The not so good ol' days

Ways of TalkingBy Ha Jin

We used to like talking about grief

Our journals and letters were packed

with losses, complaints, and sorrows.

Even if there was no grief

we wouldn’t stop lamenting

as though longing for the charm

of a distressed face.

Then we couldn’t help expressing grief

So many things descended without warning:

labor wasted, loves lost, houses gone,

marriages broken, friends estranged,

ambitions worn away by immediate needs.

Words lined up in our throats

for a good whining.

Grief seemed like an endless river—

the only immortal flow of life.

After losing a land and then giving up a tongue,

we stopped talking of grief

Smiles began to brighten our faces.

We laugh a lot, at our own mess.

Things become beautiful,

even hailstones in the strawberry fields.

Well this poem is, in my view, speaks a very nice message. One that I try to follow as well. The message being, Life is crap, but so what? You're still here, you're still living, so live. Life can bring on a river of bad things and that torrent can seem overwhelming. But we're human, we're resilient, we're here, and we can't let the bad things run our life. We can still laugh, we can still sing, we can still learn, we can still love, we can live. Nothing is permanent, but it's still there. You still had it. So enjoy it, reminisce about it. Where he talks about losing friends, family, loves, possessions, and he still goes on. Every thing that he mentions can hurt you greatly, but you can still go on! Don't act like there nothing else in the world. That you lost anything that could ever hold a place in your heart. There's a whole world of possible replacements. Sure they'll never be the same but nothing ever is. Life can be tough so pick yourself up and keep going every time. This poem shows a little deviation towards the end from my views when it mentions the hailstones in the strawberry fields. I believe in relaxation, not obliviousness, still notice the world around you. Just don't let it get to.

Today's hero's... Today!

 Today, we as a people are not so much concerned with all the aspects of what a hero is as people were in the old days. I mean look at Beowulf, he's obviously a stereotypical hero, the stuff of comic books and movies and stories. He slays monsters and dragons and is well respected, and this is still a definition of a hero. However this definition today has expanded, or rather it has become freer. In other words you don't have to be like Beowulf to be a hero. Whether it's a lack of imagination, or a sense of realism, today's heroes are just ordinary people who did some action that showed the qualities that have inspired people for years. Selflessness, heroism, bravery, taking a risk in one’s life to save another, etc. I'm not knocking the heroes of today but they are more grounded than in the old fables. Look at Sully Sullenberger, he only had to land a plane on the Hudson River one time to become a hero. He now has permanent hero status no matter where he will go. But he's not a dragon slayer, he's not a liberator of slaves, he landed a plane on water. Just to remind you, I'm not criticizing him for not being heroic enough. I'm just saying our standards our more realistic.

The found poem

Eating TogetherBy Li-Young Lee

In the steamer is the trout   

seasoned with slivers of ginger,

two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil.   

We shall eat it with rice for lunch,   

brothers, sister, my mother who will   

taste the sweetest meat of the head,   

holding it between her fingers   

deftly, the way my father did   

weeks ago. Then he lay down   

to sleep like a snow-covered road   

winding through pines older than him,   

without any travelers, and lonely for no one.

I chose this poem because of it's simplicity and it's calm way of telling itself. It's comforting feeling, just making food and enjoying one another's company at the table is a very traditional thought. That kind of tradition is a relaxing thought isn't it? I like it because it's easy to visualize the food being made step by step, and then enjoying it with family. After which laying down for a nap, and then drifting off into sleep.  I feel very at ease with this poem.