In Blackwater Woods

This poem immediately stood out to me when I read it the first time a few weeks ago, but it wasn’t the right time to write about it until now. It is beautifully profound and one of those things that I could write about multiple times, because I get a new appreciation for it each time I read it. I love how it lists off some of nature’s most beautiful things and then comes to the conclusion that in the end it doesn’t matter what they are:
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Because in the end, everything we learn and everything we see leads back to salvation, as mentioned later in the poem. We will never know the meaning of salvation, but it combats “the fires and the black river of loss” and delivers us from pain. All the beautiful things in life that we see and think and live help to ease the pain of our everyday burdens. The last part of the poem is as follows:
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
This really speaks to me because it reminds me that all things come to an end, and that isn’t always a bad thing. We have to “love what is mortal”, and I take this to mean our family, friends, pets, and anything else we hold close to our hearts that has no spiritual implication. We hold them in our hearts, knowing that without them we would be nowhere, but there is always a time for goodbyes. Everything has its season. To live, we must know and believe this.

Compelling

1. “I Stand Here Ironing” is a story about a mother and her girl named Emily who has a rough childhood but becomes “Somebody” after her school’s amateur show.

2. Level One: What is Emily’s big break?
Level Two: What is the source of Emily’s problems?
Level Three: Why does the mother deal with her children the way she does?

3. This is my favorite story so far. Granted, it’s only the third one so that could change, but I found it to be very captivating. I feel like the overlying theme is about overcoming hardship. Emily has a very difficult childhood and finally overcomes her multitude of struggles to become "Someone." The story flows well and I like how it moves from Emily's birth through her transformation into a young woman who is very much alive and well. The mother feels very guilty about how she treated Emily when she was young and feels partly responsible for everything Emily goes through. The story compels the audience to realize the impact we have on others with our words and actions. The mother didn't really realize how she was treating Emily until it was too late. It wasn't all her fault- but not being around and putting her child into the care of others allowed things to happen that she didn't know about.

The Lesson

1. “The Lesson” is a story about a group of kids who go to F.A.O. Schwartz with Miss Moore, who is trying to teach them about the importance of money and how this country is not set up for the poor people. The narrator does not like Miss Moore and vehemently objects to her view of society.

2. Level One: What is the store that the children go to with Miss Moore?
Level Two: Why doesn’t the narrator like Miss Moore?
Level Three: What is the significance of going to the store and do you agree with the conclusion that Sugar comes to?

3. I really enjoyed this story because of the style it was written in. It was very easy to read and follow because I felt like I was reading someone’s thoughts instead of just words on a page. The narrator is a very interesting character, because she is unlike the rest of the children in the fact that she thinks for herself and internally challenges what Miss Moore says instead of just going along with it. She does seem quite bitter about Miss Moore and it makes me wonder if they have a history that we aren’t able to see because it isn’t written in the story. However, despite her defiance toward Miss Moore, she has a good concept of the value of money. This is shown in the second paragraph on the last page of the text when she remembers the clown toy. The sentence structure is simple and that made it easy to understand on the first read. I didn’t really pick up much more from the second time around. I found it interesting how the narrator plays hardball for the entire text, but when she is asked to step up to the plate and go inside the store, she gets really nervous and can’t go through with her original plan. The other kids are bolder, for once.