accepts people for who they are without judging them. She is fun to be around, has a sense of humor and can make others laugh or laugh at herself. Amy will achieve whatever she puts her mind to. She is a fast learner and is a bright and intelligent person.