Poetry

My collection of poems focuses particularly on nature, be that in general, or human. I have used nature to evoke different emotions and attributes, for instance sadness, comic, patriotic. I wrote in a variety of styles, such as a sonnet, villanelle, free verse, and persona and list poems. I also used many sources of inspiration, for example, a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, my personal film collection, other poem's titles, or stream of consciousness. In my poems I make use of different devices.
I have used description to contrast between different emotions, such as hope and sadness. I have also used it to create atmosphere, such as fear.
Enjambment is used throughout my poems to create better flow and rhythm.
Furthermore, a sense of verisimilitude was accomplished, through the use of vernacular, in some of the texts. In "The Nation of Discoveries", I have named portuguese meals and the national anthem to reemphasise the idea of patriotism shown throughout the poem.
In addition, I have referenced brand names, such as McDonald's, as a method of making the poems more contemporary. I have also used fairy-tale references, whilst modernising them. For example, in "Forever After", I used the change of tone in a Petrarchan sonnet to introduce an unhappy ending to fairy tale characters. This was inspired by Kona MacPhee's poem "My Life as a B-movie", where a more obscure ending is given to a typical romantic-comedy. In this topic, I have also referenced antique, as well as modern film titles, in "If my Video Collection were Nature", thus reflecting the changes in nature, human or otherwise. Moreover, I used a character in a contemporary musical called "Wicked" for my persona poem, thus transcribing the whimsical colloquial language used by the personage, Galinda, in the musical. Even the title, "Being Galinda (with a Ga)", is reflective of the character's comical behaviour.
In "The Dagger" and "Owning a Dead Man", I have turned the words into an image to evoke the main idea of the poems, in this case a dagger to symbolise the image at the end of the poem, and a scythe as a symbol of the 'Grim Reaper'.
In "The Four Elements" I thought the poem would flow better with single word lines, as it has a more energetic rhythm, like a stream of consciousness, it is jumping from one idea to the next.
In "Fear", I am using the repetition of the first and third lines throughout the poem, typical of a villanelle, to convey the various types of fear human kind experiences, as we grow older, thus putting a new spin on the couplet each time they appear.
My Ekphrasis poem, "The Umbrellas", is based on Renoir's painting of the same name. The image of the only girl lacking an umbrella, together with the title of the painting, inspired me to write about what else was missing in the character's life, particularly in terms of protection.
The devices which I have learnt in this module, are used throughout these poems to convey positive and negative aspects of life.

Being Galinda (with a Ga)

Dearest diary,

Darlingest friend,

I have to confess

I am at my wits' end

Popsicle, would you imagine,

Will not concede to

My going shopping

For a new pair of shoes!

(They were so pretty, too.)

Fiyero is long gone with

My ex-best friend. I am confusified!

I do not really know what I saw

In the man. Perfect? Yeah, right!

What did he see in her,

He did not see in me?

Not even her breath is 

As minty as her green body!

For now, I guess, some sleep

Will do. I shall narratate more

Tomorrow. Bonne nuit.

The Nation of Discoveries

Walk into any restaurant,

In any part of the country,

And you will hear the noisy chant

Which rings with familiarity.

Order “Bacalhau a bras”, or

Some “cozido_a portuguesa”,

And they will leave you wanting more,

Specially “Pastel de Nata”.

The language  you will hear comes from

The latin. Summer lasts half a

Year, and the weather remains warm.

The anthem is “A portuguesa”.

Green and red make up the flag, with

A yellow armillary sphere.

Stunningly red has a wider width,

Great symbol for football teams there.

Although life in Portugal is

Difficult to maintain right now,

No one will ever cease to miss

The "nation of discoveries".

If my Video Collection were Nature...

My Alien would 

be a perfect planet

The Fog, a blurr of mist

My Heidi, a field of colours

My Casablanca, a bird in flight

My Sound of Music would be the wind

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, a pit of fire

The Life of the Bees is the virtue of the earth

My Pirates of the Caribbean, a wave of the sea

My Nightmare on Elm Street, a cry on a sunny day

My Peter Pan, the twinkle of a star In a child's eyes

My My Fair Lady would 

be the tale of a cocoon

My Parent Trap, two 

snowflakes apart

My Notting Hill, a 

mother's bouquet

My Titanic would 

be human nature

Owning a Dead Man- The Scythe

When he's born, she's the umbilical cord around his neck.

