“You’ve Found Me”
I’ve been here all along.
Right under your nose.
Hide and seek champion for all eternity.
I trekked long and hard through chocolaty snack wrappers and crumbled math assignments.
Oh, the impossibility that I would ever see a reader’s face again.
Don’t get me wrong,
I wanted to be there for you.
But my pride was hurt, and I was ashamed.
From humble beginnings of ink smudges to the final draft,
I grew staples like a young son taller.
And you were the proud mama.
In your mind I was ready,
Ready and perfect for inspection.
But soon after our return, I felt like I had somehow failed you.
The disappointment now in your eyes was excruciating.
I couldn’t bear it,
So I sought refuge in a dark place filled with no pain nor red ink.
With a zip of a bag, I was safe.
I dreamt long and hard of days where I would be published
And cherished by all.
Worry no more, as I have appeared,
Facing my fears, and bearing my bold.
Ready to start anew.
Maybe one day, I can fulfill my potential as you desired.
And with a little work,
Become what she expected.
I’d like you to give me another chance.
A second shot at redemption.
· Symbolism- Throughout the whole poem, I created a poetic letter from my missing “A Second Shot at Redemption” Argument/Persuasive essay to myself. It should appear to the reader that the letter is from an actual person based on the human traits and feelings coming from the paper. The author of the poetic letter is a symbol for my misplaced paper.
· Irony- This is an ironic topic and style that I chose. I misplaced a paper that I’ve been looking a week for, and, once I finally found it, I was inspired to write about the paper. The paper had quite a few corrections and marks from the teacher on it, so I gave life to the paper. It felt ashamed of its performance so it hid from me. I associate this type of style to Mr. Atticus’s because I didn’t write about normal poetic topics such as nature, music, or feeling. I wrote a humorous, spoofy letter to myself from an item I had misplaced. I also mentioned the teacher (Mizzay) in the poem to give the poem some personal meaning to the class and myself. Of course we know that papers don’t hide from students; students often misplace them, and it is there fault. But I am placing the blame on the paper by writing its apology.
· Diction- I chose a few words that I thought stood out and were interesting. In line 4, I use the word “trekked” to show how exciting my paper’s journey was in my book bag and locker. Although there were a few others that I could have mentioned, I really liked my idea for line 23’s “anew.” This gives the poem a touch of classical poetry. The word “anew” sounded like a phrase from Shakespeare’s time. It sounds very poetic and sophisticated when referring to the fresh start the paper is seeking.
· Imagery- “Chocolaty snack wrappers and crumbled math assignments” in line 4 is a really descriptive phrase. “Chocolaty snack wrappers” appeals to the reader’s smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory), while “crumbled math assignments” appeals to the reader’s visual (sight) and auditory (hearing) senses. They will be able to taste and smell the cocoa of the chocolate and hear the crumbling of the paper, while seeing the wads of homework.
· Hyperbole- In line 3, I use the phrase “for all eternity,” quite figuratively. I don’t mean that the essay will be reigning “hide and seek champion” forever, but I use it to fully convince the reader that its hiding spot was exceptionally good, and I couldn’t find it for the life of me.
· Personification- Through the clues that hint at my symbolism (like “staples” (line 10) and “red ink” (line 17)) the reader knows that I’m talking about some sort of an assignment. Paper cannot win at “hide and seek,” trek, “see a reader’s face” (line 5), be “ashamed” (line 8), have a hurt pride (line 8), fail people (line 14), dream (line 19), or face fears (line 22). All of these traits or actions are possessed or carried about my human beings. Through personification, I was able to make a further connection to my symbolism: that in fact, my paper was human to some degree.
· Simile- In line 10, “like a young son taller” compares how the paper grew staples (like a paper would if it became long enough) with how a young boy has a growth spurt. I continue to make a connection with the essay and a human being.
· Metaphor- In line 11, “you were the proud mama” is the essay telling me that I was proud of it right before I turned it in for a grade. I was the proud mother of the son that was growing tall in my simile in line 10. Both of these together were a good choice.
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