The poems “crazy courage,” “Mexican Begin Jogging,” “One Day You Look For Me”, and “Ni De Aqui Ni De Alla” (Not Here nor There) are all works of art. These poems were written by different authors and at different times, and they are entirely different in their style and language, but the main idea of all these poems is courage. The courage of being different and living in a different world. Crazy courage is a description of a boy who came to the class in women’s clothes. The author described the boy as a courageous person who is admired and appreciated by both his haters and his friends because of his courage. The next poem is about a Mexican who is working in a factory in America. The author was a legal immigrant from Mexico, but when the border patrol came, he also had to run because it is a general perception that all Mexicans are illegal. The poem also describes the conditions in which he was working in the rubber factory. He hopes that his identity won’t be an issue in the future. The next poem, One Day When You Look For Me, is a poem portraying the author’s feelings. The poet is saying that one day, he will be gone to an unknown place. It is difficult to tell where the author is going or to whom he is talking. The last is a song by a Mexican-American. The author describes his mixed feelings towards the new country, America, and the country he belonged to, i.e., the USA.
There are three broad types of poetry: narrative poetry, and descriptive poetry (Madden, 2009). Crazy Courage is descriptive poetry in which the personality of a boy is described by the author. The main idea of the poem is courage. The first impression I got from reading this poem was that confidence is what matters, nothing else. The author was successful in giving this message of courage to the world and said that if you have the courage, you will be powerful and a winner. The next poem, Mexican Begins Jogging, is narrative poetry in which the poet narrates his story. The central theme of this poem is also courage, as it describes the courageous life of a Mexican who is living in America.
The poem tells the condition of Mexicans in the US and gives the impression that it takes courage to come and live in such a country where you are not welcomed. The poet justified his main idea with his beautiful words, and my reflection was the same. One Day You Look For Me is a lyric type of poetry where the author describes his feelings of sadness (Blasing, 2009). It takes courage to leave your loved ones, and the poet was fruitful in presenting this central idea. Although the place and addressee of the poet are not clear, the central idea is quite clear and easily attained by the readers. The last song also has type lyrics, and the writer depicts confused feelings towards his country, Mexico. The lyrics of this song portray the central idea that the writer wants to reflect.
Poetry is a form of literature dating back to the Greek period. The writing style of poetry has changed since its origin. Early poems were folklore and were used to retell epic stories. Poetry at that time had more emphasis on the aesthetics of words and style (Heidegger, 1971). This was what distinguished it from other types of writing. The main ideas were more complex and challenging to catch. The writing style has changed now, the ideas and more prominent and easy to catch and the wordings are not complicated.
References
Blasing, M. K. (2009). Lyric poetry: the pain and the pleasure of words. Princeton University Press.
Heidegger, M. (1971). Poetry, language, thought.
Madden, F. (2009). Exploring literature: Writing and arguing about fiction, poetry, drama, and the essay. Pearson Longman.