She's the slippery floor when he's taking his first steps. She

watches from behind a tree as he kicks, fights and snogs away

his teenage years. He's now an adult. She sits at the table next to him

as he takes out a ring. She waits with him at the maternity ward. She sees 

her sister arrive for his child, and so the natural order of life continues. Once 

upon a time this would have been her cue. Not now. Now she must wait longer. 

Now she must wait for him yo grow old and, with a heart attack or some other lenient 

method, take him 

along the next 

path. Long gone 

are the days 

when she would 

ease the pain 

of heroes in 

battle. Now she 

and her kind 

are seen as 

evil in the 

eyes of the 

old or a 

joke to the 

young. Few are 

those who still 

welcome her. His 

time has finally 

come. Now she 

can take him

with her to 

a 'better place'.

Once again, she lies in wait, until her next decaying property arrives.

Sonnet- Forever After

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair”

Shouts the brave prince from under her window.

Beauty’s story is of bravery, dare,

Learning to look beyond, inside a soul.

Cinderella found her joy through a glass

Slipper, matching the one found by her prince.

Lying in a coffin ‘till her prince shall pass

Is Snow White, waiting for her true love's kiss.

Snow White didn't wake, her coffin turned opaque.

Cinderella’s prince shall choose someone else,

her feet swoll'n from the dance she can’t master. 

Beast'll remain vain, his spell will never break.

Rapunzel’s prince won't hear her voice and melt,

His pierced eyes shall bleed forever after.

The Dagger

Chasing 

my cat 

felt as 

tiring as 

climbing 

a cliff, until

 a voice, like 

a whisper, 

murmured 

"Follow me. 

Don't be 

scared. I 

have a 

request". 

I followed 

the whir 

which led 

me to the 

middle of 

a forest. In 

front of me, a 

corridor of tree 

trunks and leaves 

began to open, 

wider and wider. 

At the end of the 

corridor I saw my 

mother. 

Above her a dark cloud shaped as a dagger. Realisation 

pierced through 

me like a needle. 

I ran back through 

the leaves and 

trees and bushes. 

It was too late. 

Though my 

conscience had 

tried to ease 

my pain, the shock

of what had 

happened 

was too great. 

In my closed fist 

I felt the cold 

steel mixed 

with the trickling 

blood. As the 

dagger dropped 

to the floor, 

I went down 

with it. Frozen.

The Four Elements

Earth

Grass

Trees

Flowers

Field

Fence

Hedge

Edge

Precipice

Fall

Waterfall

Water

Thirst

Famine

Gluttony

Sin

Human

Nature

Animal

Species

Bird

Sky

Air

Airplane

Transport

Gas

Pollution

Fumes

Smoke

Cigarette

Match

Wood

Sex

Fire

Ekphrasis Poem

The Umbrellas

(by Pierre-Auguste Renoir)

The woman in black

her age is unknown

her eyes are sad and tired

yet her hopeful lips

curve into an almost smile.

Her costume a widow's

though whomever she lost

does not seem to matter

to the gentleman

lingering behind her.

The mother nearby, taking 

her children out is oblivious 

to the girl's troubles. Just as 

the man in the background

enraged with his partner.

Did she lose her umbrella?

Her protection against those

dark clouds ahead. Is that 

gentleman trying to persuade 

her, now that she's a widow? 

Or is her past a darker tale yet? 

Is the infuriated man after her? 

Could he be a policeman or 

guard or someone from 

the other side of the law?

All this is unknown

just as the woman's age

but although her eyes

look sad and tired, hope

still lingers in her face.

Villanelle
Fear

• Fear we’ll always undergo
• A human attribute we must
• Overcome, and let life roll

• You know it's the boogie monster below
• Your bed, so in "mummy" you don't trust
• Fear we’ll always undergo

• Fear of love lost is what will follow
• When what's haunting you is lust
• Unless you overcome and let it roll

• When fear of death first strikes your soul
• Losing your parents is the worst
• Fear you will undergo

• Once your life is touch-and-go
• The idea of death seems so unjust
• But you have to overcome and let it roll
  
• When life goes well, fear of woe
• Will put you to the test.
• But, fear we’ll always undergo
• Just overcome it and let life roll