I am one of many Small branches of a broken tree Always looking to the ones above For guidance, strength and security. One little branch trying To keep the others from breaking away Who will fall? And who will stay? Now I stand alone Looking at the earth through the rain And I see the broken branches I knew Scattered about me in pain. There are those who have taken an axe To the root of our very foundation And who have passed this destruction Down to every new generation. If I could take that axe I would toss it deep into the sea Never to return again To harm the generations that follow me. I am one of many But alone I will go And plant the new seeds Where a beautiful tree will grow.

Poetic Elements and examples: Metaphor- The entire poem, as the author relates herself to a branch, and her family to a tree. Personification- The branches are given human qualities throughout the poem, like tossing an axe into the sea. Pertinent aspects of the set-up: -Free Verse -No definite rhyme scheme, but there are some parts that seem to have a rhyming flow -one full stanza The Poems Message The meaning of the poem is to compare herself to a branch, and her family to the tree. She describes how she tries so hard to keep her family together, but fails as the enemy, an axe, constantly chops away at her family’s roots. Why I Chose This Poem I was able to connect to the tone that the author was emitting while she wrote the poem.

In chaos I found peace, now in peace I find chaos. rushed every morning like my life depended on it (and indeed it did) got crushed in the crowd used to say, it helped me keep fit! it was 'chaos' perfumes and fish, all rolled into one one characteristic smell it was 'chaos' smiles and frowns on the same face, at once. then, in that 'chaos' I found my peace. in my crowd I found solace. (but I guess I didn't know it then) I managed to get 'chaos'. felt the world rush by. every morning, thought today I die. in the mess of my life there lurked a certain order. then I quit. left in search of peace. in search of solace. the very things that ran up to me I decide to run up to them. now I do not rush. I do not run. there is no crowd. no need to frown. the beautiful order I got, I managed to mess. in the peace I bought,

Poetic Elements and examples: Metaphor-“perfumes and fish, all rolled into one, one characteristic smell it was 'chaos’, smiles and frowns on the same face, at once.” Simile-She uses the line “rushed every morning like my life depended on it Repetition-The word’s ‘Solace’ ‘Peace’ and ‘Chaos’ appear many time throughout the poem in various ways Pertinent aspects of the set-up: -Free Verse -No rhyme scheme -Seven stanza’s of various lengths The Poems Message The meaning of the poem is about the author feeling the need to give up. She feels as though everywhere she goes there is a chaos she can not escape. She tries hard to find her solace, her ‘happy place’ Why I Chose This Poem I saw a word in the poem that caught my attention, “solace”. I liked the contradiction in the title of the poem as well, having two words, ‘chaos’ and ‘peace’, that are complete opposites yet the author is able to find the two within each other

Look to the future Detach from the past Let the people go Start a new this time Look to the future Love like it’ll last Dream like it’s forever No move envy Look to the future Have the star life Learn from others Take it in Look to the future Be proud with yourself No more lies No more disguises Look to the future Solve the unresolved Be someone’s firefly Stop living for yourself Look to the future Be the person You dream to be Stop fantasizing Look to the future It’s only gets brighter From here on out Detach from the past Look to the future

Poetic Elements and examples: Metaphor-“Be someone’s firefly” comparing the reader to a leader, a source of guidance. Simile-She uses the lines “Love like it’ll last, dream like it’s forever Repetition-She uses the phrase “Look to the future” any times throughout the poem, including the title line, the first line and the last line. Pertinent aspects of the set-up: -Free Verse -No rhyme scheme -1 full stanza consisting of 29 lines The Poems Message The poet expresses her concern to reader on how to properly approach your future. The poem is a constant flowing description of the things you need to do in order to succeed in your future. Why I Chose This Poem I chose this poem because I liked the style that the poem was written in, where every four lines reads “look to the future”. That was an encouraging line for me.